Empty Tracks

The rail ties are old and need replacing. The rails are rusting. The trains are gone. And this bridge, while it still crosses some unknown creek in Arkansas, no longer feels the rhythm of the rails.

Chicago

Black And White Photography, Don, Photography

“Hog Butcher for the World,

Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat…

…City of the Big Shoulders:”

– Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg’s poem had wonderful imagery of this rough-and-tumble, tough, midwestern city “getting it done” for America. But that was a Chicago of a different time, the poem written over 100 years ago. Today’s Chicago is more a city of buildings that are taller and sleeker, but with shoulders that are no longer as broad.

Travelin’ Man

Black And White Photography, Don, Photography

I saw this gentlemen at the Port of Galveston. I don’t know where he had been or where he was headed, but Galveston Island and the whole coastal plain of Texas are flat, so his travel should not have been too onerous. And it looks as though he has everything he needs with him.

Texas Longhorn

Black And White Photography, Don, Photography

There are few things as quintessentially Texan as longhorn steers. This good ol’ boy belongs to a friend of mine who keeps about 6 or 8 of these beauties as a hobby. I was standing at the fence looking at him while he was just relaxing in the grass and looking back at me.

The Zephyr

Black And White Photography, Don, Photography

The Burlington Zephyr changed passenger rail travel forever. Built in 1934, it is both the first diesel-powered train and the first stainless-steel train. It set speed records and new standards for style and comfort. Streamlined, very fast, and stainless-steel, it became known as the Silver Streak. This is Number 9900, the first Zephyr built. It was built by the Budd Company where my dad was the electrical foreman for its construction. The complete train is in the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry where this photo was taken. The kind folks at the museum allowed me to come in early to photograph it.