Steam, steel and shutterspeed

Ever since he was old enough to hold a camera, Reese Lo has been chasing the low, distant rumble of trains across the country, their whistles cutting through fog and their steel wheels igniting sparks against the rails. While most of his classmates scroll past trains without a second glance, filling their feeds with selfies and sunsets, Reese’s lens remains fixed on locomotives: freight carriers lumbering through the dusk, restored engines gleaming at heritage yards and sleek passenger trains streaking past small towns at dawn.

He knows every bend in the old Murphy Branch line and every schedule the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad keeps, waiting for the exact light that makes steel and steam look almost enchanted. One frosty December day, that patience paid off. A Warner Bros.-licensed Polar Express charged out of the gloomy dusk, wrapped in Christmas lights and trailing a plume of white steam along tracks that curved past tiny Ela, North Carolina, and into the Smokies. The image Reese captured would go on to win a SCISA photography award.

The award offers Reese, a Cross Schools junior, the opportunity to share his lifelong love of trains with a wider audience. His path began in late 2020, when he started capturing video on his phone, using the widest possible lens. He spent hours at Ashley Junction in North Charleston, a favorite spot for watching passing locomotives.

“Knowing all the details of the different rail traffic from East Coast ports to the interior helps me locate the best spot and time to photograph the trains on the lines. I know exactly which lines are operational and what locomotives and rail cars will be transporting goods on a specific day.”

In the summer of 2021, Reese was given his first camera. He quickly moved beyond casual observation into a deeper pursuit that goes far beyond trainspotting, a term that hardly captures the depth of his dedication. His browser history reflects that focus, filled with research on legendary engines such as the Flying Scotsman, which once streaked across Britain, and the sleek Eurostar trains he hopes to photograph in person one day. Closer to home, he follows the Electro-Motive Division GP38-2, a workhorse that still operates throughout the South.

He also tracks the evolution of the industry, noting that the EMD brand continues through Progress Rail under the Caterpillar umbrella, proof, he likes to say, that “good locomotives never really disappear; they just get new paint.”
Reese still remembers his first ride along the Murphy Branch line as a child.

The sway of the cars and the steady clack of the rails, he said, “left an impression that never really faded.” At home, a large bin of Thomas the Tank Engine toys fueled his imagination as he staged elaborate journeys across the living room floor and memorized the names and personalities of each engine.

By elementary school, that interest had evolved into an HO-scale model railroad based on American lines. He spent hours arranging tracks, weathering freight cars and learning to distinguish locomotives by the sound of their motors.

Today, when he is not out along the Savannah subdivisions, Reese can often be found connecting with other railroad enthusiasts, swapping stories and learning about lines he has yet to see. His photo library is carefully organized by the type of railroad he is tracking.

On the East Coast, he has learned to distinguish major Class I railroads by their paint schemes and traffic patterns, particularly Norfolk Southern, which moves freight in and out of the Port of Savannah. Closer to the docks, he follows smaller operations, including Class II and III lines that handle regional traffic. These include the Savannah Port Terminal Railroad, which moves rail cars around the waterfront, and Georgia Central, a Genesee & Wyoming line that now manages port operations but once focused on transporting paper for International Paper.

Looking ahead, Reese is researching Alaska’s railroads and the CSX Big Sandy Subdivision in the coalfields of northwestern Kentucky. He is already planning how to frame Alaska’s snowcapped peaks and Kentucky’s winding tracks on future trips.

He hopes those journeys will take his camera, along with his father, friends and train log, to a new frontier.