Proto Los Angelas, circa 1950, 20-inch adjustable wrench, still serviceable today. Quality never goes out of style. Image spans 3 in. across.

It is nice to see a barn being maintained, not in mint condition, but perfectly serviceable.

... well, we went down to Dewerstone Woods at Shaugh Prior, Tony & I, thinking that this might be a target rich environment for fungi. Living in a world of fantasy as it goes with hardly any serviceable subjects to entertain us, lots of fungi around if you looked hard enough but most of these were 'broken', simply uninteresting or in poor locations. This little clump was as good as it got for us so we shot a few off and thereby climbed a little further up the learning curve so all good.

20 shot focus stack, still not enough!

Houston Texas

This vine and its fruit are often called Vegetable Sponge, Dishcloth Gourd, Dishrag Gourd, Rag Gourd, Sponge Gourd and a host of other names. It's LUFFA CYLINDRICA.

Vegetable Sponge has served humanity for so long, and has been spread across the warmer parts of the entire world so effectively, that it's hard to say where the wild ancestor lived, though it's assumed to have been in Africa or Asia. A similar species of the same genus and with many of the same features sometimes is encountered, Luffa acutangula, but its long fruits are more distinctly ribbed and angled than our Río Lagartos one.

Not only can you make a good washrag from the mature fruit's fibrous interior -- its "endocarp," in botanical terms -- but also the young fruit can be eaten fresh or cooked as a vegetable, especially in countries where cultivars have been developed with eating in mind. The roasted seeds are edible and contain an oil that is both edible and serviceable in the manufacture of soap. Goats crave the fruits and leaves, and bees feed on the flowers.

To top it off, it's medicinal. Root preparations are taken for the treatment of constipation and as a diuretic, and in Gabon it's used for nose cancer. In Tanzania a root decoction and the leaf sap are drunk to reduce the danger of abortion. Well, such uses just go on and on.

I don't think there's a sight quite like this anywhere else in Australia. What appears a ramshackle structure is still serviceable, and simply can't be replaced for visual impact. It's the perfect subject for an early morning shot. Black and white suits it, and the exposure time helps make that water look silvery in the light.

Enlarge this shot and see who really has the run of the place. He's sitting up on the roof.

On the damp and misty morning of Friday 17th January 2014, one of Wolsztyn depot's then two serviceable 'Ol49' class 2-6-2s, Ol49-59, emerges from the murky darkness as it storms away from Wolsztyn station heading the 6.07am departure to Leszno, giving some local residents an early morning wake-up call. With no active steam locomotives currently at Wolsztyn at the end of 2022, such a remarkable spectacle in Europe in the 21st century will not be so during winter 2022/2023, allowing some residents to continue to sleep soundly for a little longer.

© Gordon Edgar - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission

From Luftfartsmuset i Bodø.

The Gladiator pilots of the Norwegian Jagevingen (fighter flight)[33] were based at Fornebu Airport. On 9 April, the first day of the invasion of Norway, the seven serviceable aircraft managed to shoot down five German aircraft: two Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters, two He 111 bombers and one Fallschirmjäger-laden Ju 52 transport. One Gladiator was shot down during the air battle by the future experte Helmut Lent, while two were strafed and destroyed while refueling and rearming at Fornebu airport. The remaining four operational fighters were ordered to land wherever they could away from the base. The Gladiators landed on frozen lakes around Oslo and were abandoned by their pilots, then wrecked by souvenir-hunting civilians.

Famous old pier at Weston super mare with the life boat station and boat ramp still looks serviceable

I found this abandoned boat on the beach. It had obviously seen better days and had been a very serviceable vessel for the fisherman who owned it.

I used some filters to enhance it and make the image more painterly.

Its June 1976 were at Proviso IL with 15 GP-30's stored serviceable do to a recession we were having in from 1974 through 1976 .within a few months most of these units were put back in service, Happy 30 Thursday

Antwerp, Estación Central.

