Zoom Program: Photographs of Mexico’s railroads and railroaders from the CRP&A archive

Exclusive for Center members on Tuesday, November 10: After mainline steam operations ended in the United States and Canada by 1960, many American railroad photographers traveled south to Mexico, where big steam continued to run for several more years. The Center’s collections currently contain more than 12,000 photographs of Mexican railroads in the 1960s by six different photographers: Tom Gildersleeve, Gordon Glattenberg, Victor Hand, Ted Rose, Jim Shaughnessy, and Fred Springer.

While they made photographs of Mexico’s railroads as outsiders visiting from another country, both the nation and its people really seemed to touch them. In this exclusive program for CRP&A members, Executive Director Scott Lothes will share some of his favorite images in the archive from Mexico. They showcase the drama and intrigue of the country’s railroads, the beauty of its land, and the dignity of its people, who time and again welcomed photographers from north of the border, helping them capture exquisite imagery while enriching their experiences.

REGISTER HERE

Tuesday, November 10, 2026

7:00 pm U.S. Central Time, on Zoom 

(8 pm Eastern, 6 pm Mountain, and 5 pm Pacific)

PLEASE NOTE: This program is an exclusive for CRP&A members! Join or renew today at this link. It will be recorded and made available to Center members; view our many public programs at the Center’s YouTube channel, at @railphotoart

Victor Hand recorded this NdeM Pacific near Toluca, Mexico, in 1962, hustling train No. 32 from Acámbaro to Mexico City. Hand-001-0663
Jim Shaughnessy recorded this scene at Veracruz, Mexico, in 1961, where three other American photographers on the right watch workers servicing both steam and diesel locomotives. Shaughnessy-N-NdeM-0758.
The engineer of a National Railways of Mexico 2-6-6-2 locomotive waves from the cab at Querétaro, Mexico, in 1963. Fred Springer captured this shot from the rear platform of the passenger train he was riding. Springer-Mexico1-10-32.

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