I miss 'em too and the friendly waves we used to get. Heck, even pulpwood racks as seen ahead of the SOU hack here are gone. These were once a staple of southeastern railroading. [October 1985, Montgomery, AL, Nikon EL-2, Kodachrome]
Post your Train shots!
- Thread starter Rick M
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I miss 'em too and the friendly waves we used to get. Heck, even pulpwood racks as seen ahead of the SOU hack here are gone. These were once a staple of southeastern railroading. [October 1985, Montgomery, AL, Nikon EL-2, Kodachrome]
How neat to have seen that. You're right, turntables and roundhouses are rare and to find one in its native state is something special.
I so miss that sense of open discovery and uninhibited exploration that was commonly found decades ago. Railfanning is just not as much fun today. These days there are signs, fences and surveillance cameras everywhere. Too, more people are suspicious of people taking train pictures. A year or so ago someone called the railroad on me as a stood at a highway crossing waiting on a train. A railroad SUV pulled up and parked, but no words were exchanged. I think the Supervisor saw me, an aging grey-haired guy with a "real" camera standing in a safe spot and knew I presented no threat.
I so miss that sense of open discovery and uninhibited exploration that was commonly found decades ago. Railfanning is just not as much fun today. These days there are signs, fences and surveillance cameras everywhere. Too, more people are suspicious of people taking train pictures. A year or so ago someone called the railroad on me as a stood at a highway crossing waiting on a train. A railroad SUV pulled up and parked, but no words were exchanged. I think the Supervisor saw me, an aging grey-haired guy with a "real" camera standing in a safe spot and knew I presented no threat.
In April of 1988 I came across this ancient C&O car shop at Thurmond, WV along the New River. Nobody was around, so I cautiously entered and greatly enjoyed an unhurried walk about the place, soaking up the ambiance and imagining what it was once like. Check out the water column at left. All is gone today.
Browncoat
Senior Member
A lot changed after 9/11. There was a memo or something from CSX informing security to chase down and question anyone with a camera pointed toward any service facility, yard, etc. As a kid, I remember a DT&I train stopped in a siding, and the engineer literally climbed down and gave me some railroad stuff from the cab. Stuff like that makes me feel old, because it really was a different world.
My son got us in to many engines for rides and looks. One evening in Somewhere, NC an engineer came out of a diner to let us in the cab and showed my son were they hid the key for the engine. Most vacations had to include an excursion ride, many good memories.
This is one of my very first train pictures, from 51 years ago in August 1974 in suburban Chicago. It was shot with my mother's Kodak Instamatic 126, plastic lens, square viewfinder and all. A year later, I was given my Dad's old 35mm Kodak Retina Reflex (as my older brother had also used), which was actually a pretty good camera. I shot nearly all black and white (processed in a basement darkroom) until 1978 when I could begin to afford Kodachrome.