(...) Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Austerlitz began, in reply to my questions about the history of the building of Antwerp station, when Belgium, a little patch of yellowish gray barely visible on the map of the world, spread its sphere of influence to the African continent with its colonial enterprises, when deals of huge proportions were done on the capital markets and raw-materials exchanges of Brussels, and the citizens of Belgium, full of boundless optimism, believed that their country, which had been subject so long to foreign rule and was divided and disunited in itself, was about to become a great new economic power—at that time, now so long ago although it determines our lives to this day, it was the personal wish of King Leopold, under whose auspices such apparently inexorable progress was being made, that the money suddenly and abundantly available should be used to erect public buildings which would bring international renown to his aspiring state. One of the projects thus initiated by the highest authority in the land was the central station of the Flemish metropolis, where we were sitting now, said Austerlitz; designed by Louis Delacenserie, it was inaugurated in the summer of 1905, after ten years of planning and building, in the presence of the King himself.

Delacenserie's eclecticism, uniting past and future in the Centraal Station with its marble stairway in the foyer and the steel and glass roof spanning the platforms, was in fact a logical stylistic approach to the new epoch, said Austerlitz, and it was also appropriate, he continued, that in Antwerp Station the elevated level from which the gods looked down on visitors to the Roman Pantheon should display, in hierarchical order, the deities of the nineteenth century—mining, industry, transport, trade, and capital. For halfway up the walls of the entrance hall, as I must have noticed, there were stone escutcheons bearing symbolic sheaves of corn, crossed hammers, winged wheels, and so on, with the heraldic motif of the beehive standing not, as one might at first think, for nature made serviceable to mankind, or even industrious labor as a social good, but symbolizing the principle of capital accumulation.

And Time, said Austerlitz, represented by the hands and dial of the clock, reigns supreme among these emblems. The clock is placed above the only baroque element in the entire ensemble, the cruciform stairway which leads from the foyer to the platforms, just where the image of the emperor stood in the Pantheon in a line directly prolonged from the portal; as governor of a new omnipotence it was set even above the royal coat of arms and the motto Endracht maakt macht. The movements of all travelers could be surveyed from the central position occupied by the clock in Antwerp Station, and conversely all travelers had to look up at the clock and were obliged to adjust their (...)

W. G. Sebald, Austerlitz, 2001.

A westbound St. Maries River Railroad freight, with eleven loads, tiptoes across Benewah Lake trestle west of St. Maries, Idaho, on the early autumn day of September 30, 2016. During this time, only GP9 103 was serviceable for round trips to the Union Pacific interchange at Plummer, with Nos. 101 and 102 down for shop time. Occasionally, they use one of its SW1200s for this train as well.

From Luftfartsmuset i Bodø.

The Gladiator pilots of the Norwegian Jagevingen (fighter flight)[33] were based at Fornebu Airport. On 9 April, the first day of the invasion of Norway, the seven serviceable aircraft managed to shoot down five German aircraft: two Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters, two He 111 bombers and one Fallschirmjäger-laden Ju 52 transport. One Gladiator was shot down during the air battle by the future experte Helmut Lent, while two were strafed and destroyed while refueling and rearming at Fornebu airport. The remaining four operational fighters were ordered to land wherever they could away from the base. The Gladiators landed on frozen lakes around Oslo and were abandoned by their pilots, then wrecked by souvenir-hunting civilians.

IC 1004 SD70 looks good in CN colors. It is in a stored serviceable running condition at Pokegama Yard in Superior WI. It is available for horsepower if needed should any train north or south be a bit short on power.

The first rays of a new day shine upon the faces of these young Milwaukee warriors that have fallen from grace before their time. Lonnie captured the General Electric locomotives in The Milwaukee Road's Air Line yard as they wait for disposition. The MILW 5701, a U33C was built by GE in January 1968 as their 8001 and classed as 30G-RS6, even though it was 3300 HP. It would be renumbered to MILW 5701 a few years later. A short 14 years later, the 5701 would be retired.

Sitting next to the 5701 is U30C 5654, which was built in August 1974 for The Milwaukee Road. With only a bit over 6 years of service, the 5654 was stored serviceable. After the Soo Line takeover, it, along with the remaining U30C's were moved to Shorham Shops before being sold to GE for rebuilding. The Former Milwaukee 5654 would go through GE's Super 7 Program and emerge as GECX 3007.

