Tunnel

If you've never been there, your impression of New York State is probably that it is wall to wall people, with greenery only to be found in parks, and the only thing rising above the flat ground being high rise buildings. That impression would be incorrect. Once you get out of the urban environment of the Big Apple (as they call New York City) things are quite different.

Upstate New York is predominantly rural. There are a few cities but mostly it is farm country, or wooded. It is not flat, being the northern part of the Appalachian mountain range. People are different, with residents quick to point out they are from "upstate" when asked. They generally don't like the attitude exhibited by the city dwellers, who regard upstaters as hicks.

As far as railroading goes, the terrain makes for some tough going. The Delaware and Hudson line from Binghamton to Albany has two mountain climbs that require helper locomotives, and a tunnel at the summit of the first mountain, at the appropriately named town of Tunnel, New York.

In October 1980 I captured a southbound D&H train exiting the tunnel. I had to climb on top of a signal bridge to get enough height to get this shot. It was a picture perfect fall day, not a common occurrence. Binghamton had a reputation as the land of liquid sunshine, and we photographers often  joked that we needed to open the back of the camera to get enough light to take a picture. The last year I lived in the area it set a new record for the least amount of sunshine in a month, only 14 hours for the entire month! Many years it would rain almost every weekend during the summer.

I was glad to leave!