View allAll Photos Tagged Searchlight
Sunlight beams through the clouds, illuminating the green hills of the Santa Ynez valley. Seen from Figueroa Mountain.
A southbound manifest powered by two Norfolk Southern locomotives passes between the iconic US&S searchlight signals that guard the ground level KCT trackage at Santa Fe Junction. These signals were originally installed by the Kansas City Terminal during the Steam Era, and still stand as a testament to time as most mainline searchlights have fallen in recent years.
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KCT North-South Corridor
Santa Fe Junction
Downtown, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
June 23, 2025
Canon EOS 77D
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
On the California Northern’s West Valley, most of the searchlights have had the heads replaced or torn down altogether. However, a few pairs of these searchlights have survived, even though only a single pair remain in service. This set clearly is not operational, as one signal pole lies on the ground while the other signal sits out of frame standing. With the signal mechanism removed, boxes stripped of electrical components, and covered in rust, these old signals are just a shell of what this line was back in the day. Today, only one regularly scheduled train runs this section of the line, which only a few decades ago would have seen multiple. Even though the line has decreased in traffic, once in awhile the familiar sound of EMD 645 prime movers can be heard with the CFNR’s last two remaining EMD motors hauling the Cortena Job. Unfortunately, this pair has been split up since this trip and these units are on borrowed time. Although I don’t know the fate of the 2269, the trailing motor 1570 has had its fate sealed with a court order demanding its retirement as soon as possible and plans for scrapping the unit.
On a cold March afternoon, Union Pacific 7889 could be seen dragging a loaded gypsum train into the small mountain town of Portola, California. The distant storm clouds to the east had given way to plentiful sunshine across the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Shortly after, this train would stop for a crew change before continuing a late evening journey down the Feather River Route. Destined for Famoso, it wouldn’t be until the following morning when this train would arrive in the tiny Central Valley community north of Bakersfield.
UP 7889 — OEGFO 27 — Portola, California
March 27th, 2022
jakemiillephotography.com
The week we were in Montana, MRL's last SD45 was running back and forth on the LAUBOZ job. An afternoon departure from Laurel M-F, this job brings cars to Bozeman for the Bozeman & Logan locals.
Here, MRL 355 splits the searchlights at Park City not long after departing Laurel.
MRL LB (Laurel to Bozeman and return)
MRL SD45 #355
MRL SD40-2XR #263
Park City, MT
May 2nd, 2022
#233, the northbound Empire Service for Albany, rolls under the MP 83 intermediates at Staatsburg, New York on the historic Water Level Route along the Hudson River. Dating back to either the 50s or 60s, this signal bridge is one of a few NYC-era signal installations on the Hudson Line between Poughkeepsie and Hudson which are probably some of the last of their kind on the entire Water Level Route between Chicago and New York.
A quartet of GE products rolls past an old SP searchlight still protecting Chaney Jct in west Houston. At Chaney, the Freight Main of UP's Houston Sub (that this train is on) rejoins the Passenger Main, which goes off to the right to Downtown Houston and the Amtrak Station.
In June 2024 UP erected new Vader signals here, so these searchlights are unfortunately not long for this world.
Empty UP Rock Train
UP C44ACM #6290
UP C45ACCTE #7382
UP C45ACCTE #7722
UP C44AC #6711
Houston, TX
December 4th, 2023
For many years Norden held the last active searchlights on Donner Pass. Though several older signal bridges like this one had turned searchlights, this one stayed in service even after the other searchlights were torn out in favor of newer Safetrans. However, by the mid 2010s these signals were running on borrowed time but despite that managed to survive up until Thanksgiving Day 2022. In late October 2021, just over a year before the signals were torn down, the ZLTG2 was seen rolling past the old signals as it approaches Donner Summit. By this point the new Safetran Vaders had already been put up a while ago and were waiting for their moment to enter service. Today, there’s no remains of the Norden searchlights but at least some, such as the signal bridge, have been sent to new homes where they wait to be put up on public display.
Here's another from our epic high speed westbound chase of Montana Rail Link’s Laurel Bozeman freight (LAUBOZ) which makes a 250 mile round trip turn between its namesake yards five days a week. Knowing that the classic Northern Pacific era searchlight signals will all be gone soon with the ongoing progress toward PTC installation we made a concerted effort to shoot them where ever we could. This nice set at MP 31 on MRL's Second Sub. protects the east end of 9143 ft Rapids siding.
Unopposed the whole way, this train just flew on clear blocks for 100 miles excepting one brief pause to get past a signal gang at Park City working to kill off the the searchlights. It was a challenge at times trying to keep up with the pair of rebuild SD40-2XRs MRL 263 and 250. The former was originally built as a straight SD40 in Apr. 1966 as CNW 891 and the latter as an SD40-2 in Apr. 1974 as BN 6377.