MILW 5701, 5654

Milwaukee, WI.

August 1984

Lonnie Maves photo

D.A.Longley Collection

All Rights Reserved

Wow, it's hard to believe this was already over two years ago. I thought I'd post this frame as it's finally been confirmed that BNSF 2098 (now CN 4957) has been repainted into CN colours after being purchased a year or so ago by CN following a lengthy stay on horsepower hours. Here it is while under assignment to Brantford back in June 2023, taking the lead of L581 as they begin heading back home after working some industries on the glass lead in Milton; a task normally completed by L551.

The sun was just setting over the horizon and due to the cloud cover in the area it illuminated the sky above in a mixture of pink & purple, to this day I'm not sure I can recall such a dramatic scene while trackside and I feel it really gives this shot an extra punch.

The 2098 as well as a decent bunch of other BNSF geeps were lent to CN by BNSF for the supposed reasoning of repaying horsepower hours back around the springtime of 2023. Normally horsepower hours are repaid between the class 1s with standard road power, but CN being desperate for 4-axles since the retirement of the GMD-1s as well as the GP9s getting older and weaker lead to them doing this unconventional method. It appears that most units BNSF lent were serviceable engines that would otherwise be in storage due to a surplus of 4-axle power within their own network, so eventually CN was able to purchase most of the engines they were currently "borrowing". As of 2025, some are still roaming around with their BNSF identities fully intact, some have been patched out, and others sent to shops for overhauls and repaints, which was unfortunately the case with the 2098. Initially I was hoping for a patch job that would leave the stripes on the nose intact, but no such luck.

With that being said, hopefully you enjoy what was probably the best shot I managed of this guy before it's makeover.

Behind a now retired C30-7, 3 Tilden brings empties for the mine through the interlocking at Eagle Mills Junction. A few months after this photo, this unit managed to throw a rod and earn itself an early retirement. The trailing C30 is stored serviceable, however a return to service continues to appear more and more unlikely.

I've been looking at this photo for 4 years and still can't quite justify the compostion. It was taken with a dodgy (although quite serviceable) camera, and I had no idea what I was doing. But, I ... Just. Can't. Let. It. Go. This is in the long-abandoned workshop of Owen Moreland of Aroya, Colorado.

A civil engineering marvel, modern architectural design at the forefront. To be able to make this work of art a serviceable building is simply incredible, to be weather proof, safe and serve a purpose as well as looking this good is genius as well as designing it so it can be cleaned.

My trusty Nikon D3300 showing its ability here. Its light small and with the 18-200 Nikkor onboard, so versatile.

The building was built from a prefab kit in the early 1900's.

From internet:

"The prefab bank kits were shipped to towns in two rail cars and were assembled in two days. Between 1905 and 1911 about 70 of these Commerce branches were built across the west. "

"Rockyford’s history book tells us The Canadian Bank of Commerce opened for business in Rockyford on May 18, 1914 with a staff of six. In 1916 the Bank closed its Strathmore branch and physically moved the present building from Strathmore to Rockyford’s Main Street.

To accomplish the move, the building was split in half and two 12-horse teams were employed to transport the two sections on rollers to Rockyford. Considering the lack of serviceable roads at this time, the magnitude of the project can be readily appreciated, the article concludes."

I composed this image while visiting Utah's Grafton Ghost Ttown, circa mid-1800's. Primitive fencing; still serviceable and attractive.

My father would brand this type of photo a "flock shot", a photograph with multiple points of interest. A few reasons why this one qualifies:

At left is the oldest existing train station in the State of Utah. The Lehi, Utah depot was constructed by the Utah Southern Railway in 1871. Today it serves as a museum of local history.

In front is a Union Pacific Scotchlight station sign, planted here 50+ years ago when Lehi was an integral part of the UP system. Today Lehi is just a turnaround point for a 10-mile branch. At right is a distant red flag that marks the end of serviceable track.

Behind the depot are multiple old buildings from an era when the UP yard along State Street was teaming with business.

