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Hall of Dinosaurs: 1943
... at Topeka, Kansas." 4x5 inch Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. Santa Fe's Topeka Shops This photograph ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/03/2017 - 8:40pm -

    One of our first posts from 10 years ago, enlarged and re-restored. March 1943. "Santa Fe R.R. locomotive shops at Topeka, Kansas." 4x5 inch Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. Santa Fe's Topeka ShopsThis photograph was taken looking south in the locomotive shop building of the Topeka Shop complex. This building is still in use today, only it is filled with diesel-electric locomotives instead of steam locomotives. If you are acquainted with the Topeka area, this is the building that is just to the west of the Branner St. viaduct. If you just showed me thisIf you just showed me this picture without any background information, I would swear it was out of a computer game. [World of Traincraft! - Dave] I'd play thatLet's be honest, the Jack Delano fans among us would gladly play "World of Traincraft." All That Fluffy White StuffSee all that fluffy white stuff clinging to the outside of the fireboxes and laying on the floor? That's asbestos, which was used as "lagging" insulation on many steam locomotive boilers. 'Nough said. BNSF Topeka ShopsHave a look inside: More GhostsSurpassed only by Delano's "Locomotive Dreams." (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Maine Train: 1940
... in Caribou, Maine." Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The Trains ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/01/2022 - 12:27pm -

October 1940. "At the railroad terminal in Caribou, Maine." Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The Trains in Maine ...Stay mainly in their lanes? Can't get theah from heah ...Well... I think you'll have to wait a bit longer, and ride an open boxcar hobo style. Today, the passenger service from Boston only comes up as far as Brunswick. That's a good five hours south from up these neck of the woods. And keep yer eye out for moose young fella, especially at dawn or dusk ... they're much bigger than your car. Pin the tail on the railroad trackHere is the railroad terminal in Caribou, Maine today. You can't tell much from a Street View because of trees and vegetation. The terrain in the distance supports Jack Delano was facing north (top of photo). But I cannot find an arrangement in the tracks that match the 1940 photo, or where that arrangement might have been. I'm attaching a photo you can embiggen if anyone feels like figuring it out. Down south, Down East styleThe "Historic Aerials" overhead for 1953 shows a telltale trio of tanks -- say that three times fast ! -- on the eastern edge of the yard, which together with configuration of buildings, suggests the shot was taken from the vicinity of Hancock and Limestone Streets (they no longer intersect) looking south. Mr. Willie, you're supposed to be in the boxcarThis is a fantastic composition. If it had been in color, the power of the photo would be lost. Facing SouthI agree with Notcom; the view is toward the south/southwest; based on the shadows it's late morning. The crossover track just behind and to the right of the engine is still there. Foundations for the long row of warehouses for potato storage on the right in the photo are still visible. The passenger station's still there; now it's Theriault Lawn Care. Engine 403 was one of the last steam locos on the Bangor and Aroostook, retired in 1956. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads, Small Towns)
Agri Culture: 1942
... activities among farm people." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the U.S. Office of Coordinator of Information. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/24/2023 - 4:27pm -

April 1942. Madison, Wisconsin. "Members of the Blue Shield Country Life Club of the University of Wisconsin visiting the studio of John Steuart Curry. One of the aims of the club is to bring about greater participation in cultural activities among farm people." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the U.S. Office of Coordinator of Information. View full size. Oh yeah, let's pretend we like art ...You know it's them socks that makes a man wanna take art class! On Wisconsin!They may well be seeing materials related to Curry's "An All American," which he painted in 1941. The painting's hero is Badger football's David N. Schreiner, who would be All-American in 1942. (Schreiner was killed on Okinawa in 1945.) Curry's job at Wisconsin sounds like something I would have liked to have. According to the famous editor William Allen White, Wisconsin hired Curry when no institution in his home state of Kansas made him an offer. As White wrote, Wisconsin "turned him loose without much schedule and are making him an influence rather than an instructor. He teaches little and talks a lot, paints when he wants to." In other words, having students crawling around his studio was more or less Curry's academic job. (N.B. his middle name was Steuart, not Stuart.) Captivating CaptionI'm looking only at the caption. I promise. Artist in residenceIn 1948 the UW Press published a book showcasing the life and work of thirty non-professional Wisconsin artists who participated in Rural Art Exhibitions held at UW-Madison Memorial Union and lists all works on display at the 1940-1948 series of Rural Art Exhibitions. The book was written by John Rector Barton. During his 25 years at the UW, Barton was heavily involved with many clubs and organizations devoted to agriculture and rural life. One of Barton's major interests was rural art. His work with John Steuart Curry, U.W. Artist in Residence, and his annual rural art shows, led him to produce the book Rural Artists of Wisconsin. Barton also served on the committee which selected Aaron Bohrod to serve as Artist in Residence after Curry's death in 1946. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Education, Schools, Jack Delano)
Polish Jokers: 1940
        Photographer Jack Delano explains that he made the couple laugh by telling Mr. Lyman his ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/25/2019 - 12:41pm -

        Photographer Jack Delano explains that he made the couple laugh by telling Mr. Lyman his pants were falling down. "The thought of such a catastrophe," Delano writes, "apparently made them break up." September 1940. "Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Lyman, Polish tobacco farmers near Windsor Locks, Connecticut." Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Lithuanian jokers, actuallyFarther down in the comments section to which Dave links for the laughing-couple tale, I found the following (comment by esagys): "Actually they're both Lithuanians, his name was originally Andrius Limonas, according to his son. She was his second wife, Anna (Ona) Gailiunaite (my grandmother's sister), from Vabalninkas, near Birzai, Lithuania. Both are buried at St. Joseph's Cemetery on Route 75 near Bradley Airport." [At various times during its history, Lithuania has been been appended to, confederated with or occupied by various larger nation-states, including the Soviet Union, Germany and Poland (e.g., the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). Which is why many erstwhile Lithuanians (especially ethnic Poles) might identify as Polish. - Dave] Tobacco up northI never knew until I saw the movie "Parrish" when I was about 12 that tobacco was grown north of Kentucky. Andrew and Anna's headstoneFrom Find a Grave Saint Josephs Cemetery Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut, USA Connecticut shade-grown tobaccoIn the cigar world, Connecticut is famous for its shade-grown tobacco, in which plants are grown under a thin cloth to exclude direct sun. Shade-grown Connecticut Broadleaf has a distinctive nutty, mellow quality that is all its own. Other countries, like Ecuador, grow their tobacco on cloud-covered mountains to duplicate the filtered sunlight provided by the gauzy cloth. It's a wrapAs soon as I saw "Connecticut" I knew this was wrapper tobacco. As in the leaf rolled to make a cigar. Connecticut varieties need shade to prevent sunburn, often grown under light cover. Shade grown tobacco was common In the middle of the last century, likely before and after also, tobacco was grown under tent-like white sheets of what looked like gauze. The sheets were supported on poles(not Poles) above the growing plants, nearly 10 feet in the air. I was informed that was 'shade grown tobacco', and was used to form the wrappers for cigars. Windsor Locks is the locale where Bradley International Airport is located, from which I took my first flight, to NYC. There was a lot of farm country in that area, with many tobacco growing farms, though I can't say what it looks like now. tom Pioneer Valley tobaccoI went to school at UMASS/Amherst in the 70s. The surrounding Connecticut River floodplain used to be full of tobacco fields and sheds. The population has lots of Polish and French last names. Tobacco Drying Barns1960-70 (my age 5-15 years old) I would accompany my parents as they drove up from southern Connecticut to southern Vermont to visit Grandma. A lot of that time predated the completion of Interstate 91, especially in Massachusetts. Along the Connecticut River in Northern CT & through MA I remember passing huge fields of tobacco and drying barns. Here's an article about tobacco in Windsor Locks: https://connecticuthistory.org/windsor-tobacco-made-in-the-shade/ Best place on Earth in 1940?Whichever nationality was correct, they were among the luckiest members of their tribe to be on the other side of the Atlantic for the dawning epoch! This is my neck of the woods.I'm in Westfield, Mass. The Connecticut River Valley from Greenfield up near the VT border to New Haven CT when I was growing up was nothing but canopies of white netting. Thousands and