This year for Argus Day, Ye Olde Photographer had some Kodak Panatomic X in hand, expiration date December 1988! A test disclosed that it's still film, so why not. We wandered over to Pottstown and began with a shot of Pottsgrove Manor, a Montgomery County Historic site. We then attempted, with mixed success to take some shots along the Colebrookdale Railroad line up the Manatawny Creek valley. There is a project under way to operate a tourist railroad on this right of way that will tie in to the history of the early iron industry and connect Pottstown and Boyertown. Check out the Secret valley Line, also found on Facebook. This right of way is old and winds along two creeks through wooded hills, a very scenic trip. During part of its history the line was part of the Reading Railroad running from the Reading mainline at Pottstown northward well beyond Boyertown.

The track is in relatively good condition and the line seems to have no two bridges alike, with nice examples of an assortment of designs. Ye Olde Photographer had some other committments for Argust Day, so he ran out of film, time and sunshine before his intended exploration was complete. There is a fabulous wooden trestle north of where he stopped that might be better captured after leaves have fallen. This line has a canopy of trees almost over its entire length.

As he gathered the gear together the afternoon before, YOP spotted a problem. The problem somewhat negated the value of the tests done earlier with this old expired film. Thus all in all the exposures from this exercise were not quite optimum, but by golly they are images! Below we see a selection of the Argust 14th shots; 27 year old film run through a 57 year old camera! The film was developed in Kodak HC110, Dilution H (1+63) for 10.5 minutes at 67.5ºF. The negatives were scanned with a PrimeFilm 3650u. The "official" submissions from multiple participants may be seen through the Argus Collectors Group site.