Oranges

wanswheel · October 29, 2011, 7:47pm

Photo captions

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=california+oranges&sp=1&sb=&st=list&co=fsac&sg=false&fi=all&op=AND&va=all&c=

Jack Delano

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/service/pnp/ppmsc/00100/00186v.jpg

Modelcar · October 29, 2011, 7:59pm

Wanswheel…Great photos. So clear for the age of them.

Loved the photo of the engine and railroad employee…At full screen, very impressive.

Edit: Taking another close look at the fellow on the front of the engine, I now wonder…Is that a photographer…? Almost looks like a Speed Graphic in his hand…??

CopCarSS · October 29, 2011, 8:03pm

Mmmmmmmm…large format Kodachrome. Man, what I wouldn’t give to shoot some of that!

Modelcar · October 29, 2011, 8:06pm

Chris…Is that a camera in his hand…?

CopCarSS · October 29, 2011, 8:11pm

It is indeed. Looks like a Graflex Speed or Crown Graphic. (Speed Graphics had a focal plane shutter…Crowns only had a leaf shutter in the lens). That’s also a light meter around his neck.

Modelcar · October 29, 2011, 8:34pm

…Thanks Chris…And after I wrote that, I too wondered if that was a light meter hanging around his neck.

wanswheel · October 30, 2011, 12:26am

Thanks to forum member Barndad we have this information:

In November 1942, a young photographer from the Office of War Information in Washington, D.C., set out for Chicago. Armed with credentials from the FBI and a letter of introduction by the Association of American Railroads, Jack Delano was assigned to document railroad transportation during World War II by taking “photographs of Chicago as a railroad terminal, showing yards, tracks, handling the trains, hump-and-retarder operations, inspection and repair of trains, signal systems, roundhouses and repair shops.”

He and his wife, Irene, rented an apartment in Chicago, and Delano began his assignment by taking photos of wartime crowds at Union Station. He then ventured into locomotive shops and freight yards to get a behind-the-scenes view of railroading that was rarely, if ever, seen by the public.

The weather was not cooperative. December 1942 was bitterly cold, and he spent many nights at Chicago & North Western’s sprawling Proviso Yard in sub-zero temperatures. He carried his clunky equipment in his arms and on his back, and he rode with crews to document the exchange of traffic between eastern and western carriers. While getting off a boxcar, he bent his Graflex Speed Graphic when he slipped on packed snow.

(

Excerpt from Rangefinder article by Arthur H. Bleich

When WWII began, the FSA was folded into the Office of War Information (OWI) and its photographers were assigned to projects that would promote the war effort. Much to his delight, Delano was tapped for a month-long trip to document America’s railroads; he’d ride with the crews and even had the authority to stop the train (with

samfp1943 · October 31, 2011, 11:01am

Found some real gems while looking around:

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsac.1a34595/?co=fsac

Photo tagged with the following explanation: “…John L. Walter, conductor at Proviso yard of the C&NWRR. Mr. Walter has been employed on the railroad for 45 years, 32 of them as conductor. The red nose and cheeks are due to the below zero weather outside. Chicago, Ill…”

This one is for Carl (CShaveRR): Picture #32

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsac.1a34624/?co=fsac

caption: “…Switch lists coming in by teletype to the hump office at a Chicago and Northwestern railroad yard, Chicago, Ill…”

The first few pages concern Mr.Delano’s visits to the C&NWRR’s proviso Yard. Sort reminds one of a step into a railroad time machine. The whole set runs to som 40-50 photos of the stuff of railroad history.

THanks to the Original Poster: Wanswheel (Mike) for sharing some facinating stuff)

IMHO! [tup][tup]