thousands of acres of shade tree tobacco for cigar wrappers. I'm of Polish heritage and my roots are about 10 miles from Lithuania. Grandparents' documents said Poland-Russia. My parents were 1st gen Americans. My dad picked tobacco and my mom worked in the sheds. Women and girls worked the sheds because this tobacco was for cigar wrappers and their hands weren't as callosed as males. The leaves were sown onto hangers that were then set up in the sheds. The sheds used to be everywhere. Many sheds still exist. When I was a kid I think you could be 14 to work tobacco with your parents permission. I was game. My parents refused. Said it was some of the hottest and dirtiest work you could do. They had worked in factories and that was easier than tobacco. In later years, the farmers would bring in Jamaicans and Puerto Ricans to pick the stuff. Many stayed which is why there's such a large population (especially Puerto Ricans). Nowadays when they pick it, I've seen a lot of places use conveyor belts that they set up between the rows. You pick it and stick it on the belt instead of carrying it to the end of the netting. The canopies could go on for an easy 800-900 ft if not more without a break. I'm a Bing user. Search their images for "new england tobacco photos" A Photo Well-Known to MeThis photo brings back memories for me! When my aunt returned to Maine in 1961 after living several years in our Ohio town, she gave me a book published by Look Magazine entitled Look at America. It was well-crafted coffee table book organized by geographical areas of the U.S. Compiled in the early 1950s, the book included photos from renowned black-and-white photographers of the time. Favorite pictures included the one above, a photo looking down on Harper's Ferry West Virginia from the heights across the river, and one of some kids frolicking in a pond in Maine. There was something familiar and comforting about this particular picture. Perhaps it was because my part of Northwest Ohio had a huge Eastern European population. These people could have been our neighbors... Connecticut, the Nutmeg StateIt always comes as a surprise to learn that tobacco is the Nutmeg State's number one cash crop, then and now - though nowadays less than then. As if we needed proof... that the best photos are the spontaneous ones. Jack Delano was a master at his craft. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Jack Delano, Rural America)
Retarder Tower: 1942
... Central Railroad yard." Medium format nitrate negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Fantastic ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/03/2013 - 9:31pm -

November 1942. "Chicago, Illinois. South classification yard seen from retarder operators' tower at an Illinois Central Railroad yard." Medium format nitrate negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Fantastic imageI admit I am a railroad "groupie", but this picture is incredible. Jack Delano may be the Ansel Adams of railroad images. The ultimateTrain Set. Not a groupieBut a rail fan like me and many others who love trains, would this be Markham yard on the IC? (IC the train) Something to considerAs we enjoy these photos, we should give a tip of the hat to the photographers who often risked life and limb to make them. In this Delano photo take a look at the tower off to the left. I've been in such towers, and whether Jack had to climb up a straight ladder or take an outside spiral stair, there are spots with no handhold and the top higher than it appears. Bulky photography equipment in those days would probably have hung from his body by rope as he climbed or pulled up hand over hand by rope - no easy task. Then they had to produce artistic photos and develop them carefully. Devoted people! [In this case, Delano was shooting 120 roll film, most likely using a camera similar to the one he's shown with here. -tterrace] The Proviso YardsActually located in west suburban Hillside, Illinois. These yards are 1/2 mile from where I grew up in the 50s and 60s. I bet you're right, ferrochrr. All the big yards in the "rail hub of the country" begin to look alike! Proviso?Proviso yard would be C&NW RR, (UP RR today) not the IC, as for climbing up into RR towers, they were not hard to do, sure the stairs could be a little steep, but certainly not difficult to manage. I've been in a few towers myself for photo opportunities as well. Connection queryCan someone explain how the levers on the control panel were connected to the switches in the distance? Looks to me as if only a few inches of movement on the lever would activate a switch on the rails that must have been relatively large. How was it done? Cables? Motors? Is the same principle used in modern railroading? LeversTo answer some questions, the levers in this photo were connected to the points by means of electrical connections. Previously they were mechanical, in that the levers pulled a number of point rods that activated the retarders and switch points. Sometime around 1930, IC upgraded their systems to a more modern type that used motors and electrical impulses to activate things. Believe it or not, though largely modernized, a similar system is still in use today. (Technology, The Gallery, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
The Dinette: 1941
... earlier from above . Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dinette ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/04/2019 - 11:36pm -

May 1941. "Main street of Childersburg, Alabama." And a close-up of the restaurant glimpsed earlier from above. Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Dinette DelightsI bet I could get a great slice of lemon icebox pie and a sweet tea at the Dinette. Why So Much Construction?The Delano pictures of Childersburg show a lot of new buildings going up in the main business district of time. The 30s-early 40s was not a time of heavy building in old southern downtowns, unless there is a military base nearby. So I took a look. A January 1939 tornado had taken a 100 yard swath out of Childersburg's business district. [The construction had to do with a new Dupont munitions factory. Jack Delano was in Childersburg to document the "boomtown activities" surrounding the construction of the nearby Alabama Army Ammunition Plant: "Photographs show main street. Construction of the town's first motion picture theatre, stores and bunk houses. Tent and trailer camps. Night scenes. Boomtown activities. Men filling in application for employment forms for Dupont Powder Plant. Dairy barn converted into three story bunk house for powder plant workers." - Dave] Cream and sugarEver since childhood, there haven't been too many two-word combinations that thrill me as much as "coffee shop" ... written or spoken, or even merely thought of, the words bring a tingle. Magical, the delicious aromas and scenes of comfort conjured by those words. From the same spot today.It is not obvious from the picture but if you move street-view around the corner and look down the block, you'll see the same 2 story building as see in the "Local traffic: 1941" image that shows this corner. Can anyone tell mehow could those weight machines make enough pennies to even pay for their construction? ["Weight machines"! - Dave] Dinette for someIn Alabama in 1941, how welcoming the coffee shop was depended a lot on what you looked like. Do You Weigh What You Should?The penny scale is a 1921 Mills Lollipop Scale, manufactured by the Mills Novelty Co. Chicago, Ill. (The Gallery, Eateries & Bars, Jack Delano, Small Towns)
Single, Looking to Hook Up: 1943
... & Ohio R.R. caboose." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano for the OWI. View full size. The Cupola In the days before ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 6:37pm -

Chicago, April 1943. "General view of part of the South Water street freight depot of the Illinois Central Railroad. Chesapeake & Ohio R.R. caboose." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano for the OWI. View full size. The CupolaIn the days before sophisticated trackside detection equipment, and F.R.E.D. (flashing rear end detection device), the condition of the cars in a moving train was determined by three of our five senses. The head-end brakeman in the locomotive and the conductor and rear-end brakeman in the caboose were required to look, listen and smell for signs of hot wheel bearings, loose loads, dragging brake equipment, etc. Myth has it that the first cupola was invented near the scene of this picture when a mid-nineteenth century conductor stuck his head through a hole in the roof of a derelict boxcar being used as a caboose and was amazed at the better view it gave him of the train. Chairs on the roof and eventually a small shelter quickly followed. Some railroads, for clearance and other reasons, favored a "bay-window" on either side of the caboose. The Pennsylvania (The Standard of The World) and several other railroads put rear-facing "doghouses" on locomotive tenders as kind of a cupola for head-end "brakie." Cupolas and SkyscrapersWhat was the cupola on a caboose for? and what's that tallest building the background, please? That Tall BuildingI believe that would be the Chicago Tribune in the background. CupolaMain reason was so those in the caboose (conductors, brakemen, guards, etc.) could get a better view of the forward part of the train to ensure nobody was riding the roofs, that they were still attached to the engine, and other potential threats. Cupolas and Skyscrapers1) The cupola was there so crew could sit on elevated seats and look out over the train to see if there were any problems. 