ACH Photos

08/30/2026

Classic New Haven: The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail system is comprised of many lines from the heritage railroads from the region, one of the most notable being the New Haven. As the rays of a beautiful late August evening wash over the canal, the T's New Haven heritage unit is right at home taking the Cape Flyer back to Boston. The New Haven ran 'cape codder' trains, and it's certainly wild that in 2026 you can get this photo resembling 'home rails.' I'm certainly biased, but firmly believe that the T now has the best passenger heritage fleet in the country. Super grateful for all my buddies who helped me navigate the chases yesterday. Thanks, fellas.

08/25/2026

New England: In 2026, the MBTA has placed into service a number of heritage units in schemes of the predecessor railroads which encompass the modern MBTA system. On a gorgeous summer morning, the picturesque and aptly named town of "Manchester By The Sea" is bathed in the early morning light as the Boston and Maine heritage unit takes a train into town. The 1030 is right at home on the Gloucester branch which belonged to the B&M. The vintage drawbridge was constructed by the railroad in 1944 to provide access to the inner harbor. What a simply surreal scene to photograph in 2026, and I'm grateful for the help I've had from friends while I'm home to get shots like this one.

08/15/2026

When Is The Next Train To Boston: On a crystal clear evening deep in the north woods, the historic Maine Central Crawford Notch depot sits illuminated under the beautiful evening sky. The core of the Milky Way was illuminated as a few leftover meteors from the Perseid shower streaked through the sky. I was in awe of the wonderment of this incredible sight, and after seeing enough shots that have made me extremely jealous over the years, I am so glad I saddled up to get my own. After a few attempts earlier during the week were scuttled by weather, last night was finally clear enough to get what I wanted.

08/03/2026

What an incredible honor!! Thank you to BNSF Railway, I cannot believe it.

Congratulations to 🏆📸 Adam Horgan, whose stunning photograph of a BNSF train rolling along the shores of Del Mar, California, earned first place in this year's Summer Photo Contest.

With more than 400 entries, the 2026 contest was our largest yet. View all this year's winning photos and honorable mentions in the latest Rail Talk article:

https://tinyurl.com/2zfbjdvs

07/22/2026

Excited For P42s: Back in February I made a trip to Culpepper, VA and spent the day photographing trains. When I got there, I learned Amtrak's Crescent had dual P42's, which in today's day and age on long distance trains, is pretty rare. It still feels weird getting excited about P42s, but I know from the previous generations that one day, all of a sudden, the familiar just disappears. While not my original target here, man was I stoked to get this bonus.

07/21/2026

The Man Himself: Steam engines, as many have come to learn, are a labor of love. They require an intense devotion to the craft of railroading in a way that diesels do not. Few people exemplify that more than Union Pacific's Ed Dickens. On a beautiful morning in the Lehigh Gorge, he took the Big Boy for a scenic ride on the R&N. I actually jumped on my bike and gave chase, and it was an absolute THRILL to be riding my bike beside UP's Big Boy. Right before this shot, Ed and I made eye contact and gave each other a brief air high five, both in sheer amazement and disbelief this was actually happening. It was a very special moment, and of the times I had with 4014 out east, racing it on my bike through the Lehigh River gorge was certainly one of the tops.

07/18/2026

Rarely the Bridesmaids: Vintage F Units in 2026 are almost always the main attraction when they're running on a railroad. But when you're playing third fiddle to Big Boy and 2102, well, those are the breaks. Such was the case on June 13 when Reading and Northerns F Units crossed the old bridge outside of Jim Thorpe in spectacular lighting. Any other day THIS would've been the image I left the day with bragging to friends. But as we waited for Big Boy, I very casually grabbed this and honestly forgot about it until I started going through folders tonight. Kind of funny in retrospect, but here we are.

07/17/2026

On a warm summer evening in Nesquehoning, PA I had a chance to grab the most unlikely of unlikely photos. Cars from the Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, and Reading and Northern office car fleets sat together under the night sky. The logistics it took to pull off some of the photos on this stretch of railroad were daunting but worth it. When I saw the schedule release, I immediately booked an air bnb in Jim Thorpe so we’d have a base of operations. I hauled my bike up from VA so I could ride to the gorge from town, avoiding any sort of traffic disaster. We scoped out spots, checked and triple checked sun angles, all to make sure that we were in prime position for shots. We woke up at ungodly hours to camp out in fields, take hikes, and get “THE” shots. And man, did we ever. I hope everyone appreciates the dedication it collectively has taken the photography community to chronicle this incredible adventure, showcase these experiences, and get the shots of a lifetime. They don’t just happen by accident, they take a lot of planning and hard work by really dedicated individuals who love what we do. This post is dedicated to all of that, the behind the scenes that goes into this. It’s hard work, probably a little crazy. But I wouldn’t want to feel compelled to do anything else. Just wanna be “somewhere out there on the high iron.”

07/16/2026

I’m so glad so many of you have enjoyed my photos of Big Boy! Enjoy this video of them tackling the Allegheny mountains just outside of Horse Shoe curve. Once in a lifetime experience, it truly doesn’t get any better.

07/12/2026

Union Pacific 4014, Clear, Middle Grade" Yesterday I witnessed history watching UP 4014 pull hard up the Allegheny mountains at MG after their stop at Horseshoe curve. The diesels were all in idle, and engineer Ed Dickens had Big Boy dialed in pulling the train up the 1.86% grade at MG tower. We left home at 0100 hours and hiked 2 miles in for a shot at glory, and I am so glad we did. I will treasure this photo, this moment, the ability to proclaim "I was there", for the rest of my life.