Nostalgic Night of Steam - Railroad Musem in Strasshof

Wow, wow and wow again.

25mm, 30 sec, f/5, ISO 400 

The sound, the heat, the smell, almost the taste of burning coal. Fantastic to say the least. 

My grandfather used to drive one of those during the war... there was one here in the museum built in 1942, and he must have been driving one of very similar type. To see all those locomotives aged back from end of 19th century breathing again is fantastic. And to see them at night with all the lights on was even better.

16mm, 4 min,  f/11, ISO 200

So many memories came back when I used to visit my grandparents as a kid, back in late 70s  many of those steam engines were still in use, I used to visit engine house in Białogard (Belgard). I loved it as kid and still have some special feeling about trains especially older ones. I bet, I know, I am not the only one. Those nostalgic trips bring something special.

16mm, 1 min,  f/8, ISO 800

Somehow I am sorry those times are gone forever.

16mm, 20 sec,  f/8, ISO 100

I stood on museum's platform between three massive black breathing hot engines, with steam all over me, smell of metal lubricant (it has this specific smell), heat, whistles whistling from time to time, and felt like if I moved back in time. Then suddenly comes the sound of movement... whistttlllleeeeeeeee, pppooooffff, ppppoooofff, pppoooffff, more steam and this time thicker steam, and those huge steel wheels and siphons make first lazy move, and ppoooff again, and they start wee bit faster, and faster, finally whole monster scrolls away, and you are standing literally less than a meter away, following its lights vanishing in night's darkness. 

Fantastic! Wicked!!

I stood there and did not want to move an inch for quite a while, I could not simply. I breathed and digested the atmosphere with all my senses and sensors. I wish they did steam shows more often. There is so much to see there and I plan special visit to cover the whole lot. 

Was not alone, I bet similar feelings were shared by crowds who flooded the place with me. I do not remember seeing so many people with cameras and tripods in one place.  It was tough to find a spot without people and without standing tripod. Everyone wanted to capture spirits of this magic night.

21mm, 1/4s,  f/8, ISO 3200

Back to earth... for those places, ultra wide angle lens. I used mainly 16mm range, tripod of course and exposure times of 30s to 4 minutes. To get some details of black locomotives at night you really need to overexpose. During 4 hours or so I took only about 30 pictures, and I am happy with those. 

Time flew away so fast, you cannot simply believe. I am already looking forward to next year trip to Strasshof for steamy night.

Cheers

Jerzy