UP 2027 is an SD40N, built Union Pacific SD40-2 No. 3283 by EMD in July 1974. Assigned to the LUL41 local on April 9, 2025, the classic EMD has more than 50 years of service on the UP.

prairie 5199 is to move to the west somerset line for the forthcoming season----which will , unless other arrangements are made , leave the llangollen line with currently only 2 serviceable steam locos for next year . 3802 and an industrial tank loco--let us hope that further locos become available

5199 is pictured here in winter light near carrog

Load Haul 'Tug' 60059 enters Edale climbing Normans Bank with the returning Stourton - Peak Forest stone empties, April 2nd 2007.

Always a very serviceable bold freight livery in my eyes, Load Haul were bought out by EWS.

I've probably taken at least ten times more photos of yellow warblers in the last five days than I have in all of my life combined. I've waited for years for them to show up in the yard and I can't really explain their sudden appearance. They are regulars at the local ponds, but I always see them high up in the trees or through a tangle of branches, and I have never managed a serviceable photo of one. I'm not sure how many separate individuals have come to the yard, but I've seen at least three different patterns on the ones that have come. I guess maybe it just took one stumbling by chance upon the water and then others followed. I've since noticed that if I mist the ferns with the garden hose they (along with the wilson's and orange-crowned warblers) love to take baths by rubbing themselves franticly in the fronds. Yellow warbler on bracken fern, backyard Olympia.

The crew of 7 Tilden makes their first of two trips back to the yard with ore loads. They’re seen here from a vantage point atop the popular rock cut at Eagle Mills Jct.

Todays power is the LS&I’s U30C pair, with one still being in its original BN paint, and the other being in LS&I’s green paint, they make for a striking pair, especially when pulling ore jennies that date back before World War II.

Unfortunately their days are numbered as they will be stored serviceable for the replacement AC4400CWs on the way. It is unknown how long they will actually last, but it certainly won’t be too much longer.

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11 years ago today, this Beriev A-42 Albatros was sadly only serviceable enough for a water taxi at the 2006 Gelendzhik Gidroaviasalon.

When my father and I visited Salt Lake City on July 23, 1977, we drove through South Yard to see what was going on. We were all but shocked to see this amazing lash up of EMDs stored serviceable at 1st South and 5th West. The group included DD35A units No. UP 74, UP 78, UP 71, UP 72, UP 77, UP 83, UP 73, and UP 79. A second group with one DD35A and six DD35s were stored further north in the yard, all waiting for traffic levels to pick up. It wouldn't be long before all were hauling freight again.

LS&I's two remaining serviceable UBoats, 3000 and 3009, run light power toward the Tilden Mine on the 3 Tilden job through the rock cut at Eagle Mills Junction.

LSI 3009

LSI 3000

The Buffalo and Pittsburgh's Dubois Yard Job/Local takes head room out of the yard knocking down the northbound CP-FALLS CREEK pot signal.

They would shortly after leave northbound to go spot and pull cars at the Owens Illinois Glass plant in nearby Brockway, PA. Despite having the camera set up on a tripod I somehow managed to bump the AF ring prior to taking this photo, so it's not really as sharp as it normally would be. But it's still serviceable thankfully.

This place is only visited in summer, that road is not maintained during winter. It is serviceable now since there is not very deep snow so far in this season - Oppland Norway

Continuing with the blue EMDs, we turn now to an overcast summer afternoon in Connecticut, where we find New England Central train 608 rolling south through Stafford Springs.

I normally don't go out too much in the summer months, but anytime NECR puts together a matching pair of Blue & Golds, I'll try and get there, especially as their numbers have dwindled - there are two left serviceable on NECR, and one on the neighboring Connecticut Southern.

For more NECR action (and inaction), click on the album that I finally got around to making.

Nighttime temperatures dropped to 25 F, but the morning temperatures were climbing quickly as the colors slowly changed in the cottonwoods.

This is a working ranch, with some historical items, some new, all serviceable. The blue flatbed truck gets special care, and is referred to as "Mr. Jones."

Mt Yale, elevation 14,196 feet, looms behind the ranch.

