Tuesday, October 3, 2023
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom

Registration Closed

Join us for a virtual launch of our upcoming book Rio Grande Steam Finale! Step aboard the D&RGW’s spectacular narrow-gauge railway of the 1950s and 1960s through the lens of some of the nation’s most renowned railroad photographers. The Center for Railroad Photography & Art invites you to embark on an unforgettable visual odyssey as we unveil a breathtaking collection of images meticulously curated from our extensive archives. Co-editors Scott Lothes and Elrond Lawrence will delve into the creative process behind compiling Rio Grande Steam Finale and offer unique insights into the journey of bringing this magnificent collection to life.

Scott Lothes, editor, has been the Center’s executive director since 2011 and editor of its journal, Railroad Heritage, since 2013. His photographs and articles appear frequently in magazines such as Trains, Classic Trains, and Railfan & Railroad. This is the fourth book he has edited or co-edited.

Elrond Lawrence, co-editor, joined the Center in 2022 as its acquisitions and marketing coordinator. His love for railroads and vintage highways led him to write the book Route 66 Railway, and his work has appeared in a wide range of magazines, news and corporate publications, books, and advertising.

Pre-order the book now: https://railphoto-art.org/rio-grande-steam-finale/  

This event is free.
This presentation will be recorded and be made available on our YouTube page, www.youtube.com/railphotoart

Tuesday, August 22, 2023
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom

YouTube Link

The 2023 John E. Gruber Creative Photography Awards Program brought in contestants from across the globe. With this year’s theme “The Role of Technology,” the judges reviewed and selected six winning photographs in a fascinating and interpretive competition.  In “An Evening with the Winners…” you’ll hear the insights and artistic approaches of the photographers behind this year’s winning images.

First Prize
Chris Walters, black-and-white
Blair Kooistra, color

Second Prize
Richard Koenig, black-and-white
John Troxler, color

Third Prize
Frank Barry, black-and-white
George Hiotis, color

This event is free.
This presentation will be recorded and be made available on our YouTube page, www.youtube.com/railphotoart

Tuesday, August 15, 2023
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom

YouTube Link

The online portal houses digitized images from the Center’s collection and was just recently launched in June 2023. Odyssey allows users to explore all of the Center’s collections in a dynamic and user-friendly format. Join our director of archives and collections, Adrienne Evans, and our reference and digital projects archivist, Erin Rose, in a tutorial of the site. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask our archives team any questions you may have regarding the functionality of the search portal.

Explore Odyssey: https://railphoto.odyssey.historyit.com/

This event is free.
This presentation will be recorded and be made available on our YouTube page, www.youtube.com/railphotoart

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom

Registration Closed

Ask any model railroader to name the icons of the hobby, and certainly, Linn H. Westcott (1913-1980) will be mentioned somewhere. The longtime editor of Kalmbach’s Model Railroader magazine pioneered and even invented many of the techniques that continue to drive the hobby. Throughout his career, he also authored nearly a dozen books on model railroading, which sold more than two million copies in total. But Westcott loved the real thing too, and he definitely qualified as a railfan, as his early tenure at Trains magazine demonstrates. During those early years, he often carried a camera. Although he wouldn’t have described himself as a photographer, his images of trains and the railroad environment exhibit immense talent, especially when he was shooting with Kodachrome slides in the 1940s and ’50s.

Join former Trains editor and publisher Kevin P. Keefe for an extended look at Westcott’s wildly diverse railroad photography.

This event is free.
This presentation will be recorded and be made available on our YouTube page, www.youtube.com/railphotoart

Tuesday, May 23, 2023
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom

Available on YouTube

Collecting more than thirty years of paintings and renderings, Railroads, Art, and American Life tells the story of rail transportation in America through the life and works of artist J. Craig Thorpe. His artwork depicts not only the golden art of train travel but considers the present and looks forward to a potential future. Featuring more than 130 color illustrations and combining history, biography, ethics, and humor, Thorpe’s personal story joins with his paintings to invite the reader to relive the heyday of American rail and better understand the role of railroads in our society today.

J. Craig Thrope grew up in Pittsburgh where the Pennsylvania Railroad paintings of Grif Teller inspired his interests in art and railroading. A degree in design from Carnegie-Mellon University refined his skills, which he began to apply through volunteer work at the East Broad Top. After army service, jobs in architecture, and grad school, Thorpe moved to Seattle as a freelance illustrator. Amtrak’s 1993 calendar gave his work a national audience. Now, over the past thirty years, Thrope has completed more than fifty works for Amtrak, fifty-four for White Pass and Yukon, as well as numerous others for railroad suppliers and operators, excursion railways, and museums. The scope of his artwork falls into three general categories: paintings of the past, paintings of the present, and paintings of what is possible.

This event is free.
This presentation will be recorded and be made available on our YouTube page, www.youtube.com/railphotoart

“Railroads, Art, and American Life: An Artist’s Memoir” is available now at Indiana University Press