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Nights

Long exposures, light painting, and off-camera flash lighting.

For the duration of the winter school holidays, Puffing Billy Railway are running the "Train of Lights" specials from Lakeside to Gembrook and return.As there are no locomotive stabling and servicing facilities at Lakeside, NG/G16 129 - the specially-equipped steam loco that hauls the popular train - must depart from Belgrave earlier in the day before heading over to Lakeside and pick up the carriages. Once the train returns to Lakeside and the passengers have all departed for home, the NGG must return to Belgrave where the crew will clean out the ash, fill the water tanks, and ready it for the following evening's service. This photo is the result of careful planning, lots of trial and error over a couple of nights on location, and the end result has been lit with four off-camera flashes triggered wirelessly using Canon's radio controller system.

Packing Shed nights

For the duration of the winter school holidays, Puffing Billy Railway are running the "Train of Lights" specials from Lakeside to Gembrook and return.As there are no locomotive stabling and servicing facilities at Lakeside, NG/G16 129 - the specially-equipped steam loco that hauls the popular train - must depart from Belgrave earlier in the day before heading over to Lakeside and pick up the carriages. Once the train returns to Lakeside and the passengers have all departed for home, the NGG must return to Belgrave where the crew will clean out the ash, fill the water tanks, and ready it for the following evening's service. This photo is the result of careful planning, lots of trial and error over a couple of nights on location, and the end result has been lit with four off-camera flashes triggered wirelessly using Canon's radio controller system.
The headlight of Puffing Billy's 8A pierces the darkness as it roars through Selby with an early evening crew training trip from Belgrave.

Steam at night

The headlight of Puffing Billy's 8A pierces the darkness as it roars through Selby with an early evening crew training trip from Belgrave.
Evoking scenes from the 1940s, our patient model Matt poses in the cab door of K163 during a night photo shoot at Newport Workshops during the biennial Open Days weekend. K163 is visiting Newport for some essential maintenance, making good use of the skills and resources available at this historic site.

Night shift

Evoking scenes from the 1940s, our patient model Matt poses in the cab door of K163 during a night photo shoot at Newport Workshops during the biennial Open Days weekend. K163 is visiting Newport for some essential maintenance, making good use of the skills and resources available at this historic site.
K163, K153, and R761 simmer away outside the weighbridge at Newport Workshops during the 2020 Open Days weekend. This is a composite of three photographs with different lighting effects used in each shot. In addition to the sodium yard light, additional lighting is courtesy of three off-camera flashes and a Milwauke 18V battery torch

Night at Newport

K163, K153, and R761 simmer away outside the weighbridge at Newport Workshops during the 2020 Open Days weekend. This is a composite of three photographs with different lighting effects used in each shot. In addition to the sodium yard light, additional lighting is courtesy of three off-camera flashes and a Milwauke 18V battery torch
The last few droplets leak out of the watering hose at Lakeside station after filling up the tanks on 12A, which is captured powering off up the platform to run around its empty carriages before returning to Nobelius Siding and picking up passengers for the journey back to Belgrave.

Watering stop

The last few droplets leak out of the watering hose at Lakeside station after filling up the tanks on 12A, which is captured powering off up the platform to run around its empty carriages before returning to Nobelius Siding and picking up passengers for the journey back to Belgrave.
After uncoupling from its empty carriages in platform 2, the crew of 12A prepare to run around and take water from the opposite platform before returning to Nobelius Siding to pick up the dinner train passengers.

Lakeside

After uncoupling from its empty carriages in platform 2, the crew of 12A prepare to run around and take water from the opposite platform before returning to Nobelius Siding to pick up the dinner train passengers.
On a freezing cold and miserably wet spring evening, the crew of 12A are about to move off up the platform at Lakeside after taking water.

Lakeside Silhouettes

On a freezing cold and miserably wet spring evening, the crew of 12A are about to move off up the platform at Lakeside after taking water.
After dropping off passengers at Nobelius Siding - aka, The Packing Shed - for their sit-down dinner in the heritage fruit packing building, 12A takes water at Lakeside station on a cold and still spring evening in 2018.

Night at Lakeside

After dropping off passengers at Nobelius Siding - aka, The Packing Shed - for their sit-down dinner in the heritage fruit packing building, 12A takes water at Lakeside station on a cold and still spring evening in 2018.
Steam and smoke blend into one another as 12A prepares to depart Menzies Creek with a dinner train for Nobelius Siding.

At night

Steam and smoke blend into one another as 12A prepares to depart Menzies Creek with a dinner train for Nobelius Siding.
Night train regular 12A roars uphill through Selby on a frosty spring evening in 2018 with a dinner train bound for Nobelius Siding.

Darkness Surrounds

Night train regular 12A roars uphill through Selby on a frosty spring evening in 2018 with a dinner train bound for Nobelius Siding.
Under the watchful eye of Steamrail's chief fitter, the V/Line crew drop the fire of R761 at Newport after another successful "Snow Train" to Traralgon.

Days end

Under the watchful eye of Steamrail's chief fitter, the V/Line crew drop the fire of R761 at Newport after another successful "Snow Train" to Traralgon.
It's nearly the end of the day for the Steamrail volunteers, but one vital task remains: dropping the fire. On coal-burning locomotives a bed of hot coals fuels the engine, heating the water in the boiler, creating steam which drives the pistons. Once the loco's duties are done for the day, the accumulated ash and whatever remains of the coal fire is dropped at a designated ash pit, ready for whatever maintenance needs to take place to keep these historic engines operational. After hauling the Snow Train from Melbourne to Traralgon and back, R761's fire is dropped outside the weighbridge at Newport workshops.

Dropping fire

It's nearly the end of the day for the Steamrail volunteers, but one vital task remains: dropping the fire. On coal-burning locomotives a bed of hot coals fuels the engine, heating the water in the boiler, creating steam which drives the pistons. Once the loco's duties are done for the day, the accumulated ash and whatever remains of the coal fire is dropped at a designated ash pit, ready for whatever maintenance needs to take place to keep these historic engines operational. After hauling the Snow Train from Melbourne to Traralgon and back, R761's fire is dropped outside the weighbridge at Newport workshops.
Having gone for a spin on the turntable at Emerald, 12A faces Belgrave in the yard at Emerald, waiting to cross a dinner train.

Flipped

Having gone for a spin on the turntable at Emerald, 12A faces Belgrave in the yard at Emerald, waiting to cross a dinner train.
K190 is oiled by a Steamrail volunteer during a Rail Scenes Photography night session at Newport.

Late night preparation

K190 is oiled by a Steamrail volunteer during a Rail Scenes Photography night session at Newport.

All images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.