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Posted on December 8, 2022December 22, 2022 by admin

Of Time and the Railroad

Southern Pacific Cab-Ahead 4274 passes Rocklin, California on November 30, 1957, headed for Donner Summit.

It’s the last day of November in the foothills of the California Sierra-Nevada and remarkably warm for the time of year. The station-board by the main line reads “Rocklin.” There is no longer a station building here but you can usually spot the location of a former Southern Pacific station by the presence of a mature palm tree, and in 1957 Rocklin has a fine specimen.

At one time, this was a staging point for the long climb to Donner Summit, but its roundhouse and its busy turntable are long gone. In 1957 Rocklin is a quiet, peaceful and unspoilt place. (Today, in 2022, there is an elevated highway interchange at this location.) On either side of the tracks a few wildflowers mix with the tall grasses, including some California poppies which have been dormant over the hottest months of the Summer. Jointed rails creak in the midday heat.

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Posted on December 1, 2022December 1, 2022 by admin

Editor’s Notebook

Many of our readers will have fond memories of a Lionel Train set under the Christmas tree. It’s that time of year again, and I wanted to share a video we produced last year with artist Angela Trotta Thomas, who features Lionel trains in her work. Angela’s art is sure to evoke many happy memories and watch for her special connection with singer/songwriter Neil Young.

Help preserve our photographic heritage

We are very enthusiastic supporters of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, and this is a great time for you to consider becoming a member for 2023. A $50 yearly membership helps support their work, and gets you four issues of the excellent magazine “Railroad Heritage.“

Click here for information about CRP&A membership.

A recently released video reviews the current state of their collection which includes the work of some of the most important and influential railroad photographers.

Best wishes for a safe and enjoyable holiday season, a Merry Christmas, and all the best in the 2023!

Edd Fuller – Editor

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Posted on November 17, 2022December 8, 2022 by admin

The Garden in the Machine

The Bellevue, Ohio Roundhouse

The railroad roundhouse is a purely utilitarian, yet graceful design, that clearly demonstrates the design and engineering maxim that form follows function. Comprised of two uniquely engineered components; the turntable and the shed, the roundhouse is designed to house the maximum number of locomotives in a confined physical space. At its core is the turntable, which allows it to align a locomotive to any track that radiates from the circle. The accompanying shed is situated around the turntable pit on a concentric ring, ranging in size from a portion of a geometric arch to a full circle. While the roundhouse is designed for maximum efficiency, it is natural to humanize it and think of the roundhouse as a stable for iron horses, or a bustlingservice station in which railroaders are busy fussing over locomotives to keep them in top running condition. But to me, the railroad with its network of track and supporting infrastructure is one giant sprawling and complex machine, with the roundhouse serving as just one cog of it.

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Posted on November 3, 2022November 3, 2022 by admin

Editors Notebook

One of the joys of photography, and for that matter, of all art, is that it gives us a glimpse of the world through another person’s eyes. Railfans and photography seem to go hand-in-hand, but there is a broader community of photographers out there who may not be train geeks but are attracted to the visual riches of railroads. Nick Carver is a professional architectural photographer with a YouTube channel that I follow and enjoy, and he recently published a video about a day spent in the desert photographing trains. He is a photo geek, not a railfan, and his unusual take on a subject that is so familiar to railfans is both entertaining and instructive.

Nick shoots in a wide variety of formats with cameras that range from Polaroids view cameras. We all enjoy the railfans take on photography. Here is a photographer’s take on railroads.

Edd Fuller, Editor

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Posted on October 27, 2022October 27, 2022 by admin

Train Time at Greenwood

There was a time when the small-town station was a community focal point. Pretty much everything came by train, from the people, to the mail, to the packages, to the goods destined to be sold at the general store. While those days ended with the advent of the family car, the motor truck and the superhighway, the few towns that still have an active train station offers a glimpse at a bygone era.

Offered in evidence is the town of Greenwood, Mississippi.

Greenwood is a town of modest size situated in the Mississippi Delta region. The tracks of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley date from the dawn of the 20^th Century, and have passed down through the control of the Illinois Central to today’s Canadian National. Passenger trains ceased stopping here well before the dawn of Amtrak, but returned in the 1990’s when the I.C. downgraded the old passenger route of Casey Jones notoriety.

On an early March evening in 2010, passengers have congregated outside the waiting room, waiting for the impending arrival of the northbound City Of New Orleans. One of the conductors taking over the train has talked with his waiting passengers, who have gathered trackside with luggage in hand. After a few moments, a distant horn is heard and shortly the northbound City pulls into town with a glare of headlights and blaring horn.

It’s train time at Greenwood.

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