Countless articles have been written about the MRL over the past 35 years of its existence and if you care to learn more download this great set courtesy of Trains Magazine:
www.trains.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/TRN-MRL.pdf
Stillwater County, Montana
Wednesday September 7, 2022
Reading and Northern's T1 4-8-4 2102 was rolling through East Mahonoy Junction on the way to Jim Thorpe with a winter Reading Rambler.
It's fantastic to have this beast running so often so close to me. However, the legions of foam that also have this in their backyard have also descended upon the Reading and Northern.
The entitled moronic behavior of the younger railfans running around on this trip forced me to question not only hitting up the 2102 but humanity itself.
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Finding a foreign leader on CP 492 out of Stinson yard was a nice surprise this afternoon. An even nicer surprise was discovering operational searchlights on the former SOO approach towards M&J junction.
Superior, Wisconsin
UP 8796
CP Train 4WMH-6 approaches Demo Road on 3/6/2021.
Canadian Pacific Railway
Train: 4WMH-6
3/6/2021
Sandwich Academy Grant Twp, ME
CP Moosehead Subdivision
Csx 882 leads G946-02 heads south to Georgia.
G946-02 Cincinnati, OH - Waycross, GA
(Originally from Walbridge, OH)
CSXT 882 ES44AH (YN3)
CSXT 891 ES44AH (YN3)
Driving up to Maine this summer, I had the perfect image in my head - with searchlights, a B&M signal gantry, and a Phase III locomotive - all featured in the same frame.
A few days ago, that dream became a reality. On a dark, dreary afternoon, Train 686 slithers onto the siding at Ocean Park with the 90406 - Amtrak's only former F40 still rocking the company's extremely photogenic Phase III livery - doing the honors. She's coming to a stop to wait for Phase VI-painted 108 as it roars by on outbound train 683. These gorgeous signals and bridge don't have much time left.
Not long before coming out to Michigan I had gotten word from some buddies that the Lansing - Howell local (L305) was going to have an SD50-3 and SD40-2 on it when I was out there. SD50s aren’t exactly common to come across these days due to their reliability and out west are unheard of. This info meant I was going to try and shoot it knowing the former Pere Marquette line was on was almost entirely protected by searchlights. Originally, me and the others were going to meet up and chase it on Thursday but plans changed so I had to go on Tuesday instead. After getting to Howell I set up knowing the SD40 would lead into town but after awhile the train showed up shoving back. After backing to the diamond over the Great Lakes Central the conductor decoupled the cars then went back into town where they stopped. The crew and dispatcher chatted for a bit about many things including meeting a train, car pickups, and permission to pass a red signal. After getting permission to pass the red they went up the line to Fowlerville to pick up their cars for Lansing and met L303. After departing Fowlerville they raced back to Lansing. The train is seen passing by some Pere Marquette era searchlights at Okemos on their final few miles to the yard in Lansing.
New Hampshire North Coast's D7 splits the Boston & Maine searchlights as they swing off CSX's Waterville Subdivision main and onto home rails at Rollinsford. Though it doesn't show from this angle, this day's train featured NHN's all-green set, which justified a very short night of sleep and an early morning.
60163 'Tornado' passes Searchlight Lane hauling 1Z91 Birmingham New Street to Carlisle on 28/03/2026.
Loaded grain train G PHPPTN9 23 rumbles south past the searchlights protecting East Leavenworth on the St. Joe Sub.
Canadian National train 433 was roaring westbound through Bayview Junction in Hamilton behind GP40 9307 and a trio of GP9s amid some vintage US&S searchlight signals in 1987.
Norfolk Southern 4851, a recently rebuilt General Electric AC44C6M, leads westbound NS manifest W3K between the iconic searchlight style signals at Santa Fe Junction on a cloudy March afternoon. NS 4851, formerly NS C44-9W 9583, received a striking livery honoring the Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia Railroad at their Juniata Shops. The TAG was a small class 1 railroad that operated in its namesake states between 1911 and 1971 before joining the Southern system.
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KCT North-South Corridor
Santa Fe Junction
Downtown, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
March 7, 2025
Canon EOS 60D
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
CN 368 with IC 2722 leading is passing a pair of searchlight signals at MP 37.9 of the Kingston Sub as it sets off cars into the yard at Coteau.
The un-controlled searchlight signal stands tall at mile 19.5 Laggan Subdivision as Canadian Pacific’s flagship train 100-30 races eastward in the late morning of July 31, 2024.
The westbound approach signal to Duplainville, is standing proudly across the street from the Brookfield MOW depot on this fine July 1997 evening, as the sun finishes it's day behind the clouds. It won't be long, and this Milwaukee Road placed signal will be removed and a modern cheap version will be placed a mile down the tracks, where it still stands.
