Join our community and support our programs with a gift to increase understanding of railroading's role in America’s social, industrial, and visual history.
The Center is showcasing the work of new, young, or relatively unknown railroad photographers. Please take a look at the current profile, featuring Kyle Weismann-Yee of Portland, Oregon, and contact us to submit your own work for consideration or to recommend someone.
North American Railroad History in a Nutshell, which started as a feature on railroadheritage.org, is now an expanded, printed publication. It is available as a membership benefit or you may purchase single copies.
Click the photo for more information.
During World War II, Jack Delano photographed railroaders for the U.S. Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information. Help us find out more about people such as Harry W. Trout, a train director at Chicago Union Station, for an exhibition. Click the title to the see the full entry. All entries are available on railroadheritage.org. The project is featured on the Trains Newsletter.
Photography & Art
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Photographs from the Center's publication, the “North American Railroad History in a Nutshell” issue of Railroad Heritage. See "Nutshell in Print," at left, for details.
"Conversations about Photography" Conference 2010
The Center's eighth annual “Conversations about Photography” conference will be held April 23-25, 2010, on the campus of co-sponsor Lake Forest (Illinois) College. Renowned presenters and six full-length programs on railroad photography are on tap. New for 2010 is a dinner on Friday evening, accompanied by a social gathering and a keynote address. Sunday morning brings two workshops—celebrated photographer David Plowden on his approach to photography and composition, followed by a panel discussion on the ins and outs of publishing railroad photography books. Visit the conference page for full details and registration forms.
Awards Program Announcements
Interest in the Center’s 2010 Creative Photography Awards Program reached a new all-time high with nearly 200 photographers submitting some 700 photographs. The theme was “Beyond the Locomotive” and the judging will be conducted by Kimberly Parker, Director of the O. Winston Museum. Winners will be announced on February 15. More information can be found on the Awards Page. The 2009 awards photos are well displayed in Railfan & Railroad's September 2009 issue, appearing on pages 30-37.
Classic Steam: Timeless Photographs of North America Steam Railroading
Classic Steam, a 224-page, large format (12-1/2 in. by 12 in.) hardcover book produced in association with the Center, charts steam railroading from the late 1930s through to the early 1960s in some 300 black and white and color photographs. Its author is John Gruber, president of the Center; the foreword is by William L. Withuhn of the Smithsonian Institution. A sample photograph of a locomotive engineer in Madison, Wisconsin, may be seen on railroadheritage.org. It is available at Barnes & Noble stores and on their web site for $19.98. “Buy it, read it, love it,” Angela Pusztai-Pasternak says in a review in the February Trains. A review by Jim Boyd in the February issue of Railfan & Railroad concludes, “The editors...know their locomotives, trains, and locations, and present a fun mix of classic wedgies, ‘calendar shots’ and creative images. When they say ‘the best of the best,’ they're not kidding.”
A Landmark Year for the Center
Take a moment to reflect on the Center and its successes in 2009, a landmark year outlined in our annual report. Then, send a gift to help strengthen these initiatives in 2010.