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How I Became a 
Lifelong Railfan

A non railfan father’s influence in the making of a young railway enthusiast

Father at his desk

I think most people become railfans because their father or some other close relative or friend is a fan or works in the railroad business. But my father was not a railfan, and I didn’t know anyone who was or who worked in the business either.

Father did have some fascination for steam machinery, however. This interest probably dated back to his youth when Grandfather owned and operated a steam traction engine used for fall thrashing on his and his neighbor’s farms. Grandfather actually had two successive engines; I believe the first was a Nichols and Shepard and the second was a Russell compound. My father remembered sneaking out and blowing the whistle after the engine was shut down for the night.

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A Year of Discovery

A personal photo project is a journey where the main goal is to shoot intentionally during a given period of time for a certain purpose. A way to motivate shooting more pictures, stretching creativity, and supporting an important cause. It is best committing to subject matter which draws passion, in my case vintage railroads.

One Year

These days I absolutely enjoy photography more than ever. A labor of love. It is my obsession and passion.

Inspired by National Geographic photographer Todd Gipstein’s “X100: 1 Mile, 1 Year, 1 Lens” video, I challenged myself with this similar twelve-month personal photo project. Over a period of one year, I used the Fujifilm X100T camera with integral 35mm equivalent fixed lens exclusively at a one mile portion of a former freight railroad on the streets of Brooklyn, New York City. All the compositions include the abandoned but still intact right-of-way; the objective being a documentary of how the surrounding environment matured around the once-bustling rail line.

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Editor’s Notebook

Merry Christmas!

I hope that everyone has a joyful holiday and a safe and prosperous New Year. And, as always, thanks for reading The Trackside Photographer. Your interest and support keeps us going, along with the generosity of the photographers and writers who share their work with us each week. Thanks to everyone for a great 2019!

Projects

While we all love to get that one “killer” photograph, extended projects can be a great way to grow as a photographer. Projects can take many forms based on a subject, a theme, a person or place. Projects can be built around technical constraints, or photographing a single subject at different times of the day, or in different seasons. Some projects may be completed in a very short time, some may take months or years, and some projects are ongoing.

Join us this Thursday, December 26th, as we present the culmination of a year-long project by photographer Matthew Malkiewicz. Working within self-imposed constraints, Matthew found the freedom to grow creatively. The results is an inspiring story of discovery, and a gallery of outstanding photographs. Don’t miss it!

Edd Fuller, Editor

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The Village of Make Believe

Baltimore, Maryland
Mid 1940s—Christmas Morning

Me experiencing the delight of the Christmas Train Garden (ca. 1945)

My little boy’s patience has worn thin. It may still be dark outside, but my mind can’t be contained. What did Santa leave? How did he do the Christmas Garden? I’ve got to know! With popping eyes, I run into the living room. My parents, sleepy eyed, saying, “Only the Christmas Stocking, Frank!” “Okay,” I reply. I have to go right by the Christmas Garden to get my Christmas Stocking. How could I not stop and look? A couple of new houses, a RAILROAD GATE (!!) with lights that flash! The stocking is emptied on the rug, its gifts rummaged through. I hear the train whistle (my dad has quietly entered the room and plugged in the transformer) the train is arriving at the depot. “Let me! Please!” I plead.

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Last Christmas for the 
Illinois Central

At one time, there was a gas station and garage in downtown Elkville, Illinois. Not that there was a whole lot in Elkville to make up a downtown; it’s a small village of fewer than 1,000 people, 300 miles south of Chicago on the mainline of the former Illinois Central Railroad in southern Illinois. The downtown gas station gave way to a Casey’s General Store at the edge of town, and a vacant lot took its place. Eventually, a small gazebo was placed where the gas station once stood.

On December 8, 1999, the gazebo was dressed up for Christmas as a southbound freight came blaring through town. On this date the railroad had been under the flag of the Canadian National Railway for five months, but you wouldn’t know it in this photo. As the new millennium began however, the remnants of the Illinois Central would become fewer and fewer.

One could say that 1999 would be the last Christmas for the Illinois Central.

Mary McPherson – Photograph and text Copyright 2019

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The Railroad in Markópoulo 
Attika, Greece

Markópoulo (Greek: Μαρκόπουλο Μεσογαίας) is a market and farming town in Attica, east of Athens. For many years, it was a bustling market center that retained its small-town look, although it was only an hour or so drive from Athens. But recently, developers built houses and condominium apartments, some out in the olive fields. As usual, I am mystified; who are the potential customers? Today, Athens Elefthérios Venizélos International Airport is only a few kilometers away and the area is slowly becoming more commercial.

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