Milepost 99.5 Signal
Brookfield, WI.
July 1997
Union Pacific GP38N No. 578 and GP38-2 No. 724 make a seven-car set out at CP Becks in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 17, 2023. UP 578 was built Southern Pacific GP38-2 No. 4815 in May 1980. The vintage GRS "searchlight" signals stand tall in spite of their age, installed when this was Rio Grande's Salt Lake City - Ogden, Subdivision 7 main line.
It was a nippy early spring morning on the Illinois 40 overpass above the former Santa Fe main line at Edelstein, Illinois. Then this brightly-colored fellow landed on a power line, staring right at me, posing with the endangered Santa Fe searchlights as backdrop. I couldn't resist this bright red cardinal's showmanship, so I snapped his picture before he fluttered off to his next stop.
Similar to a previous upload from a wintry Derwent water,but this time the spotlight has changed to a searchlight.This was a great spectacle as the sun started to penetrate the cloud layer,then burst through with this beam of light.As is quite often with the weather in the lakes,a few minutes later the wet stuff was falling and it was time to return home.
EXIF....F16....2 SECONDS....ISO 100....14MM...SINGH RAY ND3 REV. GRAD + KOOD ND2 FILTERS
Berkshire & Eastern train MOED departs Mechanicville, NY on a frigid December morning. This was my first experience on the old Boston & Maine, and while mundane NS power wasn't exactly what I was looking for, the searchlight signals were. The ex-B&M (and ex D&H too) mainline still has a plethora of searchlights, which in the age of Safetrans is a very welcome sight.
Rolling west down the Feather Route, Union Pacific 7889 leads a loaded gypsum train through East Sloat. On the eastern portion of the Canyon Subdivision (Oroville-Portola), you can still find Western Pacific-era searchlight signals. These signals have been standing guard for decades in the rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains. Threatened by progress, weather and sometimes fire, only time may tell how long these signals will stay in service.
Gypsum trains are relatively unique to this route. The gypsum is mined in Empire, NV and carried west to the farm fields of California. Gypsum is used as a form of fertilizer by farmers throughout the Central Valley. The white gypsum powder is carried in open top hopper cars, which creates quite a dust cloud as the train races by.
UP 7889 — OEGFO 27 — Sloat, California
March 27th, 2022
jakemiillephotography.com
One of Florida Central's last CF-7s, FCEN 48, pulls out of the siding at N.E. Kissimmee. Work was being done to replace the older jointed rail with newer continuously welded rail. The searchlight signals have since been been replaced.
A searchlight signal displays a clear aspect on a clear night in Sharon, Wisconsin. With such prime conditions, we took to some astrophotography, and the searchlights made as prime foreground elements.
The Milky Way is present in this frame, but not visible, mainly due to my lack of expertise in this style of photography. My friend Kyle Krinninger did a much better job in the matter. His photo is viewable here: www.flickr.com/photos/kylekrinninger/48259474527/in/datep...
CP 6069 breezes east through Plymouth with empty rail cars and a caboose on the rear. The searchlight has now been replaced and CP SD40-2s cannot lead in the USA anymore. A scene that is now history.
DB Cargo's 66047 'Maritime Intermodal Two" heads south through Searchlight Lane on 6G71, returning a rake of empty china clay tanks from Cliff Vale, Stoke, to Bescot Yard.
Not amazing conditions, but when it's one of two remaining maritime livery locos I've yet to snap I couldn't pass it up, particularly when hot on the heels of 66587. I'm also a firm believer in photting in all conditions, not just when the sun's out and makes you look good...
Yes milepost 5 is cool, but...no love for their searchlights? Here NSM 674 split a pair of searchlights as it leads the morning train up the hill from Silver Bay bound for Babbitt for another load of iron ore.
The searchlight signal is becoming a rarer and rarer commodity thanks to equipment standardization. Several of the old SP searchlights in the Houston area are under threat of replacement, like this one at N Main on the Freight Main of UP's Houston Sub.
Here, the westbound Sunset Limited passes CP LF366, the N Main St hold signal, as it takes a roundabout journey to the Houston Amtrak Station. Normally the train runs straight to the depot on the Passenger Main, but today congestion in the Houston Terminal led to a longer routing.
In the distance is the Burnett Transit Center on Houston's Red Line light rail. Proposals have called for a big, new Houston passenger station at that location, but only time will tell if it ever gets built.
This searchlight signal would come down a few weeks after this photo was taken.
AMT1 07 (Westbound Sunset Limited)
AMTK P42DC #134
AMTK P42DC #4
Houston, TX
June 7th, 2025