The weighbridge operative at RMU Banovici's Oskova washery notes down the necessary details as each wagon passes through the coal loader. Beyond, in the exchange sidings serving the output of the Banovici mines with its output destined primarily for Tuzla thermo-electric power plant, Yugoslavian 1957-built 'Yankee tank' No.62 125 runs past the visiting Kreka Mines 1944-built 'Kriegslok' No.33 248. This proved to be the end of an era, for this last remaining serviceable 'USA' tank of the former Yugoslavia was declared an outright failure on this evening and according to the mining company's railway staff it is believed unlikely that it will ever steam again.

© Gordon Edgar - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission

The trouble with panning against a clear sky is that no-one can tell! But there is plenty of prop blur in the picture of this Spitfire Mk Vc, serial AR501, a genuine survivor of WW2.

Regarding the large letters on the side of the plane: DU was the squadron code, in this case 312 (Czech) squadron, and the E is the individual identifier for this aircraft within that squadron. Occasionally, squadron codes would be changed to confuse the enemy. Squadrons nominally had 12 serviceable aircraft, although this number varied according to need and circumstance. The small black AR501 is the aircraft's serial number, which would usually stay with it for its life, being assigned at the time it was ordered. Serial numbers were issued in blocks, but gaps were left in the sequences, again so that the enemy couldn't assess the state of aircraft production by examining serial numbers.

This is the Shuttleworth Collection's Spitfire Mk Vc, flown here at Old Warden by Paul Stone.

Unusable fuel

Stone structures are rather rare on the Illinois prairie. When the early settlers first came, buildings were put up using native timber. Later sawn lumber from the north woods and locally made bricks became available. Early houses are sometimes dated by the materials they are made of. This old stone farmhouse is an anomaly. It takes skilled stone masons and rock quarries to make such a structure, something that would not normally be found on the early prairie. Nearby are other stone buildings… a stone school, a stone barn, and a stone two story mansion or two. Where did the skilled laborers come from? This is not the work of prairie farmers or backwoods men. In 1839 an Anglican Bishop named Philander Chase came to the unsettled Illinois prairie to build a magnificent theological seminary and college for young men. He convinced a group of skilled laborers and farmers to immigrate with him from England to found a settlement and build the college. Native sandstone was quarried and transported and soon stone structures began to dot the landscape. Well built and durable, these 180 year old structures are still very serviceable and worthy of preservation. The old rural graveyards of western Peoria County are filled with the grave markers of these early English Pioneers. The college still stands at the settlement known as Robin’s Nest. A magnificent stone memorial marks the spot where Bishop Chase was laid to rest surrounded by the graves of his countrymen. Many English surnames survive among the people of this region all because an influential man had a dream. Cheers.

With the majoritiy of the C40-8M fleet being stored serviceable and having a questionable future, this photo seemed appropriate to share. Having spent several hours working Flint yard, westbound L501 makes quick work of the small, quaint town of Morrice. During this time in late 2018 and into 2019 CN was experiencing a rather significant power shortage, so they leased several different types of engines. Everything from former CSX 8-40CWs to a group of SD60s in which, 3 were still painted from their prior owner being the SOO Line. The SOO unit came in the night before on an empty grain train, and when I learned that 501 had this engine set, it was an easy choice to drive and see it. A few texts to good friend and fellow photographer Kyle Korienek yielded me this photo. Sadly, this site will never happen again as the former Meal 'n' More Site shown has been completely demolished and is just vacant ground. The CN 2407 is most likely stored awaiting its fate and the SOO 6020 is no longer on lease to the CN. Just goes too show, that what was yesterday, isn't today. I would like to extend a big word of thanks to Kyle for making this photo possible.

Some UP business comes through the wye at Seventh Street as the end of their journey is now in sight. A serviceable shot from the northern terminus of US 52.

1960 Mack B-61 Truck

This 1960 Mack is one of 137,000 B-model Mack trucks that were made between 1953 and 1966. Modern and aerodynamic in appearance, the B-series was developed in the late 1940s as the successor to the L-series, which was made from 1940 to 1956. The B-series was then replaced by the R-series, which was made for 40 years until it was discontinued in 2002 and replaced by the D-series. Some B-series Macks had five-speed transmissions, which was only possible because Mack engines have a wide RPM operating range.

