Tag Archives: steam locomotives

Summer 2024: Burlington steam, Amtrak’s color evolution, Cimarron gold & more

The Summer 2024 issue of Railroad Heritage–the Center’s quarterly magazine–began mailing to members’ mailboxes in early June. Inside you’ll enjoy:

  • Norman Carlson writes about the 1950s-1960s Burlington steam program, accompanied by spectacular John Gruber photographs;
  • The art of creating Amtrak’s new Phase VII livery, by Justin Franz, with a photographic look at the passenger railroad’s paint scheme evolution;
  • Cimarron Gold: Rick Malo explores railroads and the art of place on the Kansas prairies;
  • A pause to manage growth: Adrienne Evans writes about the Center’s review of its photography collection policies and how members can share their thoughts;
  • A preview of The Art of Trains, a New York City exhibition showcasing highlights from the extraordinary collection of Peter and Christine Mosse, running July 11-August 23 at Hirschl & Adler;
  • Meet Lisa Hardy, the Center’s new program administrator;
  • Event and exhibition news, reviews, and more.

Plowden exhibition to appear at Illinois Railway Museum

Beginning mid-June, the Illinois Railway Museum will present Requiem for Steam: Railroad Photographs of David Plowden, produced in cooperation with the Center for Railroad Photography & Art. “Conversations” attendees who join our planned museum events on Friday, June 14, will enjoy a special reception from 5:00 to 7:00 pm celebrating the exhibition.

David Plowden and the Center produced this traveling exhibit of more than 50 black & white images. It traces the renowned photographer’s fascination with railway steam power, starting from a childhood spent watching steamboats on the East River, in New York City, and traveling behind steam-powered passenger trains in New England. His featured work includes the end of the steam era in the 1950s, and more recent examinations of steam’s lingering imprints on the American landscape.

The traveling exhibition will continue through late December. For more information, visit the Illinois Railway Museum’s web page.

The “Conversations” conference will continue for a full day on Saturday, June 15 and a half day on Sunday, June 16, at Lake Forest College near Chicago, headlined by an exciting lineup of photographers and artists. Visit our conference page for the schedule and listing of presenters.

David Plowden’s portrait of a Canadian Pacific 2-8-2 in Montreal, Quebec, in 1960.

An overview of the Requiem for Steam exhibition at Illinois Railway Museum.