I’ll just get right to the point and admit that I have a highly unusual interest. I am a ferroequinarchaeologist, who loves to hike along abandoned or torn out tracks or ROWs; even through the woods, using topo maps.
Also, I enjoy photographing abandoned or extremely lightly used tracks in a particular fashion that I’ll share with you (been doing this all over the US, but these are from my area near Crystal City, Va., and about the first dozen were taken on a recent trip to Austin.
Kinda lonely doing this sometimes as I seem to be the only one interested. Most others are looking for trains.
Nothing wrong with that. If you enjoy doing that then that’s what counts. The one thing I enjoy most about this hobby is there are so many sub catagories and intrests. If you get bored with one aspect there are others to be persued.
You should have these images published, not as railroadiana, but for their esthetic appeal.
Unlike most digital images posted to this SIG these are corrected properly and generally good quality. All that’s lacking is the application of unsharp masking.
Nice photos, and an interesting perspective. I worked with a guy who used to go way up in the mountains to take photos of little flowers that grew on the rocks. One time, he got chased by a bear. When someone asked why he didn’t have a picture of the bear, he said he had no interest in bears- it was the flowers he was there to photograph.[:)]
Here in town there is a last vestige of the Katy main line from Parsons to Oklahoma City. Don’t have any idea the last time it was used, but there are some trees growing between the rails (± 6"). it is protected more or less a mile north of the end by a bolt on derail. Kind of interesting to see the natural growth reclaiming the ROW.
Sam
I’ve been known to do a bit of this - have walked the old Bristol Harbour Railway system a few times, mainly as it’s between the campsite and the city centre. I’ve picked up a lot of useful information via Google Earth as you can see alignments much more easily than from ground level.
That’s sad… not your hobby (that’s cool and probably offers a great “thrill of exploration”) but the fact that you’ve been able to find so many tracks in that condition. Thanks for sharing your photos. Those are pretty cool.
Now, just remember the old saying, “Leave of three, leave them be” (in reference to poison ivy).
I quite like those pictures…very nice composition, and great consistent look. A good “eye” as they say. =) What equipment do you use? There is an undeniable charm to abandoned or nearly abandoned lines…almost a “what might have been” sort of feeling. I get that feeling every time I ride Amtrak through New Jersey and Philadelphia…great stuff!
Cool! There are a lot of kids that could follow your example and do some research and get themselves some badly needed credits toward going to(or getting through) college. Something I couldn’t do since I was not good enough for college way back when. Well, no use crying over a wasted life. At least I can recall the Lehigh Valley, the best diesel roster in the northeast-bar none![^]
I’m one of the few persons unaffected by poison ivy. Thorns and ticks are more problematic.
My boyhood railroads were the 3rd Ave El when I lived in NY in 1950s, 60s and the FJ&G, where I lived in 60s and 70s; both gone. Guess I’ve developed a fondness for hiking off the beaten path
As I said, it’s lonely but serene work.
Red Rabbit,
I’ve got slides of same dating from a couple decades ago, using cannon A-1, AE-1, F-1, but these days, I use a Nikon coolpix 4MB, as film is free and I can shoot a thousand photos a day. Sorting is a bit harder tho.
Murphy,
I was LOL reading that.
PB in NY Socialist republic; kids aren’t interested in physical exertion these days. When I was a kid, we’d be outside on our bikes or playing sandlot; these days, they’re on chat lines.
james; iron horse archaeologist (Latin?)
Thanks everyone for encouragement. Nice to open up a bit and share.
In all seriousness… I can almost guarantee you that somebody would be willing to exhibit these at a gallery, and probably do a book on some level… A concise body of work is what the art world looks for most.
Not strange at all either that or there are alot of us pursuing strangeness. It’s a great way to hike. Many of the books I have read about former interurbans in my neck of the woods ( Southern Wisconsin\Northern Illinois) take great pains to provide directions to find former rights of way as well as providing “markers” in the way of photographs. I enjoy the discovery of these “lost” roadways. They are often just a slash visible across the landscape after the vegetation dies off in Fall. The Woodstock and Sycamore, The Illinois Terminal and the Wauconda, Lake Zurich and Palatine are some of the paths Ive trod. Ive met alot of nice folks whose buildings Ive come across that are former railroad buildings readapted for some other use. One couple in particular became suspicious when they spied me taking pictures of their farm storage building and we got into a great conversation. I got a free tour of the former IT station in Forsythe and they were surprised to learn about how extensive the IT was. Good stuff.
FJ&G, cool! i don’t think it’s so odd to tromp around in the woods looking for abandoened train tracks, I mean I stand around for hours in desert heat waiting for trains that never come (until I leave). At least you’re moving around. I understand the fascination with old transportation routes cause when my wife and I are RV’ing about the old west, in addition to always looking for trains, am also attracted to old highways. Some day, I’m going to start stopping and photographing old pieces of highway, usually abandoned when the interstates were built. And along side said hiways are often old rr road beds. Since our family used to travel the west extensively during the 1950’s, I remember traveling on many of the old highways, often trying to beat the trains to the next crossing (there were many more crossings at grade in those days). Back to the subject, keep up the good work and I hope you will share more photos. Larry in Blaine
Outstanding collection. I’ll second the idea of a book - great coffee table piece, even for someone not interested in railroads. A showing in a gallery would be great for you, but at least I can pick up the book at a bookstore or on-line.
Very cool! I know of many photographers (RR and non) who like to focus on a specific detail or theme like this and find the beauty in these common items. Some of my favorite photos are ones I took of very mundane objects. You could deffinately publi***hese!
