The Railroad Photography of J. Parker Lamb


Book Description

The Railroad Photography of J. Parker Lamb showcases the black-and-white imagery of a master of the craft. Parker Lamb came of age in the South and the Midwest during a time of great transition on railroads in the United States. New technology was replacing the steam locomotives and labor-intensive practices that had dominating railroading for more than a century. Cameras in hand, Lamb bore witness to the end of that era and continued to vividly portray all that followed. His lyrical photographs depict new diesels, waning passenger trains, blossoming freight business, and many of the people who worked in, and were captivated by, the great American institution of the railroad. A biographical essay by noted transportation journalist Fred W. Frailey explores Lamb's life and photographic contributions, while captions by former Trains magazine editor Kevin P. Keefe add context to Lamb's imagery.




Steel Wheels Rolling


Book Description

Five decades of railroad exploration by J.Parker Lamb is distilled into over 200 stunning black and white photographs with fascinating personal anecdotes and historical notes.




Perfecting the American Steam Locomotive


Book Description

Perfecting the American Steam Locomotive documents the role played by mechanical engineers in the development of locomotive design. The steam engine and the mechanical engineering profession both grew directly out of the Industrial Revolution's need for sources of power beyond that of men and animals. Invented in England when coal mining was being developed, the practical steam engine eventually found numerous applications in transportation, especially in railroad technology. J. Parker Lamb traces the evolution of the steam engine from the early 1700s through the early 1800s, when the first locomotives were sent to the United States from England. Lamb then shifts the scene to the development of the American steam locomotive, first by numerous small builders, and later, by the early 20th century, by only three major enterprises and a handful of railroad company shops. Lamb reviews the steady progress of steam locomotive technology through its pinnacle during the 1930s, then discusses the reasons for its subsequent decline.




The Railroad Photography of Donald W. Furler


Book Description

The Railroad Photography of Donald W. Furler showcases the black-and-white imagery of a master of the craft. Furler (1917-1994) grew up in New Jersey and helped pioneer the "action shot" to show trains at speed. He faithfully and dramatically documented the final decade of steam operations in the northeastern United States with technically-superior and often creative images portraying the trains in their environments. While his work appeared frequently in early issues of Trains magazine in the 1940s and 1950s, it has rarely been seen since. As someone who helped write the rules for railroad action photography, an examination of Furler's photography is long overdue.




The Railroad and the Art of Place


Book Description

In the late 1980s, David Kahler was deeply inspired by seeing an exhibition of O. Winston Link photographs. He soon began making annual trips to the West Virginia and eastern Kentucky coalfields, destinations that strongly resonated with his own aesthetic of "place." Armed with a used Leica M6 and gritty Tri-X film, he and his wife made six week-long trips in the dead of winter to photograph trains along the Pocahontas Division of the Norfolk Southern Railway. Nearly one hundred images edited from this body of work form the core of The Railroad and the Art of Place, along with a selection of earlier Pennsylvania Railroad steam-era photographs that reflect Kahler's interest in the railroad landscape from an early age. Also included are three essays by Kahler, Scott Lothes, and Jeff Brouws, discussing the personal motivations, historical context, and aesthetic development behind the photography. With funding for printing provided by the Kahler Family Charitable Fund, all sales will go to support the Center's work.




Beebe and Clegg


Book Description

By employing dramatic images and sweeping promotional strategies, Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg introduced railroad photography to large audiences.




Wallace W. Abbey


Book Description

From the late 1940s onward, Wallace W. Abbey masterfully combined journalistic and artistic vision to transform everyday transportation moments into magical photographs. Abbey, a photographer, journalist, historian, and railroad industry executive, helped people from many different backgrounds understand and appreciate what was taken for granted: a world of locomotives, passenger trains, big-city terminals, small-town depots, and railroaders. During his lifetime he witnessed and photographed sweeping changes in the railroading industry from the steam era to the era of diesel locomotives and electronic communication. Wallace W. Abbey: A Life in Railroad Photography profiles the life and work of this legendary photographer and showcases the transformation of transportation and photography after World War II. Featuring more than 175 exquisite photographs in an oversized format, Wallace W. Abbey is an outstanding tribute to a gifted artist and the railroads he loved.




The Railroad Photography of Jack Delano


Book Description

Born in the Ukraine, photographer Jack Delano moved to the United States in 1923. After graduating from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1937, Delano worked for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and the Office of War Information (OWI) as a photographer. Best known for his work for the Office of War Information during 1940–1943, Jack Delano captured the face of American railroading in a series of stunning photographs. His images, especially his portraits of railroad workers, are a vibrant and telling portrait of industrial life during one of the most important periods in American history. This remarkable collection features Delano’s photographs of railroad operations and workers taken for the OWI in the winter of 1942/43 and during a cross-country journey on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, plus an extensive selection of his groundbreaking color images. The introduction provides the most complete summary of Delano’s life published to date. Both railroad and photography enthusiasts will treasure this worthy tribute to one of the great photographers of the thirties and forties.




The Call of Trains


Book Description

"Jim Shaughnessy is one of the most revered names in railroad photography, yet until now there has not been a monograph devoted solely to his work. Photo-historian and railroad enthusiast Jeff Brouws (A Passion for Trains) has worked closely with Shaughnessy to select 170 evocative photographs from his sixty-year career to create The Call of Trains - the first comprehensive overview of his life and work." "Shaughnessy began photographing steam locomotives in his hometown of Troy, New York, in 1946. Over the next decade-and-a-half he made numerous trips in pursuit of steam throughout the eastern United States, the far West, the Canadian provinces, and Mexico. He would go on to document the dramatic steam-to-diesel transition, capturing the trains, depots, workers, roundhouses, and back shops that made up the American railroad landscape. In later decades he faithfully recorded the changing fortunes of railroading in the Northeast as merger and contraction affected the industry. He is still actively photographing the railroad scene in 2008"--BOOK JACKET.




The Railroad Photography of Phil Hastings


Book Description

The Railroad Photography of Phil Hastings explores the life and influential work of Dr. Philip R. "Phil" Hastings (1925–1987). Along with his contemporaries, Hastings changed the way we look at the North American railroad. Influenced by the photojournalistic movement that developed during their childhoods, these visionaries expanded their work from traditional locomotive roster and action shots into a holistic view of the railroad environment. Collated by Tony Reevy, The Railroad Photography of Phil Hastings features 140 full-page, black-and-white photographs from throughout Hasting's career and includes an introduction that explores Hastings's life and work, including his relationships with noted author and editor David P. Morgan and photographer Jim Shaughnessy. The Railroad Photography of Phil Hastings represents a major contribution to the historical record of the life and work of this remarkable photographer, whose images shaped how we perceive and experience railroads throughout North America.