2) The Wrigley Building. I still see caboosesI still occasionally see cabooses up here in Canada. The CN uses them on short local switching runs out in the area, presumably because it would be too much of a hassle to disconnect and reconnect the FRED every time they dropped and added a new car. I've always wondered about the ride in a caboose. I See What You SawThe cupola was used by the rear end crew (Conductor and Brakeman) to watch the train in front of them. They had the responsibility to watch for smoking/burning axle journals, broken and dragging equipment, derailments, and the train uncoupling. It's an interesting view of the railroad, I have ridden in the caboose train at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union several times. Incidentally, the caboose rode on special trucks that gave a slightly smoother ride than a regular freight car. The tall building closest to the camera is the Chicago Tribune. I do not know the name of the building with the onion domed top. -- Ken SkyscrapersYay, Jack is back! To the left, with the flag atop it, is the Tribune Tower, looking rather soot-stained. To the right, with the copper dome, is the former Medinah Athletic Club, now known as the Hotel Intercontinental. Re: SkyscrapersThe building behind the Tribune Tower is the old Medinah Athletic Club. It's now the Intercontinental Hotel, and still has the beautiful ceramic-tiled indoor pool from the athletic club days. The distant building just to the right of the caboose is probably the old Allerton Hotel (home of the Tip Top Tap) on north Michigan Avenue, also fully remodeled in the last few years. Love those Jack Delano railroad pics! Purpose of the cupolaYou can read about the cupola on wikipedia (lots of other good info on cabooses (cabeese?) too). The EndI remember when I was little trains still had cabooses, and all the kids would be excited to wait for it at the end as the man would always wave and smile at us. I think I was only about 7 or 8 when most of the railroads decided to switch to automated cameras instead, but I remember being quite sad about it. I Have a DreamI always dreamed of having a caboose like this sitting on a piece of property somewhere - just outfitted enough to be an escape from the daily grind. It is never going to happen, but it is a nice dream. That toddling townThe gothic tower in the foreground is the Tribune Tower at 36 stories. The more distant one is the InterContinental Hotel, 42 stories. If wikipedia is to be believed, the mast on the hotel was built so that dirigibles could dock there. Cupolas for DummiesThe cupola provided a lookout. Where you see the windows on the outside of the cupola, you'll find seats (not comfortable) on the inside. A crewman, usually the rear brakeman or flagman, would occupy a seat, facing forward so he could watch the train ahead for any problems such as a dragging load, or a "hotbox" (an overheated friction bearing journal that could cause a serious derailment). There was also an air gauge and an emergency air valve so that the train could be stopped if needed by bleeding off the train airbrakes from the caboose. As freight cars grew larger, the cupola became less effective. There were also safety issues, as crewman could and did fall out of the cupola, a drop of several feet. Some roads opted for bay window cars as a result. Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co.Since no one else seemed to mention it I guess I'll throw it in. Although the building no longer exists, HS&B carries on under the familiar name of True Value Hardware. Little Red CabooseAs a very young kid, possibly 5 or 6, we used to sing, upon seeing one of these: Little red caboose, chug, chug, chug, Little red caboose, Little red caboose behind the train, train, train, train, Smokestack on its back, back, back, back, Coming down the track, track, track, track, Little red caboose behind the train. Now I will take my pills and go to bed. Loose CabooseSome railroads around the Chicago area still use a caboose for switching because of the necessity to run with the engine pushing the train. Also it offers more protection while preforming the switching operation and to allow the brakeman to be closer to the needed cars. The South Shore Line still uses a caboose and before the Union Pacific bought The Chicago and Northwestern many local or switching runs used a caboose. the later were in bad shape, very rusty and most if not all the windows had been covered with steel. WavingLike HME, I'm old enough to remember us kids on the playground, next to freight tracks, waiting to wave at the guy in the caboose, who always waved back. Waving rememberedYes, I also remember how the guys in the caboose (and the engine, too!) would return our waves. What was it about railroaders that made them so friendly to kids? Today, nobody has time for that. We as a society have lost so much in the last 70 years! Arlo Guthrie on the Illinois CentralIllinois Central Monday morning rail Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders, Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail. Well, Steve Goodman anyway.Steve Goodman was the writer of the song. Arlo has a pretty neat story about how he met Steve and the song. Caboose DriverMy grandfather was a caboose driver in Ohio in the Forties and Fifties. On certain days his kids used to gather at a certain part of the track after school and he used to throw them the leftovers from his lunch. Unfortunately I never met him because he died before I was born. The "Moose Caboose" in Kennett, MOThere used to be a train with a caboose that came past our small cotton farm in Kennett, MO and we would wave to the engineer if we were out in the pasture area of our place... We also would always wave to the guy that was always back in the caboose area of that small train... The engineer always tooted his whistle at us to let us know that he had saw us and that made us happy that "The Moose" had said "Hello" to us 8-) The railroad tracks and the train no longer runs in Kennett and our small cotton farm is no longer there either, as small town suburbia has taken over most of the small farm land(s) that is/were on City Limits. It is always sad to go back to our hometown and see that lonely, empty weedy abandoned railroad track... 8-( Ruth Chambers Holt (aka --> TheSteelButterfly) (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Super Chief: 1943
... takes five minutes." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano for the OWI. View full size. Wow This is EXACTLY how I want ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/03/2017 - 9:32am -

March 1943. "Santa Fe streamliner Super Chief being serviced at the depot in Albuquerque. Servicing these Diesel streamliners takes five minutes." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano for the OWI. View full size. WowThis is EXACTLY how I want my model railroad to look like! yepI toatally agree execept mine will be built using lego bricks! Super ChiefI rode the El Capitan and the Super Chief back in 1967 it was a wonderful trip and a great way to really see the country. I rode Amtrak's Southwest Chief in 1999 to and from Calif on my honeymoon, my wife enjoyed it too. FuelingThe fact that they're fueling from two tank cars on a siding shows how relatively new this technology was in the area - there wasn't a permanent facility available as there would be for coal fired locomotives. And yet in the Southwest in particular diesels were the perfect engines since they didn't need the scarce water. Wartime TriviaDuring the World War II years, some train headlamp openings were reduced in size to prevent Axis spies from seeing them traveling through the night. The E6 model pictured, built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in May 1941, has the shroud covering the larger headlamp opening. The number board above the cab and on either sides of the nose appear to be dimmed as well. This AT&SF E6 No. 15 was paired with a matching cabless booster unit E6A, and both were retired in June 1968 after several million miles of travel (and no doubt washed many, many times) since this great photograph was taken. Longest stop on a long rideI rode the Super Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles and back in 1970. I remember that, at least westbound, the stop at Albuquerque was long enough that passengers were allowed to get off the train to stretch their legs on the platform, and was the only such stop on the whole trip -- which may explain that large gaggle back by the station. And I remember being impressed, as a youngster, by the Old Spanish architecture of that station, which was like nothing we had in the Midwest. AlbuquerqueGee whiz, I remember getting arrested on the exact spot right below the camera by the AT&SF "Dick" one fine overcast day in July 1970. This was while we were moving out to California when I was 16. "Trespassing" was the charge. Just wanted to see some Warbonnets before returning to the motel and my folks then back out West on to THAT road, Route 66 the next a.m. Somewhat different world these days, huh? The Atchison, Topeka and Santa FeWhat a great photo. Even though I (like most I suspect) have gone all digital, I still believe that the pinnacle of color photography was Kodachrome transparencies. I remember when they doubled the ASA rating to 64, woo-hoo, great color and fast film! Unfortunately, there is little still in existence from this photo. Passenger rail travel is close to extinct, the Santa Fe is now part of a conglomeration that includes at least 3 grand old railroad lines, the Harvey House hotel (upper left behind the station) was torn down, and the beautiful Mission Style station burned in 1993. Ready to JumpPrep the Atavachron, I've decided where I want to go. AlbuquerqueFrom Fritz Lang's "Human Desire" (1954). Oh the Fabulous Memories!When I was 12 years old I got to be the baggage guys' "helper" at the Hutchison, Kansas, stop. The biggest thrill was the night, like every other night, the Santa Fe Chief pulled into the station, and as always I got far enough down the tracks to be where the ABBA units would stop. This one night the engineer, I assume, recognized me as being a "regular" at that spot, opened the cab door, and let me climb up in