William Botkin Collection – Center for Railroad Photography & Art

Biography

Bill Botkin is a photographer who has also photographed railroad subjects since the early 1960s. He has a fine arts degree in photography and has pursued a variety of subjects, both railroad and non-railroad using both color and black and white mediums.

Bill was born in Morristown, New Jersey, just as steam was finishing on his favorite railroad, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western. His work has captured iconic scenes of America’s contemporary railroads and his passion has been to document the passing of steam locomotives in action around the world. Bill’s travels have taken him to more than a dozen countries, including 7 trips to South Africa to photograph steam in regular service. He has co-authored two books on the Union Pacific, written several articles on steam and has had his photographs published in numerous books and magazines, including TRAINS and RAILFAN. In the current age of digital photography and ink-jet printing, Bill continues to shoot film and make prints in his wet darkroom. In recent years, he has focused his energies on constructing an HO scale model of the Lackawanna at Port Morris, New Jersey in the 1953 era. Bill retired from AT&T in 2005 as Vice President for Product Management.

William Botkin Collection Overview

Promised Gift of William Botkin
11,000 black and white negatives
44,520 color slides
90 reels of moving image film
1960s to 2010’s
United States, especially New Jersey and Colorado, with international locations including China, South Africa, Argentina, Romania, Ukraine, and Syria.

Reproduction Requests

Please contact William Botkin directly with all image usage and reproduction requests

Highlights

Canadian National Railway workers with steam locomotive no. 6218 at Brattleboro, Vermont, on May 29, 1966. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1966, William Botkin

Eastbound Erie Lackawanna Railroad multiple unit commuter train at Convent, New Jersey, in January of 1967. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1967, William Botkin

Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 electric locomotive no. 4924 leads northbound passenger train, the "Midday Congressional," south out of Newark, New Jersey, on July 20, 1968. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1968, William Botkin

Erie Lackawanna Railroad passenger train no. 5, "The Lake Cities" at Hoboken, New Jersey, in December of 1969. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1969, William Botkin

Union Pacific Railroad steam locomotive no. 8444 in Denver, Colorado, on March 29, 1971. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1971, William Botkin

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad diesel locomotive no. 3114 hauls coal over the Tennessee Pass in Colorado in September of 1977. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1977, William Botkin

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad diesel locomotive no. 5711 leads passenger train no. 18, the "Rio Grande Zephyr," near Burns, Colorado, on June 15, 1975. Photograph by William Botkiin. © 2001, William Botkin

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad passenger train no. 17, the "Rio Grande Zephyr," west of Plainview, Colorado on April 7, 1983. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1983, William Botkin

A South African Railways 24-class steam locomotive leads a mixed train over Swartzvlei, a lake located in Cape Province (present-day Western Cape), South Africa, on July 20, 1984. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1984, William Botkin

South African Railways 25NC-class steam locomotive no. 3402 leads northbound passenger train near Sterkfontein, Transvaal (present-day Gauteng), South Africa on May 28, 1985. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1985, William Botkin

National Railways of Zimbabwe 15th-class Garratt locomotives at Bulawayo, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on May 26, 1992. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1992, William Botkin

National Railways of Zimbabwe 15th-class steam locomotive no. 385 hauls coal near Tajintonda, a railroad location in Zimbabwe, on June 4, 1992. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1992, William Botkin

South African Railways 19D-class steam locomotive no. 3321 leads a mixed train near Aston, Cape Province (present-day Western Cape), South Africa, on May 31, 1993. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1993, William Botkin

Nevada Northern Railway steam locomotive no. 40 leads passenger train between Hiline and Adverse, Nevada, on October 30, 1993. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1993, William Botkin

Union Pacific Railroad E-9 diesel locomotive leads eastbound David Goodheart charter train near Colores, Wyoming, on April 23, 1994. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1994, William Botkin

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway diesel locomotive no. 677 hauls freight in Crozier Canyon in Arizona on November 6, 1994. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1994, William Botkin

South African Railways 19D-class steam locomotive no. 2698 leads a mixed train between Glen Wallace and Halseton in Cape Province (present-day Eastern Cape), South Africa on July 6, 1995. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1995, William Botkin

South African Railways 19D-class steam locomotive no. 2698 leads mixed train near Blouwater, Cape Province (present-day Western Cape), South Africa, on July 10, 1995. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1995, William Botkin

