Summer 2023: The railroad vanishing point, Alaska RR art, Acela life, collection news, and more

A landmark feature story on the vanishing point of railroad photography headlines the summer issue of Railroad Heritage, our quarterly magazine for Center members. Highlights include:

In his cover story about the foundational element of railroad imagery, Gregory P. Ames gives the “railroad vanishing point” a major spotlight with engaging and insightful research and writing.
Justin Franz writes about Lesley Lynch, Amtrak’s first Acela conductor, with photos by Leo King and other Acela images from our collections.
Our regular “Out of the Archives” column by Adrienne Evans, with collection updates and an interview with Gil Taylor, processing archivist, about the lessons we’ve learned while processing moving-image films.
As the Alaska Railroad celebrates its centennial year, we look back on the art print program it began in 1979, with an article by Justin Franz.
Coverage of the exciting announcement that Peter and Christine Mosse have pledged their world-class railroad art collection to the Center.
“Fellowship and Awe,” an essay about Conversations 2023 by Rick Malo with photography by Elrond Lawrence
The IMAX film Train Time, a new documentary about James J. Hill, and more!

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

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.

Center unveils Odyssey, our new digital archive of railroad imagery

The sky’s the limit for fans of railroads and photography who can happily immerse themselves in Odyssey, the Center for Railroad Photography & Art’s new collections management system. Odyssey is live and available to explore at this link.

The online portal was selected in June 2022 by CRP&A staff members to house digitized images from its collections. Over the past year, our archives team has worked closely with the platform’s developers to customize and implement the software. Dynamic and user-friendly, Odyssey will facilitate higher cataloging standards among Center staff and greater public searchability of collection materials. Users can explore all of the Center’s images that are available in its Flickr galleries, but now collected in a single location — as well as new offerings from John Gruber, Stan Kistler, David Mainey, and Jim Shaughnessy, with more to come from Richard Steinheimer and many others.

“The Center’s archives and digitization efforts have grown tremendously over the past few years, and Odyssey’s large storage capacity limit offers opportunities for even further collection development,” said Adrienne Evans, director of archives and collections. “We recently finished migrating all of our digital collections from Flickr to Odyssey and we’re excited to introduce everybody to the new portal. Being a new system, we’ll constantly make improvements as we expand the galleries to include more images from our growing collections.”

“After a lengthy search and implementation process, we’re excited to begin sharing more of our collections through Odyssey,” said Scott Lothes, president and executive director. “Our collections team has digitized tens of thousands of photographs in the past couple of years alone. We have so much to share with you.”

We’re deeply grateful for the generosity of donors and members who have made it possible to reach this milestone, and we encourage everyone to make their own odyssey! A search guide is available here.

Please direct any questions or comments to info@railphoto-art.org; follow the Center on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates.

PHOTO: Sunset on Santa Fe’s Needles District in the Mojave Desert, summer 1976, looking west to Amboy, Calif. Richard Steinheimer photo, Steinheimer-Burman-AG-Temp005

Railroad Heritage Winter 2023: Film’s return, Bachman, Gruber, Watts, and more

Film is making a comeback and the Winter 2023 issue of Railroad Heritage is your guide to this developing trend! Highlights include:

Our cover story by Justin Franz explores the resurgence of film in railroad photography, featuring great photographs and perspectives from him and ten great photographers.
Ben Bachman explores the urban grit of Seattle — and the BNSF, UP, and Amtrak trains that crawl through its waterfront and downtown spaces – in a spectacular “Railroads and the Art of Place” photo feature.
Archivist Adrienne Evans interviews newer staff member Abigail Guidry, who is blazing through the processing of our John Gruber Collection, and you’ll see some of her favorite Gruber images.
Artist Roger Watts treats us to an in-depth look at his work and creative process, featuring ten of his stunning graphite drawings that range from steam locomotives to subways and container yards.
Elrond Lawrence’s fond tribute to legendary western rail photographer Stan Kistler, who passed away in September.
Artist Henry Widenaar’s Last Run, Swiss railways’ winter sports advertising, news, book reviews, and more!

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

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Help preserve the legacy of Richard Steinheimer

Preserving photographic materials like the priceless work of Richard Steinheimer requires significant investments of time, resources, and professional expertise. The majority of “Stein’s” photography arrived at the Center for Railroad Photography & Art in mid-June, where it joined our archive of half-a-million railroad images. We invite you to make a special gift today to support our efforts to survey, rehouse, digitize, and share Stein’s work—and all of the materials that make the Center’s growing archive such a special resource.

Join the preservation effort today!

Make your gift here.