Railroad Heritage

The Center publishes the journal Railroad Heritage® as well as books. Publication of Railroad Heritage began in 2000 and has grown steadily, expanding to a quarterly production schedule in 2012 and the current 68-page format in 2021. Members receive the journal by mail every March, June, September, and December.

Proposals and submissions

The Center welcomes article ideas for Railroad Heritage, particularly for the series “Railroads and the Art of Place.” Also of interest are articles that draw on images from the Center’s collections as well as articles about railroad art other than photography (such as paintings, drawings, sculpture, and other forms of visual media). The current lead time for submissions to Railroad Heritage is about one year. Please send a brief summary (a paragraph or so is a good starting point) by email to info [at] railphoto-art.org.

Please note that the following issues of Railroad Heritage are out of print and unavailable for purchase: nos. 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 40, 45, 46, 47, 54, 57, and 80. In most cases, we can provide electronic copies as PDF files. Please send an email to info [at] railphoto-art.org for more information.

Railroad Heritage news

  • Issue 33: The Steam Locomotive in American Culture

    In-depth look at the steam locomotive in American culture, from the country’s first railroads to the present day, with a focus on nineteenth and early twentieth century paintings. The article also includes photographs by Joel Jensen and David Plowden. Read the story of John Walter, a Chicago & North Western conductor in businessman’s clothes, who…

  • 2013 Call for Artists & Survey

    Are you an artist? Do you make works of art—paintings, drawings, sculpture, or any other sort of art other than photographs—that depict railroads in some way? If so, we’d like to hear from you. We are working on a special issue of our journal, Railroad Heritage, dedicated to non-photographic artwork. We want to explore what…

  • Issue 32: Steve VanDenburgh, Fred Eidenbenz, Conversations

    Preview of Conversations about Photography 2013, including a profile of presenter Steve VanDenburgh, written by David C. Lester. Lorenz Degen of Switzerland provides a biographical sketch and selected photographs of Fred Eidenbenz, a Swiss immigrant who photographed American railroads extensively in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Center executive director Scott Lothes offers an overview…

  • Issue 31: Norfolk Southern’s photographer

    Profile of Norfolk Southern’’s recently appointed company photographer, Casey Thomason, a presenter at Conversations about Photography 2013. (A full-time photography position at a railroad? Shades of the past! And very welcome, too.) There is also a spread of Hal Lewis’’s work from the 1950s until recently, especially notable because (1) he has given his photographs…

  • Railroad Heritage article wins R&LHS award

    The Center’s editorial consultant, John O. “Jack” Holzhueter, received the 2011 David P. Morgan article award from the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. Holzhueter received the award for his story “Olive W. Dennis: B&O Polymath,” which appeared in issue no. 24 of the Center’s journal, Railroad Heritage. R&LHS awards committee chairman Mark Entrop came to…

  • Issue 30: Pennsylvania Railroad

    Extensive survey of Pennsylvania Railroad company photography and the importance of the railroad’s images. Update on the Chicago Project and Pablo Delano’s July 2012 Chicago visit to photograph descendants of his father’s portrait subjects. Tribute to early railfan photographer Fred Jukes. Gallery of railroad photographs from Peoria (Illinois). $9.95, 36 pages, color and b/w.