Member-exclusive program: John Gruber’s rolling studios collection

Join us for our next members-only webinar, focused on the latest addition to the John Gruber Collection: portraits and stereographs produced in specially equipped rail photo cars that traveled the burgeoning U.S. railroad system during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Fascinated for decades by what he called “rolling studios,” CRP&A founder John Gruber researched and published multiple times about the topic, and amassed more than 200 period examples of rail photo car photography during his life. After processing Gruber’s collected images, and researching the photo cars as well as their operators, collections team members Adrienne Evans and Jordan Craig are ready to share insights into these nomadic photographers of the railroad and the mediums with which they worked. You won’t want to miss this webinar – register today!

Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at 7:00 pm Central Time (8pm Eastern, 6pm Mountain, and 5pm Pacific)

REGISTER HERE

Not a Center member, or haven’t yet renewed? Visit our website at this link. Your support makes our work possible!

Group portrait featuring a horse-drawn sleigh loaded with several men standing on the platform, bundled in winter coats and hats, in front of a railway car marked “J. A. Ennors [Palace Car]” and advertising “Photos and Views” on its side. From the John Gruber Collection, Gruber-SC-02-42-01.

A portrait of three young children standing against a plain backdrop on a patterned carpet. Mount text transcription: “Hutchins, Railroad Photo. Car.” From the John Gruber Collection, Gruber-SC-02-36-02.

Spring 2023: Ronald C. Hill, finishing paintings, stations & stamps, steam and more

A heartfelt tribute to Ronald C. Hill by Jeff Brouws headlines the spring issue of Railroad Heritage, our magazine for Center members, complete with a classic Hill cover of the Rio Grande Zephyr. Highlights include:

  • Our cover story tribute to Ronald C. Hill, who passed away in January 2023, written by Jeff Brouws and illustrated with Ron’s great photography.
  • Artist Gil Bennett’s story about his work completing Howard Fogg’s last painting and others.
  • An interview with Adrienne Evans, director of archives and collections, with updates on the processing of various collections such as Richard Steinheimer’s.
  • Exploring the development of the Post Office’s new line of railroad depot stamps, by Justin Franz.
  • “Writes of Passage,” an outstanding photo essay by photographer and writer Rick Malo.
  • The esthetics of steam locomotive design: drawings, photographs, and a 1948 term paper by Robert A. Witbeck.
  • The railroad family of Tom Hoback, 2022 donors, and more!

If you don’t receive it already, join the Center and have four issues delivered to your mailbox each year.