A truely unique photo.

[Forgotten Man]

I found this photo today browsing Google and felt I should share it.

When I saw it, I gasped and grabbed it! I have always loved trains and railroad related photos and such... this is a photo I haven never seen and it really evokes a spirit of speed and hard work as it was in the days of steam. Something has been lost forever... steam locomotives and everything that comes with it. The feeling behind this photograph is amazing, I don't know what it is but, it just paints a really unique photo that most don't see when they think of a steam locomotive engineer.

The age of steam was a magical age... hard work, lots of dirt and danger involved with those live monsters of cast iron but, something about them is achingly beautiful.

I hope you all will enjoy this photo as much as I have... I know the train buffs will save it to a file... feel free guys and gals!

Enjoy.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

That.... is a real Casey Jones! Thanks for sharing it!

-dixon cannon

 

[Tomasso]

lots of dirt and danger involved with those live monsters of cast iron

The rail yards, particularly, were very dangerous environments to work.

 

[carter]

Thanks for posting a great photo!
My grandfather on my Mom's side was a lifetime railroadman. He would have loved this picture.

 

[Guttersnipe]

It's an absolutely wonderful composition. Anybody know who the photographer was?

 

["Skeet" McD]

The film version....

What a wonderful photo: beautiful in execution, and interesting/moving in content.

If you get a chance, try to see OTHER MEN'S WOMEN, a pre-Hayes code film which TCM aired within the last month as a come-on for the third volume of such films:
http://www.tcm.com/2009/forbiddenHollywood/index.jsp

It's on the other side of the country...Southern California, with SP equipment...but it's a tale of an engineer and fireman, with plenty of footage which clearly was shot on-site in the yards. BIG locomotives, lots of denim workclothes, and lots of RR ambiance. Not a bad story, either...

"Skeet"

 

[Forgotten Man]

http://www.tcm.com/2009/forbiddenHollywood/index.jsp[/URL]

It's on the other side of the country...Southern California, with SP equipment...but it's a tale of an engineer and fireman, with plenty of footage which clearly was shot on-site in the yards. BIG locomotives, lots of denim workclothes, and lots of RR ambiance. Not a bad story, either...

"Skeet"

I saw a preview of that film on one of the DVD's I have of early WB movies... I saw that and wanted to see it! I thought maybe it wasn't around anymore since some of the previews they have are of films that were lost. I'd like to see that film some time; I'm going see if I can't find it... I don't have TCM.

 

[Forgotten Man]

The rail yards, particularly, were very dangerous environments to work.

Yes and still are! Railroding has never been a very safe racket.

I think I'd be very interested in being an engineer if steam locos were still in service... yeah, it's always been a dream job! All the hard work and sweat would be worth it just to pull that whistle cord! Ahhhh, gives me the chills!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

My great-great uncle was a locomotive fireman in Iowa. He was scalded to death on the job in the 1890s.

.

 

["Skeet" McD]

I saw a preview of that film on one of the DVD's I have of early WB movies... I saw that and wanted to see it! I thought maybe it wasn't around anymore since some of the previews they have are of films that were lost. I'd like to see that film some time; I'm going see if I can't find it... I don't have TCM.

Dear FM,
You can buy the DVD set through the link I posted. Speaking for myself, I'm waiting a bit until they can be had cheaper. But two of the films here--OTHER MEN'S WOMEN and WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD--are really worth the price of admission even at full price for folks like us: tremendous documentation in both of them. The latter film concerns kids becoming hobos at the beginning of the depression: lots of denim again and an almost documentary feel to it: a good deal of RR stuff in it, and again: much of it clearly shot on location, not in a studio or lot.

"Skeet"

 

[Nick D]

The rail yards, particularly, were very dangerous environments to work.

They're how my great-grandpa died. One of his jobs was putting the pin in between the cars. He ended up with his leg between two cars and got an infection.

 

[Forgotten Man]

[QUOTE="Skeet" McD]Dear FM,
You can buy the DVD set through the link I posted. Speaking for myself, I'm waiting a bit until they can be had cheaper. But two of the films here--OTHER MEN'S WOMEN and WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD--are really worth the price of admission even at full price for folks like us: tremendous documentation in both of them. The latter film concerns kids becoming hobos at the beginning of the depression: lots of denim again and an almost documentary feel to it: a good deal of RR stuff in it, and again: much of it clearly shot on location, not in a studio or lot.

"Skeet"[/QUOTE]

Oh, I have seen "Wild Boys of the Road" and love that movie very much! It's a very gritty movie... and I think it's great!

I'll look into getting both movies... I love early WB/Vitaphone stuff!

Thanks!

 

[mike]

Oh, I have seen "Wild Boys of the Road" and love that movie very much! It's a very gritty movie... and I think it's great!

I'll look into getting both movies... I love early WB/Vitaphone stuff!

Thanks!

It's a great set, definitely pick it up! Wild Boys, Other Men's Women and Heroes for Sale aaaare great! I only wish it was officially a Wild Bill Wellman set so that a follow up could come up featuring So Big, Star Witness, Hatchet Man and a few other gems from the same pre-code era!

Other Men's Women is very worth watching because a good deal of it is shot on location in yards, on original steam engines from every angle utilizing some very inventive early sound equipment I would have to assume. Plus the dialogue is so free and natural, it's a sight to behold. I wonder how Lon Chaney Sr's lost swan song, Thunder, from 1930 might have held up in comparison to this film. It was shot all on location in the Rockies and Lon was very focused on realism.

I work for the local rail road in the public affairs department, although I'm considering heading towards the operations side. Even if the train technology has moved on, a good deal of the mechanics of moving trains through a system remain the same as 100 years ago. Not to mention, the terminology and paperwork remains absolutely unchanged in most cases! A station master or block operated traveling through time 100+ years could easily maintain another generation's rail road station!

My bruddas from anudda mudda...

 

[mike]

Images from Thunder...

That jacket Lon is wearing looks like it might be one Style Eyes, out of Japan reproduced recently... (and check out that shawl collared sweater on James Murray!)

Excellent image here although I wasn't able to access the direct link of the photo for some reason...

http://www.lonchaney.org/filmography/155.html?x=113&y=398

 

[Story]

They're how my great-grandpa died. One of his jobs was putting the pin in between the cars. He ended up with his leg between two cars and got an infection.

Amazing how dangerous those manual couplers were - my maternal grandfather lost his left thumb to one.

 

[Jack Armstrong]

Link-and-pin couplers were horribly dangerous, and it wasn't at all unusual for railroad men to be missing a couple of fingers. When the knuckle coupler was finally introduced and made standard (around 1890), it was a huge advance in safety.

For those who aren't aware, here are some photos of link-and-pin couplers:

http://cprr.org/Museum/Ephemera/Link-Pin_Couplers.html

 

[H.Johnson]

My lady wife used to buy me steam locomotive driving lessons for my birthday. If anyone has the opportunity to so likewise, I can heartily recommend that you take it.

There is nothing like being on the regulator of a vintage steam loco at speed.

 

[dr greg]

Runaway

Link-and-pin couplers were horribly dangerous, and it wasn't at all unusual for railroad men to be missing a couple of fingers. When the knuckle coupler was finally introduced and made standard (around 1890), it was a huge advance in safety.

For those who aren't aware, here are some photos of link-and-pin couplers:

http://cprr.org/Museum/Ephemera/Link-Pin_Couplers.html

I can never forget the scene in "Runaway Train" where Jon Voight loses some fingers in the coupling..very well done, an amazing piece of stunt work....