Across the tracks . . .

Morristown, Tennessee

Last month I made a road trip south. In planning for photography along the way, I followed the railroads, because the railroad often runs through the most interesting parts of town; the older industrial districts where the buildings are from earlier time and show the signs of age and neglect.

Old City Cafe – Jefferson City, Tennessee

It’s not always about the railroad. It pays to explore not only the railroad itself, but the environment around the tracks that the railroad helped to create. Many of the photographs that I made on this trip do not include a railroad subject, but the railroad is close by. The railroad is inextricably linked to the history and culture of the places it passes through, and these small towns and cities tell their own story. Get across the tracks and listen to the stories they tell.

Drive-In – Jefferson City, Tennessee
Stone’s Barber Shop – Albertville, Alabama
Louisiana Parts & Supply – Monroe, Louisana
Barricade Shop – Monroe, Louisiana

Edd Fuller, EditorPhotographs and text Copyright 2021

One thought on “Editor’s Notebook

  1. Oh if those towns could talk, all the people that worked in those places, the freight crews switching cars in those towns, how many kids got their first hair cut in that barbershop, how many 65 Chevy were kept on the road with parts from that business. You could go on and on.

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