the EMD F3 engine. He then opened the rear door, and I was looking down the long cabin, at the biggest engines I had ever imagined existed, in the middle, with walkways down both sides. I will never forget the deafening roar the second the engineer opened that door. Every time I see pictures of these EMD F3 setups, I get chills. Beyond a doubt, works of timeless rolling art. Now I am the proud owner of a G scale model RR set, ABA units, that are so realistic, you could almost climb aboard! Texas 1947Look out, here she comes, she's comin', Look out, there she goes, she's gone-- Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone. "Big and red and silver, she don't make no smoke, she's a fast-rollin' streamline come to show the folks. -- Guy Clark, "Texas 1947" Santa Fe / AlbuquerqueYou the Ron Beck I was in the AF with? Don't think so, but it'd sure be wackily weird if you were! My dad worked at a baker at the Harvey House Restaurant in Albuquerque in 1944-45. We lived directly across the street from the Harvey House in some old, cheap hotel. You can get back to me, if you wish, at majskyking@gmail.com Enjoyed your comments. Railroad days were phenomenal!! Let's share some RR stories. LogoThey've chosed the American Flyer over the Lionel paint job for the Santa Fe logo. SquintyNote the wartime shroud on the headlight. Service StopThe four hoses feeding the locomotives are not only providing fuel but also water for the diesel-fired steam heat boilers. See the wisp of steam at the rear of the lead unit. The water fill was located in the side of the carbody forward of the cab ladder. Albuquerque is located on a secondary route mostly used by passenger trains that is no longer owned by Santa Fe successor, BNSF. That railroads still fuels its transcontinental trains in nearby Belen, NM. Harvey HouseYou can still stay at a Harvey House hotel: La Posada, in Winslow, Arizona. My daughter and I did just that, as we drove from LA to Massachusetts a few years back. It was a wonderful stay, we ate at the restaurant and there were complimentary earplugs on our pillows. Necessary, because of the train yard immediately behind the hotel. The hotel was almost torn down, and the story of how it was saved and restored is worth reading. Winslow is an interesting town, and not to be missed if you're out that way. http://www.laposada.org Not the only Harvey House leftThere are still a few of the former Harvey House hotels in operation, one not that far from this photo. The La Fonda in Santa Fe was acquired by the AT&SF in 1925 and promptly leased back to Fred Harvey to run. It operated as a Harvey property until 1968, when changing conditions led to a forced sale, though it remains a locally-owned property to the present day. Where's Shorpy ?Ah, I see what you did there, Dave. Very clever. Keep up the good work ! (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Dinosaur Garage: 1942
... shops at Chicago)." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Steam Tech ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/04/2021 - 11:04am -

        Updated April 2021 with a better scan of this Kodachrome. December 1942. "40th Street Shops (Chicago & North Western locomotive shops at Chicago)." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Steam TechAnother great Delano photo. Notice all the blurred ghost men tending the engines. There used to be thousands of them. Now there are only a handful of men in the country with the knowledge to maintain steam locomotives. Amazing how quickly the technology vanished. I was lucky enough to learnI'm fairly young to have that knowledge, but I worked as a teenager in a "Locomotive Works" shop that specialized in maintaining the last of these machines. I worked in the foundry, and also learned how to cast all manner of things in brass, iron, copper, etc. One of the main customers was the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway. In fact all of the journal box covers were made by me, as well as a good portion of the luggage rack brackets in the passenger cars. All brass. RR shopDreimer, Lucky for you to have experienced working on these magnificent iron machines. I managed to help clean & polish N&W 611's main rods when she came through my town of Danville IL. It was my way of paying her back for all the great trips I had behind her in the previous yrs. And I was really happy to get a chance to work on her. 2808 and 2635Seen from another angle (same photographer, might even be the same workman in the blue overalls with rolled cuffs) https://www.shorpy.com/node/18160 Driver 8, take a breakThe Union Carbide canister seen in the lower left quadrant of this photo in all likelihood contains calcium carbide powder, which would have been used in an acetylene generator. This powder, when combined with water, produces acetylene. This is then mixed with oxygen, and voila!, an acetylene torch. Here's an image of good ol' 2808 three years before this shop time: http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3888666 Next week, we'll discuss the use of uranium hexafluoride in producing fissile material. A great science project for the kids! Class H's Achilles HeelNice to see a clear picture in the foreground of the unique and troublesome "banjo frame" of one of the C+NW's otherwise great class H 4-8-4's. The frame curved around the outside of the trailing truck to make room for the large ashpan, but was a weak spot, since all of the pulling force went around the frame to the drawbar. This led to cracked frames. C+NW replaced the frames with conventional ones as part of major post war rebuilds. This design mistake was somewhat excusable, as this was a period of dramatic growth in the size of locomotives, with many new problems to solve. Something to think about, that entire engine frame was cast in one piece, including all the little attachment points, and usually also included the cylinders. It was a technology that was incredibly strong and rigid, but in this case fooled designers into thinking that the banjo frame idea was not doomed to failure. European and UK manufacturers apparently never adopted use of large steel castings, sticking with weak fabricated underframes to the end. Shocked & confused That hussy of a boiler in the middle distance with its bare lagging showing is sticking out its tongue. Wait, that's superheater tubing. Well as Emily Litella would say,"Never mind!" Two things I have been wondering about for a while1. Would we still be able to design and build new steam locomotives if need should arise? Yes, I know, thermodynamics haven't changed. And plans are probably available as well in some archive or other on some of the engines. We might also reverse engineer the few remaining museum exhibits. But just about every technology tends to have tribal knowledge that never gets documented anywhere, or if it does only in some obscure place. 2. What did they do with those engines during northern winters over night? I don't suppose they would risk parking then and have them all freeze up. Did they keep the fire going 24/7? What about hydraulic lock if condensate accumulated in the cylinders over night? Even if they kept the fire going in the boiler, that would not have done much for the steam pipes and the cylinders. Or did they have heated sheds (well, heated to no less than 32°F anyways) for every locomotive that was not in immerdiate use? Dreimr What a great experience to work in the foundry!! Steam KnowledgeThere are lots of steam plants needing this type of knowledge - both mobile and stationary. Electric generating stations, ships (yes, they still exist), heating systems etc. Nothing like the smell and sounds of welders, grinders and torches in a railroad yard though. Especially one having been in existence for over 100 years. Kind of like the blacksmith shop my grandfather used to own. Wondering about Steam1. By modern engineering standards, any existing steam locomotives are woefully inefficient and mechanically complex. It can be done with modern manufacturing methods, an English preservation group built a new engine a few years ago, but the last semi-serious look at modern railroad steam power in the US came in the late 1970s/early 80s. In response to the energy crisis Ross Rowland proposed an updated steam engine, the ACE 3000, but it was never built. As for cold weather, they stayed outside unless they were in a roundhouse for minor repair or inspection with the fires kept hot ("banked") between runs. Dropping the fire was a lot of work, reserved for heavy repairs that took the engine out of service - pesky thermodynamics - as the boiler had to be allowed to cool slowly, the work completed then reheated slowly. You're talking live steam, so cylinders freezing wasn't likely, however they were equipped with drain valves to force out excess water rather than pressurizing and blowing off the cylinder head. Air compressors were prone to freezing; a friend's father worked for the NKP out of north eastern Indiana. In the winter, they'd soak journal waste (fabric packing material) in kerosene and light it with a couple of fusees (flares) so they could depart. Build a steam locomotive today?StefanJ asks if it is possible to build a steam locomotive today. Yes, it absolutely is possible. In 2008 a group of railway enthusiasts in Great Britain did just that, building a LNER Peppercorn Class A1 60163 Tornado, the first mainline steam locomotive built in the United Kingdom since 1960. In the US, a group called The T1 Trust is working to build a locomotive based on the design of the Pennsylvania Railroad T1. The T1 was the last steam locomotive built for the Pennsy. It was designed to be fast and to look fast with a streamlined casing designed by Raymond Loewy. They regularly achieved speeds in excess of 100 MPH pulling passenger trains with unconfirmed reports of speeds in excess of 140 MPH. While the terms “Best” or “Fastest” or “Most Beautiful” are obviously subjective, no one can argue that the T1 wasn’t in a class by itself. Cold WaterSteam locomotives were usually kept hot all the time between trips to the repair shops. There were some worries about stresses to the metal from frequent and fast cool-downs and fire-ups. Cylinders had cylinder cocks to drain condensate. Normal position was fail safe open, and steam or air pressure was needed to close them. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Second Home: 1943