South African Railways GMAM-class steam locomotive no. 4072 leads passenger train at Oudtshoorn, Cape Province (present-day Western Cape), South Africa, on July 12, 1995. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1995, William Botkin

Ferrocarriles Argentinos (Argentine Railways) steam locomotives nos. 114 and 116 lead passenger train north of Esquel, Chubut, Argentina, on March 18, 1996. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1996, William Botkin

Ferrocarriles Argentinos steam locomotive no. 16 leads northbound passenger train between Nahuel Pan and La Cancha, Argentina, on March 19, 1996. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2001, William Botkin

Căile Ferate Române steam locomotive no. 230-299 hauls northbound mixed train in Romuli, Bistrita Nasaud, Romania October 2, 1996. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1996, William Botkin

Caile Ferate Forestiere Viseu de Sus (Viseu de Sus Forestry Railway) steam locomotive no. 763-193 meets a horse-drawn wagon hauling timber near Moldovita, Caras-Severin, Romania, on October 3, 1996. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1996, William Botkin

Укрзалізниця (Ukrainian Railways) steam locomotive nos. 251-86 and 218-31 in Rakhiv, Transcapathia, Ukraine, on October 6, 1996. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1996, William Botkin

Chemins de fer syriens (General Establishment of Syrian Railways) steam locomotive no. 91 leads passenger train in between Damascus and Derra, Syria, on July 31, 1998. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2002, William Botkin

Western Maryland Railway steam locomotive no. 734 enters Brush Tunnel east of Lap, a siding in Maryland, on January 16, 1999. Photograph by William Botkin. © 1999, William Botkin

Denver and Rio Grande Western steam locomotive no. 478 at depot in Silverton, Colorado, on October 6, 2001. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2001, William Botkin

Chengde Railway SY-class steam locomotive no. 0532 leads freight train in Chengde, Hebei, China, on November 18, 2001. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2001, William Botkin

Ferrovie della Sardegna (Railways of Sardinia) steam locomotive no. 402 leads freight train near Lanusei, Sardinia, Italy on April 10, 2002. Photograph by William Botkin © 2002, William Botkin

Ferrovie della Sardegna (Railways of Sardinia) steam locomotive no. 402 leads freight west of Lanusei in Sardinia, Italy, on April 10, 2002. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2002, William Botkin

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway steam locomotive no. 3751 leads passenger train near Woodin, Arizona, on August 23, 2002. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2002, William Botkin

Jitong Railway QJ-class steam locomotive nos. 6828 and 7143 lead eastbound train in foreground of image while westbound train approaching is led by Jitong Railway QJ-class nos. 6110 and 6851. Image shot at Galadesitai Station in Inner Mongolia, China, on November 15, 2002. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2002, William Botkin

Two Jitong Railway QJ-class steam locomotives lead eastbound freight train over the Simingyi Viaduct, west of Hadashan, Inner Mongonlia, China on November 20, 2002. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2002, William Botkin

Westbound double-headed freight train led by Jitong Railway QJ-class steam locomotive nos. 6882 and 6760 at Liudigou, Inner Mongonlia, China, on November 20, 2002. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2002, William Botkin

Guayaquil and Quito Railway steam locomotive no. 11 leads passenger train through Yaguchi, Guayas, Ecuador, on August 16, 2003. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2003, William Botkin

Guayaquil and Quito Railway steam locomotive no. 53 in market in Guamote, Chimborazo, Ecuador, on August 21, 2003. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2003, William Botkin

Jitong Railway QJ-class steam locomotives lead eastbound freight over the Er-Di Viaduct east of Hadashan, Inner Mongolia, China, on November 26, 2003. Photograph by Willian Botkin. © 2001, William Botkin

Jitong Railway QJ-class steam locomotive nos. 6986 and 6773 lead eastbound freight train east of Hadashan, Inner Mongolia, China on November 26, 2003. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2003, William Botkin

Eastbound Jitong Railway QJ-class steam locomotive nos. 7164 and 6986 west of Sandi, a station in Inner Mongolia, China, on December 4, 2004. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2004, William Botkin

Canadian Pacific Railway steam locomotive no. 2816 leads westbound passenger train near Massive, Alberta, Canada, on May 1, 2006. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2006, William Botkin

Canadian Pacific Railroad diesel locomotive no. 4106 leads passenger train near Stephen, British Columbia, Canada, on August 21, 2007. Photograph by William Botkin. © 2007, William Botkin

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