Why Photograph trains?

I've asked myself this question many times... At first when I was younger I wanted to get good enough to get paid and published but now I seem to have lost interest in that. I used to think the only way to be a good railroad photographer was to go out and get as much variety on film as possible like Don Ball JR and Jim Boyd, but later I embraced the O Winston Link approach; Pick a subject and record it well. I have a desk full of RR pictures from all over the country and none of them mean as much as the ones I've taken in my own back yard... Today I'm happy to just go out to the local tourist railroad and make pictures. I can concentrate all my efforts on getting great pictures instead of trying to go to a remote location and attempt to find original locations that the locals haven't thought of already...

I teach history for a living and I am most interested in the history of technology, especially but not limited to, transportation technology. I realize just how important photography has been for archiving the past and I am determined to preserve as much of today's record as possible on film. By the way I have chosen to stick to film and not go digital for that reason. I have eighty year old paper photographs in my collection and I keep my photos in a safe manner. I have very real doubts that much of today's digital imaging will be extant in the distant future. I know my paper pictures will be. My main interest in filming trains is in the context of industry. We are watching before our eyes the demolition of industrial America. Every day factories crumble or fall to the wrecking ball. I try to photograph these ruins with the trains that used to serve these industire but probably just pass them by now. Fifty, seventy-five years from now I want there to be a record of sights common to us that will be meaningless to those who have never viewed them. If we take that extra step of keeping our photos in a safe enviornment we will be doing a very real service to those yet unborn. For me, and others, I suspect, this is not just a hobby but a mission. As Thucydides said in the opening of his History of the Peloponnesian War we will "Give to the Past the Honor of Remembrance".

After many years of working in the railroad industry and being a railfan, I find that my photographic collection has assumed even greater importance to me as the years go by. Looking back over many decades, it is not just a record of what I saw, it is an album of what I did and my friends did as we went through our day to day routine. I am thankful now that I started taking pictures early, invested in good quality cameras and lenses, and recorded everything on Kodachrome with Kodak processing. The slides look just as nice now as they did forty years ago.

A few years ago I climbed up the side of a mountain in California to take a picture of a train, and encountered another railfan up there waiting to take a picture from the same perspective. While we were waiting for the train, we talked about this exact question. We discussed the particular sense of achievement that results from getting to the right place, at the right time, with the right equipment, and being able to use it properly, to preserve an image of a moment in history as nearly perfectly as we can.

I won't tell you who that other railfan was. There is a great difference between his photography and mine. He is famous for his ability as an artist with a camera, and is well known for being able to tell a story in a single dramatic image. I am an engineer with a camera, and although I have had material published many times, I tell a story with the photography playing a supporting role in a magazine article or book. But it was certainly fascinating to compare notes, and learn that we both had very similar reasons for climbing the mountain to take a picture of the train.

In many ways U.S. railroads are a time capsule, a glimpse into our industrial past. Even now, 50 years after the end of revenue steam, we as photographers can still find scenes that create a tangible link to the past. An NS freight rounding the Pennsy's famous Horseshoe Curve...a vintage SW9 still in PB&NE paint switching a line customer...CSX power resting up at the B&O's station in Grafton WV. These are but a scant few examples.

I began railfanning as a teenager in 1976 and now (28 years after the creation of Conrail) wish I'd chronicled more of that time.

It's been said that tourists "take" pictures, but photographers "make" them. And this statement truly reflects the creative aspect of the discipline. Personally, I fall somewhere between the two. I have more roster shots than I ought to. But occasionally I do "make" a pic or two.

Why? Because, that is why!

And if you hafta ask, you musta stumbled here by mistake. Hee Hee :D :D :D And Frankly, Scarlett, I am having too much fun to even care why...

Enjoy! Ed

Determining why you want to photograph trains will help you decide what equipment and format to use... It will also help determine how you approach the hobby of railroad photography. Do you want to make an accurate record of the scene or do you want to show the world as you see it by getting "artsy"? Each of us has "fun" in his or her own way.... My way is to put some thought into it and try to be as creative and original as possible. Others are happy just to sit trackside and burn a roll of roster shots. It depends on the person. Asking myself and others why they photograph trains helps me enjoy the hobby more... :D

I have had many buyers for photos I'm currentley working with a Model Company on a few possable runs on Cars and Locomotives for general sale to the public most sets are being done in 12 road numbers with 100 of each road number.
I nab pics of everything Locomotives, Cars, and MOW Equipment any time, anyplace, any where. Fallen Flags, and Short Lines are a specality!!
Photo collection accounts for over 6,000 photos!! Sorry no steam at this time.

i take pics of trains for all of the above category

Why not photograph trains?

Urban D Kaye wrote:
It's been said that tourists "take" pictures, but photographers "make" them. And this statement truly reflects the creative aspect of the discipline. Personally, I fall somewhere between the two. I have more roster shots than I ought to. But occasionally I do "make" a pic or two.

Actually Charlie, I have viewed quite a few of your pics and I have to say I think you're a pretty good photgrapher..........never seen a "dull" shot from you yet!