... from division points." Medium format nitrate negative by Jack Delano, Office of War Information. View full size. "Stormy" ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/08/2014 - 12:39pm -

January 1943. "Freight train operations on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad between Chicago and Clinton, Iowa. The caboose is the conductor's second home. He always uses the same one and many conductors cook and sleep there while waiting for trains to take back from division points." Medium format nitrate negative by Jack Delano, Office of War Information. View full size. "Stormy" and brake tests."Stormy" Kromer was the inventor's name, the hat was a Kromer Blizzard Cap. The last one my wife bought for me was made in China, so I don't buy them anymore. There used to be a pair of hand (lantern) signals in the rulebook to handle brake tests: Rule 12(f), the lamp swung horizontally over the head was the signal for the engineer to apply the brakes for the test, Rule 12(g), the lamp held at arm's length overhead was the signal to release. If all was well and the pressure recovered at the caboose, the next signal would be the "highball", otherwise someone would start walking the train to find the problem. Classy RV-ingWouldn't it be great to have an RV these days that looked more like that than the generic, mundane look most modern RVs have? I suppose one could refit an RV to look like this, but the weight of the wood paneling might be a problem, not to mention the weight of the woodstove. One can dream, however unrealistic one's dreams might be. The Modern CabooseIn Canada at least there are still uses for cabooses. Mainly they're used on short switching runs where one or two cars are dropped off and or picked up at a specific shipper. I suspect that this is a time saving measure since it would be inefficient to keep moving the ETD (FRED) to the new end car, and it poor electronic brain might not be able to cope with a movement that temporarily splits the train in the middle. Lots of factors killed Cabeesemost already mentioned, but there were a large number of workers comp incidents that arose in a people transporter located a mile back of slack action on a freight train. One of the best ways to improve safety is to eliminate the need to expose workers to the danger in the first place. So this was a big improvement. Cheesecake, though, is something to be missed. Comforting memoriesAs a young boy in Maine my brother and I would watch the trains go by and count the cars. It was a thrill to wave to the conductor. My grandfather, an old railroad man, introduced us to a conductor friend of his and we even got a quick look inside a caboose. A dream come true for a young railroad fan. Proper pinupsSome tasty cheesecake here. Contemporary girls a la Sundblom and Elvgren along with some smaller older pieces. I Miss the CabooseNice man cave. September snowThe graffiti is correct; it did indeed snow in Illinois and Iowa on Friday, September 25, 1942 - up to two inches (in Iowa Falls). Newspapers the next morning reported that this was the first September snowfall in Des Moines in the history of the weather bureau. The high school football game between Garner and Buffalo Center was called because of darkness after "driving snow" knocked out six lights. Wall CandyI worked on a railroad for 36 years and the cabooses never were allowed to look like that. Years ago the caboose was assigned to the Conductor for each trip he made so it was decorated it the way he wanted it. I rode these for many years until they were replaced with a flashing rear end device. FRED Back in the day!It would have been nice to be there. Caboose LoreWhatever happened to cabooses? Were they stopped as a cost-saving measure, or was the conductor no longer needed on freight trains? They were a "natural" ending to trains as they looked so different from the other cars. When they passed you knew that it was OK to cross the crossing. Now freight trains just end and it is sad. Part of the fun with trains was waving at the caboose. Quite often, the conductor or whoever was in it would wave back. Cabeese and conductorsThough the cabeese have been replaced, not so the conductors. Their office has been moved into the cab of the locomotive..Conductors are actually in charge of the train, not as ususlly believed, the engineers. Engineers run the locomotives and the conductors tell them where to pick up and drop off freight cars. I prefer the caboose to the Freds that are used now. The Freds not only have a flashing light, but they radio air pressure and other information to the engineer, but the conductor is usually a nice friendly guy, much more than the Freds, A Place to HangI feel sorry for the modern conductor and brakeman. They used to have a home away from home at the end of the train but now only have a seat in the lead locomotive or a seat in the empty slave locomotives. Get a load of the CabooseGet a load of the caboose on the broad on the wall of the caboose. LOL (Am I the only one to post this obviouse joke?) A glimpse of the cabooseFrom "I Like Trains" by Fred Eaglesmith Sixteen miles from Arkadelphia right near the Texas border traffic was stopped at a railway crossing I took it to the shoulder I stoked the kettle I put it to the metal I shook the gravel loose I missed the train but I was happy with a glimpse of the caboose (chorus) cause I like trains I like fast trains I like trains that call out through the rain I like trains I like sad trains I like trains that whisper your name I was born on a greyhound bus my Momma was a diesel engine They tried to put me behind the wheel but I wouldn't let them You should have seen the look in their eyes and how it turned to tears when I finally told them I wanna be an engineer Now you think I've got someone new but darlin' that ain't true I could never love another woman besides you It's not some dewy-eyed darlin' darlin' that's gonna drive you insane But anymore I'd be listenin' for the sound of a big ol' train (chorus) cause I like trains I like fast trains I like trains that call out through the rain I like trains I like sad trains I like trains that whisper your name Cabeese have always intrigued meThanks for the view of life inside a caboose, I have always been fascinated with them. After reading Lectrogeek's link about the demise of the caboose I learned quite a bit of info about trains that I just took for granted before reading the link. The link's explanation of the features of the FRED device does bring up one question though. Before the days of computers and the prevalence of two-way radios from the back of the train to the front, how did the engineer get all of the air pressure and movement information from the conductor? Stormy Kromer!I spy an actual Stormy Kromer hat hanging on a peg! Still made in Michigan, originally designed by Stormy's wife from a baseball cap and made to stay on a railroad engineer's head no matter how windy. Technology overtook them.Renaissanceman asked "Whatever happened to cabooses?" Technology, in the form of flashing end-of-train devices (acronym is FRED, I think) and computerised detection for when the rear end passes critical points (signals, switches, etc) replaced the need for a man at the back. Home sweet home!Except for the slack action when a long train started up, I'm sure. Note the stout rod holding the potbelly stove down to the floor. And here is an explanation for why we no longer have cabeese. MemoriesMy brother forwarded this shot to me and boy do I love it. Our father was a conductor on the C&NWRR and the photo brought back so many wonderful memories of my childhood. As a railroading family, my father would periodically take me to the yard with him to work. One of the highlights of the trip was reaching for the curved handrail on the side of the caboose and let the train's passing movement pull you up for the ride. Once on-board, I loved climbing up to the copula for a bird’s eye view (usually it would be a trip to Proviso Yard where I could be handed off to see my uncle, grandfather or a cousin). Thank you for any train picsMy Grandfather, whom I adored, worked on the Erie Lackawanna from the early 1910's to the late 1960's. Any old pics of the great train days are so appreciated. Thank you. I find it interestingwith the cheesecake motif that in the upper left hand of this photo (near the stove pipe) there's a picture of what appears to be a mother consoling a child. Penny for his thoughts.Pipe smoker is wearing a Stormy Kromer as well. I wonder what he's thinking? How long will the war last? How long till he sees his son again? How long till lunch? How long is it gonna take this photographer to get his shot? The end of the endTwo innovations contributed to the end of the caboose. Roller bearings on the freight cars meant the guy in the cupola didn't have to watch for "hot-boxes" from the earlier cotton-waste oil-saturated bearing packing. The advent of the walkie-talkie meant communication between the engineer and the guy on the ground taking care of the switching. Not Politically CorrectPersonalized cabooses like this started dying off probably by the 1950s when most large railroads and the unions agreed to use "pooled" cabooses where the caboose stayed with the train and only the crews changed. Today it is totally politically incorrect to post lewd photos or drawings like those in the photo. If doing such today does not get you fired, it will certainly cause you to have to attend