Mack would always build whatever you wanted; they were and still are a custom manufacturer. The engine, transmission, and rear axle were all made by Mack. They were one of a few manufacturers to make all of their own parts. If, however, you wanted another brand of engine or transmission, they would put it in for you. The B-series was made into a variety of configurations; in addition to heavy trucks, there were fire trucks and school buses. These trucks were extremely durable and serviceable, and well regarded by truck buyers and operators.

Permanently docked at Pier 16 at the historic South Street Seaport is retired United States Coast Guard steam-powered Lightship LV-87 or Lightship AMBROSE. The Ambrose Channel refers to New York Harbor’s principal shipping channel which is a channel close to Sandy Hook in New Jersey as the dangerous and perilous sand bars and shoals in the lower harbor have always made it a challenge for ships approaching the wide mouth of New York Bay which basically includes the area between Sandy Hook (aka Jersey Shore), New York and Coney Island. This steel hulled vessel was made in 1907 and went into service in 1908 and served the Ambrose Channel until 1932. The Ambrose was modified in 1921 while in that service with a radio beacon, the first light vessel to have this great navigational tool for vessels in the treacherous New York Harbor especially when visibility was horrible. The United States Coast Guard donated the Ambrose (LV-87) to South Street Sea Port which moored it at Pier 16 in 1968 after being officially retired from official service in 1964 actually becoming a National Historic Landmark in 1989. This Ambrose is actually the third lightship in the Ambrose Channel which has a lightship in the channel going back to 1854, and in summer of 1967 the fifth and last lightship of the Ambrose Channel was replaced by a Texas Tower Lightstation referred to as Ambrose Station. That station was damaged by a tanker in 2008 and dismantled that same year replaced by flashing buoys.

I’ve toured and been onboard the AMBROSE (LV-87) Lightship several years back as it is open to public by South Street Seaport for a nominal fee during the Spring and Summer months, its interior quarters beautifully conserved. I couldn’t help thinking, the quarters weren’t very luxurious and spacious rather serviceable and utilitarian it must have been special kind of men who were stationed in one of these vessels. Let’s face it the great majority of the time, the vessel was anchored in the same area, being a sea vessel though, it was rocked and moved by wind and rain and treacherous currents of New York Harbor. It’s part of what’s always amazed & facinated me about those men and women (the wives as they were not officially part of the service for the most part with few exceptions) who served the United States Lighthouse Service, which eventually was rolled into the United States Coast Guard service and were on duty basically all time during their respective stints at lighthouses and in the case of the AMBROSE, lightships. Automation of beacons has made this role & occupation obsolete, but it’s still fascinating to read about their incredible sense of duty in protecting the waters where they are stationed. Furthermore New York Harbor prior to the advent of cheap commercial air travel, was the principal port for Trans-Atlantic travel, so the many ships of Red Star, Cunard and the like traversed the dangerous waters regularly during the golden era of luxury ship travel utilizing these beacon in the harbor.

So had the Titanic made it to New York during its maiden voyage in the early 20th century, it would have utilized this AMBROSE lightship as a guide as it entered the harbor but alas, as has been detailed in early postings on this photostream, only the survivors of the sunken vessel on the RMS Carpathia passed this beacon on the way to Peirs 59 and 54 in Manhattan.

Taken with Olympus E-5 using a Olympus Zuiko 12-60MM F2.8-4 lens using the Olympus’s internal art filter processed in Adobe Lightroom.

southstreetseaportmuseum.org/visit/street-of-ships/lights...

The final phase of clean up of the original Meal-N-More elevator in Morrice has begun, which is the removal of the classic field stone foundation. While most of the foundation was gone, the antiques that were left in the basement line the footprint of what was. After meeting L505 just west of here, CN Q116 gets rolling again with a short time BC Rail leader. With a majority of the barns on foreign railroads running as horsepower hours, a handful have been tagged "stored serviceable", and the balance still running on the property are what I would consider reaching the end of their time like the old Meal-N-More.

