Re: What you mean-um 'Timeless', Kemo Sabe?
| May 23, 2017 06:16PM |
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. . . and are we including 'art' and 'news' photography, or are we restricting ourselves to images of Narrow Gauge railroads?
Since few of us are qualified to even appreciate, much less evaluate, what may or may not pass as 'art' these days, I'll assume the latter - and re-post an old snapshot of mine just for the sake of discussion. Here's the very last D&RGW double-headed freight, racing south into oblivion on August 28, 1968 - possibly the last steam-powered, double-headed revenue freight to operate in North America:
This photo, converted from color to b&w to enhance its chances of being considered 'timeless', could have been taken just about any time from about 1953 through its actual date; take away the VW bug and you push the date back another ten or twelve years; shift the camera angle a bit so the flying Rio Grande logos on the tenders and the larger lettering on the cabs don't show, and it might even pass for anytime from 1925 thru 1968 – except for the details: When was the road in the background widened? When was it first paved? When were the power lines between Alamosa and Antonito installed? When did the D&RGW remove the flag boxes from K-36 smokeboxes and first paint smokeboxes aluminium? When were the rails on the 'raceway' replaced with heavier iron? etc . . . etc . . .
Another contender – the same train a few hours later, west of Sublette in a light rain:
With far fewer extraneous elements, is this 1941 or 1968? The baseball cap worn by the brakeman on the damp and slippery cartops, and perhaps his rain-resistant jacket, are the most obvious give-aways. What else makes this snapshot non-timeless?
- El Abuelo Histœrico, Greengo y Curmudgeoño de los Locomoturas Viejos y Verdes,
aka Der Grossväterlich DünkelOlivGrünDampfKesselMantelLiebHabender
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2017 11:32AM by Russo Loco.
Since few of us are qualified to even appreciate, much less evaluate, what may or may not pass as 'art' these days, I'll assume the latter - and re-post an old snapshot of mine just for the sake of discussion. Here's the very last D&RGW double-headed freight, racing south into oblivion on August 28, 1968 - possibly the last steam-powered, double-headed revenue freight to operate in North America:
This photo, converted from color to b&w to enhance its chances of being considered 'timeless', could have been taken just about any time from about 1953 through its actual date; take away the VW bug and you push the date back another ten or twelve years; shift the camera angle a bit so the flying Rio Grande logos on the tenders and the larger lettering on the cabs don't show, and it might even pass for anytime from 1925 thru 1968 – except for the details: When was the road in the background widened? When was it first paved? When were the power lines between Alamosa and Antonito installed? When did the D&RGW remove the flag boxes from K-36 smokeboxes and first paint smokeboxes aluminium? When were the rails on the 'raceway' replaced with heavier iron? etc . . . etc . . .
Another contender – the same train a few hours later, west of Sublette in a light rain:
With far fewer extraneous elements, is this 1941 or 1968? The baseball cap worn by the brakeman on the damp and slippery cartops, and perhaps his rain-resistant jacket, are the most obvious give-aways. What else makes this snapshot non-timeless?
- El Abuelo Histœrico, Greengo y Curmudgeoño de los Locomoturas Viejos y Verdes,
aka Der Grossväterlich DünkelOlivGrünDampfKesselMantelLiebHabender
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2017 11:32AM by Russo Loco.
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488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
The NGDF was started by Don Richter and is currently operated in his memory by Nathan Holmes and others. Others who have contributed to the upkeep of this board are (in no particular order): Charles McCandless, Everett Lueck, Ted Wilton, Cole Adams, James Bane, John Moellmer, Jon Bentz, Linn Moedinger, lloyd lehrer, Rod Jensen, John Craft, Steven Forney, Herb Kelsey, Bill Ramaley, Russ Sperry (El Russo Loco), Josh McNeal, John West, Jim Armstrong, Bob Bergstrom, Greg Scholl, Blake Forbes Doug van Veelen and Mark Fuller.