Diversity and Sensitivity Training Sessions. Oh yeah, most jokes are strictly off limits, too. The railroad is a changed place these days. It's all in the detailsAnd what a wealth of details in this photo! Like the splatter on the side of the cabinet just above the waste basket. Probably from tobacco juice, or possibly empty beer cans? Neither of which would fly in today's railroad workplace, according to several of the comments. And the guy with the pipe would probably be out of a job as well. And what's up with the rolling pin hanging on the wall? Maybe to roll out a few pancakes for cooking on the stove when they got hungry? The print of the mother and child on the left looks like it has been hanging there since the caboose was built. And, echoing several of the other comments, I miss the caboose and the waving conductor. I still remember that as a kid, and this was back in the 1970s. Outstanding photo and keep up the great work. Politically Correct PinupIt's in the eye of the beholder. Working on the railroadI come from a railroad family. My grandfather had 50 years on the job, as did my father. I haven't seen the interior of many caboose cars but I did not see any decorated like this one. My dad used the downtime to study his safety rules for the next level of exam, necessary for promotion, not looking at nekkid women. Men were paid on time in grade status, but to promote you had to take a test and wait for an opening. Railroading was a serious job, the company took safety very seriously as did the men, particularily the brakemen because they would be out there on the track swinging the lantern to guide the engineer on his back-up as well as to switch the track. Never would alcohol be on the job, not ever. It would not be tolerated by the company, nor by the men whose lives were at stake. My dad smoked cigarettes, as did his father. Everyone smoked cigarettes and since it was not an issue like it is today, I cannot image that it wasn't allowed in the caboose. My dad quit railroading in the 1980s saying he was quitting because the new men coming in did not care--they were not interested in learning the job the right way, just "get it done quick, rest, play cards, and get my pay". It hurt him to see this low standard of work ethic, as it did other men. Sad commentary on progress, is it not. We loved seeing the trains pass--ran from our play when we heard the whistle blow just to wave, first at the engineer who would sound the horn for us, and then at the caboose where the men would wave back. it was especially nice if it was our dad in the caboose. Dining carI assume the "Dining Car in opposite direction" sign is a joke? If so, very clever. Afterlife of CabeeseA friend of ours, who has a stand of sugar maple trees and a hobby sugaring operation, got a retired Canadian National caboose (red, of course) with the idea of using it as a warming hut during the sap boiling. He paid some nominal price, and it was delivered to his site on a flatbed truck. He'd determined how high the caboose should be mounted -- you get the caboose only, not the wheels -- and he'd prepared a foundation for it that would place it at the actual height of a operational caboose. To get the thing off the truck an into place, he rented a crane and operator at something like $100/hour (this was three decades ago). Well, it took the crane operator four hours to get that caboose off the truck and onto the foundation! Yes, it all worked out OK, and yes, there's a red CN caboose sitting in a southern Ontario stand of maples. But that "freebie" caboose ended up costing a whole lot more. Air on the BrakesAccording to the air brake gage on the back wall there is air on the train so the caboose is hooked up (coupled) to the train. I wonder who's cut out head is pinned to the lower left door window? (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads)
One Second Fast: 1943
... to Pacific time." Medium-format safety negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Oh....for the Internet I actually ran a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/05/2012 - 6:06pm -

March 1943. "Seligman, Arizona. Teletype operator in the telegraph office of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad. The time here changes from Mountain to Pacific time." Medium-format safety negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Oh....for the InternetI actually ran a Teletype machine in the mid 1960s, pretty much the same as these. One of my first full time jobs. I worked as a timekeeper for a construction site here in Ontario and had to send daily weather reports to the head office in Winnipeg. It was weird because you were always ahead of the machine as you typed, and there was no spell checker either ... shoulders back and sit up straight. Seligman I beg to differ with the caption. I believe that the time in Seligman never changes at all. No more than a wide spot in the road, it had to have been the model for Radiator Springs in Disney's "Cars," bypassed by the interstate and frozen in time. It's like the flippin' Twilight Zone out there. My Rasta roommate and I endured a breakdown 50 miles from Seligman on a trip from Southern California to college in Flagstaff, AZ many years ago. It was circling buzzards (really), and inbred locals (at a remote gas pipeline station), (1) meth-addled trucker, and (2) tow-truck drivers sharing graphic blood and gore stories the whole way to town. Needless to say, Rasta Boy was terrified, and later asked me where I'd learned to "talk Hick." (I'm still not sayin'.) Where's WaldoThere are all sorts of hidden treasures lurking in this picture. I love the visor that is hung behind the Pacific clock. Looks like it's probably chilly outside, too, seeing this young girl's furry-collar coat hanging on the wall. Compared to what?That "One Second Fast" thing intrigues me. What would they be comparing that to? One second faster than what? Had the atomic clock been put into service by that point? Their timekeepingseems to be quite percise, but the filing system (stacked in the window) looks a lot like my office! Teletype Model 15Teletype Model 15. A closeup of the keyboard if you scroll down the page a bit. Back in the early 70s I had one of these machines hooked to my amateur radio and could send and receive teletype messages or "super low resolution" images formed by strategic placement of characters on the printer roll to make an image. Some of them were quite lengthy (banners) and took quite a while to receive or send. (Considerably slower than the slowest dialup connection). Quartz? I don't need no stinkin' quartz.One second? My overpriced Seiko isn't that accurate. Why one second fast? I see her coat hanging by the clocks. So she gets to go home a little early on company time? Next to the tracksNote the bay window so the operator could see down the tracks and hoop up orders to the train crew. That is a railroad car outside. SeligmanI've passed through Seligman on Highway 66 several times in the last 10 years. I was sad to learn that the Harvey House next to the train tracks was recently torn down. Staying at the Supai Motel and having a mediocre breakfast in the diner down the street is as close to time travel as I've experienced. Seligman history: http://www.seligmanhistory.com/index.html SeligmanI've been to Seligman, too. On a drive from Flagstaff to Vegas. It is the land that time forgot. I fully expected Rod Serling to come out with some kind of announcement. However, I did get some cool stuff in some of those shops. Just a secondThe idea was probably to glance at the time on the clock and by the time you typed in the time (about 1 second later) you would be as accurate as possible. Disregarding the question of "faster than what." One Second FastAccurate timekeeping was extremely important to railroads back in the day. Timepieces would be tested once a year, primarily pocket watches used by conductors and station personnel. I assume that the postings on the Seligman clocks were the result of some sort of test and this was used to indicate their accuracy rather than for a 1 second adjustment on train times. CalibrationIt's fairly common practice with delicate equipment to label or note an error, rather than trying to eliminate the error. When you open up the case and start turning screws or wiggling wires, you risk destroying the instrument. As long as the error is linear and predictable, it's less expensive to adjust your mind than to adjust the instrument. KeysThe keyboard of the Teletype seems to have a lot fewer keys that a standard typewriter (or computer). Can any former operators remember what the difference was? The clocksSince the clocks appear to have mercury compensated pendulums, they are probably free running - not slaved to a line master clock. One second no doubt refers to their 24 hour rate - they gain one second in 24 hrs. MaybeMaybe the clocks are one second fast for when the operator has to record the time. By the time she records the time of day, one second has elapsed and the other end of the telegraph line is getting a more accurate reading. RegardlessTimely accuracy not withstanding, those two clocks look like they belong in some fine residence or the lobby of a hotel somewhere. Not the least bit industrial in design! I shudder to think what they'd be worth today or how hard it might be to find one! Clock CalibrationAccording to a photo caption of similar clocks in the book Faces of Railroading, the clocks were calibrated by a daily telegraph signal from the U.S. Naval Observatory. 32 keysThere were 32 keys, 26 letters and some punctuation. A shift key was used for numbers, much like early manual typewriters. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleprinter Old time precision surprisesInteresting, I had not heard of the telegraph time signal. It's the telegraph equivalent of radio station WWVB used by my kitchen clock! Railroad AccuracyAs stated by Texcritic, timekeeping was critical for train operations. For example, a train order might direct one train to "wait at" a particular station until a specific time. This train order would also be directed to an opposing train who choose their meeting location based on this information. Conductors and engineers would be directed to check their watches with a standard clock at the beginning of each duty tour and no watch could be more than 30 seconds off the standard time. The clocks in the stations were checked at least once a day by a telegraphic signal from headquarters. TrainsHow fascinating! When I was a young teenager, one of my uncles was a dispatcher for the Baltimore and Ohio. His little shack, laughingly called a "tower," was about 10 by 10, and I recall his typewriter was all-caps, on which he typed the train orders and tied them in the "hoops" as mentioned elsewhere. There were three sets, and on a couple of occasions he let me hand them up. I had to stand on tiptoe as the steam loco passed and the trainman leaned far out to snag the order. Then, about mid-train, the conductor leaned out and got his, and finally the brakeman on the caboose got his. How long ago and far away! Seth Thomas.Cuando se tomó la fotografía los relojes ya eran bastante antiguos. Conservo, en buen uso, otro Seth Thomas que compró mi bisabuelo, algo menos sofisticado, pero que tiene la misma caja y los mismos adornos. He preparado una foto pero no sé como subirla... Good thinkingWonderful filing system! Can't think of a better place for that fire extinguisher... One Second FastThese signs were on all of the Santa Fe official clocks, if the clock got too far off of official time, the clockman would come in and fix the clock. Nobody but the clockman was allowed to adjust the official clock. LTRS and FIGSThe military still used these teletypes when I was in the Army in the 1970's. If I remember correctly, the "shift" keys operated differently from typewriters. Character codes were shared between letters and numbers/punctuation with preceding LTRS and FIGS codes to shift between them. That is, when the FIGS key was pressed, a FIGS codes was sent and all subsequent character codes were interpreted as numeric characters (figures) until the LTRS key was pressed. That would send a LTRS code and return the unit to alphabetic operation. Standard timeIt's because of railroads that we have time zones. Can you imagine trying to arrange a railway schedule when every town had its own time? VibroplexThat sure looks like a Vibroplex bug sitting on the table just over her right shoulder...a semi-automatic morse code generator. Love the coat hookI love how there is a nail in the wall for the coat hanger under the light switch. I can see her coming in in the morning, turning on the light, removing her coat and hanging it up there under the switch. Then turning it off at night. So practical. Not like today where light switches and coat closets are miles apart! There's a clock like that in SacramentoThere is a similar clock on display at the Calif. State RR Museum in Sacramento. It is a work of art. These would be worth a fortune today. Noisy MachinesIn 1967, I was in school learning how to use these Teletype machines. Talk about noisy! I was a fairly fast typist and the Teletype machine was a slow machine to type on, which was a bit frustrating when your fingers wanted to go faster than the machine did. These are ancient machines now but looking back to'67 I didn't have one thought to how old they were, I just didn't like all the noise and slowness of them. Thank God for progress!! Seth Thomas 19's Standard ClocksBob Wells, Watch & Clock Inspector for Santa Fe, told me back in 1970 about the two 19's in Seligman. It was a unique period for several years that you could purchase Santa Fe clocks; mainly Seth Thomas clocks such as a #19, Gallery, School House,#2 and a few E. Howards. All Santa Fe timepieces were called in and eventually displayed in a warehouse in the San Bernardino yard including the two from Seligman. What a sight that was; there were five #19's side by side for sale and most remained on the wall for a year waiting for a buyer. The #19's with the Montgomery Dials as pictured sold for $3500, a #2 for $350 a School House for $100. Some internet chatter says over 300 of 19's were purchased by Santa Fe. Bob Wells said it was around 15. It took me a year save $3500 to buy a #19 along with the one second sign just prior to Bob's retirement in '73 along with all Santa Fe Watch and Clock Inspectors thus ending an era. It arrived in a box car from Topeka. Bob and I drove his station wagon to the box car and then we drove to my house to set it up. Such service from a very nice man. He loved those 19's but was never able to afford one after retirement. We remained good friends and shop talked clocks until he passed away in the 80ies. Last October a Santa Fe ST 19 went up for auction and sold in the 100K range. I just hope the two in Seliman got their Finials straighten out as they are incorrectly placed. For 100K, you want it perfect. Two timesUntil 1950 Seligman was the west end of the Albuquerque Division and east end of the Arizona Division -- the former ran on Mountain Time and the latter on Pacific. When the west end of the Albuquerque Division moved west to Needles, the time change moved west too. And not just railroad time -- until the beginning of the war, road maps showed the time change at Seligman instead of at the state line as it is now. "1 Second Fast" means the time on the clock is one second ahead of the correct time -- nothing to do with the rate at which the clock gains time. The crews that use the clock to check their watches don't care about that; they just want to know what the correct time is at this moment. (Technology, The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Aliquippa: 1941
... Aliquippa, Pennsylvania." Medium format safety negative by Jack Delano. Office of War Information. View full size. Times Have Changed ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/05/2012 - 6:06pm -

January 1941. "Street in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania." Medium format safety negative by Jack Delano. Office of War Information. View full size. Times Have ChangedAliquippa is the location of the long-closed Jones and Laughlin Steel Company -- presumably seen in the background. On a day off in 1987 I drove through the town and was taken by the sad state of affairs with many vacant homes, large trees growing along the elevated craneways in the steelyard and the once-proud Carnegie Library closed. Ups and DownsThose hills have to be great for sleds and torture for drivers. Reminds me of "The Deer Hunter"The streets in these industrial sooty towns in Pennsylvania are very reminiscent of the neighborhoods depicted in that unforgettable movie. I have not been to "Pennsy" since the middle of WW2, but assume it must be more modern and hopefully a lot less dreary today. Anyone? Anyone? Thank you Shorpy for posting these pictures, they are eye-openers for sure. ReptilianWhat kind of siding is on that darkish building? I've never seen it before. [Looks like asphalt or asbestos shingles. - Dave] Pennsyl...eh, whateverStill depressing. Less drearyI'm a Pennsylvania native, and my state never looked that dreary to me. Then again, I came from the ridge-and-valley part of the state, where agriculture and lumber were the top industries, so I never saw these old coal and steel towns. AliquippaAliquippa is still pretty dreary and abandoned. I haven't been there for about 5 or 10 years, but I doubt it's changed much. The city of Pittsburgh, on the other hand, isn't the pollution-filled abandoned hole it was in the 70s and 80s. I grew up there in the 80s, and saw it go through the transformation from a depressed, dirty, abandoned town to a gorgeous city with a great arts center. Older than Yoda, you should certainly go visit if you can and see the gorgeous city it's become! And yeah, the hills are pretty terrifying. On snow days, we used to go sled riding down some huge hills with pretty steep inclines (I lived in a neighborhood with little traffic.) Good times! Beautiful ShotSay what you may, but this shot catches the quiet dignity of people capturing the best of what they have. Clean with apparently well maintained homes, they took what they had and tried to elevate it to a better level. Bless them. Very evocative photoWhat an interesting picture! It almost looks like the person walking down the street is from a more recent time (no fedora, plus his jacket looks like an olive-drab military jacket that people have been wearing for the last 30 or 40 years). It could be Robert De Niro after he just got back from 'Nam! Truth and BeautyJack Delano was one of the great unsung heroes of photography in the 1930s and '40s. His compositions were impeccable and his images seduced you into the "there" that was there. This is not a depressing photograph. Home sweet homeI grew up in Aliquippa. When I saw you posting the Pittsburgh and Beaver Falls photos I wondered if you would get to the ones Jack Delano took in Aliquippa. (Aliquippa is a short distance down the Ohio river from Beaver Falls and almost directly across the river from Ambridge, which you've shown in earlier pictures.) I'm pretty sure this is somewhere on Superior Avenue on the hill above downtown. The houses in the middle distance are a neighborhood called Logstown. Regarding the earlier comment, that is indeed the Jones & Laughlin mill, which closed in about 1986. But Aliquippa never had a Carnegie library. B.F. Jones Memorial Library is on Franklin Avenue and still very much open. This view probably looks much the same today except that the mill is completely gone, nothing but dirt. Dreary is as Dreary SeesSay what you will about the so-called dreariness of these photos of the old steel mill towns along the PA rivers, you'll never see the likes of them again in this country again. Where will we get