Reflectorized traffic signs, aging and dirty but still doing what they are supposed to do in the presence of headlights (or, in this case, a strobe).

From Galah to Astronaut. Two years ago when I shot this space at the entrance to Wimpole Lane in Spring Hill, Brisbane there was a galah here. I believe that mural, unless defaced was quite serviceable but our recent visit showed that it had been overpainted and replaced. We start to get an idea of the possible longevity or not of some of these works.

The original Galah was by artist Drule but it still features on his website below. He is also responsible for the new work. Wouldn't be good form just to paint someone else's work out would it. But because I couldn't find any reference to this on his site or elsewhere, you get to make your own mind up about what it could be about and perhaps to think of a name! For the time being anyway.

I am hopeless at that sort of thing so I am not even going to try!

Here is the previous work

flic.kr/p/2iqviTM

and here is Drule's website link.

streetartconcepts.com.au/gallery/

Taken with my first vintage lens, recently arrived from Ukraine. This was shot with a 1976 Helios 44mm f2 M-style screw mount (I recently overestimated its age, sorry). Verified not to be radioactive. Amazing how cheap these things are on eBay, but still perfectly serviceable with the right (cheap) adapter. Loving the slightly soft focus, if I can nail the manual focus. Some neighborhood shots of Magnolias in bloom.

The Cape Cod Central / Mass Coastal Railroad hosted their third annual Railfans Day this year, offering the rare opportunity to photograph their two serviceable (they also own a third) classic original New Haven FL9s coupled back to back just as they would have when new leading the Neptune or Day Cape Codder up from New York City back in the early 1960s.

New Haven 2011 and 2026 (blt. Sep. 1960 ans Sep. 1957 as NH 2038 and 2007 respectively) are leading the second of three trips from Bourne south to the festivities in Hyannis yard after atopping to pick up more visitors at Sanwich and West Barnstable along the way. The train is hustling past the osprey nest and over Bridge Creek through the tidal marsh at MP 70 on the MassDOT owned and Mass Coastal operated former New Haven Railroad Cape Mainline.

Barnstable, Massachusetts

Saturday August 16, 2025

Veteran EMU 483008 departs from Lake station (serving the namesake settlement which effectively serves as the dividing line of Sandown and Shanklin), the service been the 2D21 10.49 Ryde Pier Head-Shanklin for Island Line. This small halt opened in 1987 during the BR-era; much later than the rest of the line.

483008 first entered service with the London Underground in February 1940 and at the ripe age of 80+ years old was withdrawn (apparently) from service a few months later owing to a failure, with the rest of the Class 483 fleet following in January 2021. Thankfully it does appear that this unit, along with the remaining serviceable fleet, does have a secure future in preservation at various locations.

Taken with the assistance of a pole.

4-Car 4-VEC unit 485 044 reduced to a 2-car set (S10+S21) is seen waiting at Brading with the 12.11 Shanklin to Ryde Pier Head while 3-TIS unit strengthened to a 5-car set 486 036 (S7+S49+S44+S33) runs in with spray from the conductor rail while working the 12.07 Ryde Pier Head to Shankiln.

In 1985 the Isle of Wight was something of a railway backwater using ancient 1920's London Underground tube stock with most stations in a run down state as seen here with bare woodwork. With EMU vehicles cobbled together to make serviceable sets the unit numbers were somewhat superfluous and couldn't be relied upon to be accurate as seen here with both sets miss formed.

Parked on the spur track just north of the freight house in this former Boston and Maine yard are three veterans very much on home rails. All polished up and resting in the sun are 1949 vintage F7s 4266 and 4268 and 1957 built GP9 1741. The trio are all fully serviceable and are owned by the 470 Railroad Club of Portland, Maine but call the Conway Scenic Railroad home. I look forward to seeing the trio in action again on November 1 when the group's annual charter takes place. To learn more see the caption with this photo from last year's outing: flic.kr/p/2qx4Myq

Village of North Conway

Town of Conway, New Hampshire

Saturday August 2, 2025