Bones That Rattle

The sound could fool you into believing you’re hearing the ebb and flow of the lake’s waves breaking on shore, if not for the almost-alien whirring vibration. The thud-thunk, thud-thunk, the whispering whoooooosh, and the pulsating squeal of compressed metal on metal.

As a first time visitor to this city of towers and glass, one cannot help but be awed by the commotion above sidewalks and between infamous skyscrapers. These steel lines are the bones and the L is the soul of this city. Without it, this windy mecca would not exist as it appears today.

Nowhere in the world, does the melting pot of America appear more obvious than on the benches of the waiting platforms. One glance presents you with society in all of its glory. Class cannot exist here, as bodies press together in the hustle of our fast-paced lives.

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From My Perch 
at Denver’s Union Station

The view’s the same, but always different

Blue Hour Overhead
A late November thunderstorm passes through as commuters at Denver’s Union Station are waiting for their trains and heading home.
November 17, 2017

I started photographing from the perch at Denver’s Union Station in March of 2015, when Amtrak announced they were going to run a Winter Park ski train to see if there was still interest after the Rio Grande stopped running the ski train a few years earlier.

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Swing Shift Dispatcher

This old shot, taken on September 11, 1968 at Andover, Virginia, is a real classic in terms of “content.” This is Mr. Ed Renfro. He was the swing-shift Interstate Railroad dispatcher (meaning he covered the off days for the regular first, second and third trick dispatchers so his sleep cycle was always screwed up!) Ed lived in Norton, and also filled the job as first trick car distributor at times. I was doing my janitorial chores at Andover that particular evening and thought he would make a great photo subject. Indeed he did!

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Proper Train Stations

Commuter departing in the afternoon from Kings Cross Station, London

This past May I took a week-long business trip in the UK, starting in Aberdeen, Scotland on Monday morning and ending at London Heathrow at the end of the day on Friday. Normally this type of travel is grueling and exhausting, and I would have groaned, except our business partner insisted I travel each evening to the next city by train. By train!! My frown turned to a grin.

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