our steel if we ever need it now? My Pastor was born and raised in Aliquippa and still follows his instincts back to his old home during the Holidays. Good for him! [We'd get our steel here. The United States is the world's No. 3 producer. The industry has shifted from Pennsylvania to the Great Lakes states. - Dave] Henry Mancini, Aliquippa nativeIn January 1941 Henry Mancini was just months away from graduating from Aliquippa High School (his dad worked in the steel mills there)--and he eventually went on to the Juilliard School and then quite a musical career. Potential Hot Rods!Look at all that potential Hot Rod Material. Yeah with 350 or 454 Chevy High Performance with 350 Turbo Automatic. Lowered and customized, nice paint job, 21 inch wheels. If only we can go back into time and bring them forward before rust got to them. Winter is dreary everywhereI lived in a nearby town, Beaver, for a couple of years. This scene probably wouldn't look very different today. The landscape is always dreary on those gray winter days, no matter where you live. Rough sleddingSledding was great until the ash trucks spread ashes all over our sledding streets. But then Dad could drive all the way home. AliquippaI live a few miles from where this picture was taken. Aside from the belching steel mill in the background that used the Ohio River as a sewer, it's still pretty much the same. Streets in my HometownThis is my home town where I was born and raised. Winters looked like this then and now. This street no longer existsThis street is Irons Hill Road (Iron Street) in the Logstown area of Aliquippa. People in the area will know the area as the "Baker Street" area. If you look at Google Maps, this street ran up a hill above Baker street. The buildings on the street in this picture were basically abandoned by the early 1980's and they were torn down. The only homes left in the area today are below on Baker Street. The demolition really began when the Highway (route 51) was widened into a four-lane highway in the 1960s. Lots of hard-working, first generation European immigrants, many blacks who moved from the South, and other hard working people lived in this neighborhood and worked in the massive Jones & Laughlin Steel mill you can see in the distance. My mother grew up in this neighborhood in the 30s and 40s (and lived on Iron Street). She described it as a safe place where doors were unlocked and people looked out for each other and their children. When we drove through in the 1980s and she saw what it looked like, she was so sad! Great picture of a past time and place! (The Gallery, Factories, Jack Delano)
Paging Edward Hopper: 1940
... Brockton, Massachusetts. December 1940. Photograph by Jack Delano. View full size. These duplexes must have been fairly grand when ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 2:43pm -

Children in the tenement district, Brockton, Massachusetts. December 1940. Photograph by Jack Delano. View full size. These duplexes must have been fairly grand when they were new, probably around the turn of the century. They look like the house where Granny and Tweety Bird lived. Are they still there? I'll get it running some dayEver since there have been cars somebody has put them on blocks and abandoned them. Are you sure that picture isn't a model?Look at the people. They just don't look real. And neither does the car or the big tree limb in front of it all. They are still there...I can't promise you that these exact ones are still around, but there are many that look just like this in Brockton. Some have been restored, some are still run down. Sure it isn't a model?The people don't look real. The car looks like a toy, and the tree limb in front of it all is huge. Tree limb??That's a telephone pole. Click here. Another version is here. Telephone pole?Actually it is a power pole, there are no telephone lines on it. If you look real close you can see the telephone pole and lines in the back. ever wonder?Ever wonder what the people's thoughts were at the moment the photo was taken? A. Moore Re: Sure it isn't a model?I haven't poked around this site a lot, so maybe this info is here somewhere (yeah, yeah, I read the explanation of the Shorpy name) -- but maybe you should explain more background to a lot of these photos from the 30s and 40s. Of course they're real. These are by documented, well-known, and legendary photographers. Walker Evans. Lewis Hine. Dorothea Lange. Ben Shahn. Russell Lee. Look them up. The photos are so detailed because they used large format cameras with honking big negatives. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG97/fsa/welcome.html Read the book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Get a hardcover copy that really shows off Walker Evan's photos. And keep looking back here for more leads on great documentary photography. Looks real to me.I'm loving those roofs. The shape is wonderful. How pretty these homes must have looked when new. This, and "American Gothic".I don't know if it's of any use, but if you look at the "American Gothic" image (another from this shoot), the number 22 is chalked onto the left door on the porch. Maybe somebody who knows Brockton (Dianne Cantara, where are you?) can track down this locale and tell us what's there now. FantasticThese houses are fantastic. Are they duplexes or quads? That's an amazing amount of house for a duplex! Mansard RoofThere are many examples of this style of house where I live, I grew up in one very similar that had 4 single family homes in it, each of which is now at least 5 apartments. The roof style is a Mansard roof if I'm not mistaken and is fairly common in the Northeastern US and Canada, it stands up well to a heavy snowload. Mansard RoofThe mansard roofs and style of these houses is called the French Second Empire style. In the last half of the 19th century, it was common to have roofs with dormers. It provided an extra residential floor, but tax assessments did not count the top floor in the market appraisals, so owners were, in effect, adding a floor to the building without being taxed for it. This was explained to me by a historian who recently gave a wonderful two-hour walking tour of houses and mills along the Quinebaug River in Putnam, Connecticut. You can see some interesting information about this at: http://www.americanlandmarks.com/french.htm They are there!I grew up in Brockton and those places are still there! Brockton, Mass.Would anyone please post the address of the location this shot was taken? I am working on a photogray project where I am shooting with a similar vision as Edward Hopper paintings. These Mansard Roof homes would be perfect subject matter at sunrise/sunset. Oh, please forward the address to my e-mail at sternedwards@aol.com Thanks In Advance, Charles Roland 1932 Ford Standard TudorThe car is a 1932 Ford Standard Tudor and the color is Washington Blue. I have one just like it. Look at the detailsI see details such as the fading wreaths in the windows, the rain downspouts that have a "Y" connectors from the second floor roof to the bay window roofs, then to the next level and then down to the ground; the corbels in the entry way. So many homes had them as trim items and so many are removed today. A lot of architectural character is missing in today's homes. Is it totally genuine?The power pole looks fake at the base, and its shadow is narrower than the pole itself. And take a look at the shadow of the child in black: different angle. The dog ... oh well ... no shadow at all. Maybe not totally fake, but surely retouched. [The shadow of the pole would be the same width as its base if you could see where two the came together behind the where the dirt has built up along the pavement. The shadow on the ground next to the kid is cast by whatever he's holding; his own shadow is much smaller, like the dog's. - Dave] (The Gallery, Brockton, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Dogs, Jack Delano, Kids)
Early Boomers: 1940
... this 'boom' is over." Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Bath Iron ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/30/2022 - 5:05pm -

December 1940. "War boom in a New England industrial town. Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Bryant in their trailer about two miles out of Bath, Maine. Mr. Bryant works in the shipyard. They have been living in the trailer for two months. They could not rent in Bath and although a trailer cost them almost as much as a house, Mr. Bryant feels that it is a better investment because they do not know where they will go next in search of work when this 'boom' is over." Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Bath Iron Works - Still ThereBath Iron Works is still one of the largest shipbuilders for the U.S. Navy and one of the largest employers in Maine. As it was in Mr. Bryant's day, shipbuilding remains a boom-and-bust industry. Those ShoesSo many people have been those same shoes. Young, recently married, dreams and worries in equal amounts, uncertainty ahead. Love alone is not enough and there are always bits of life drama presenting themselves. But with a bit of luck, Mr. Bryant proves himself useful enough at the Plant that he avoids the draft. Mrs. Bryant manages to also find work, and the two find time to build a family under a permanent roof. [So they were real heels? - Dave] Well heeled, let's say. Wonder what happened to them?Well, the "boom" lasted another four and a half years, but Mr. Bryant might well have been drafted, if he couldn't get an "essential industry" deferment. That does remind me of the old used trailer my parents got for our summer place, with that thin wood veneer. Twin beds for newlywedsmay work in a movie or on TV, but is not so great in real life. At the other end of domestic life -- that trailer in a Maine winter during a marital bump-in-the road is not going to provide any get away-from-me space. But they are the Greatest Generation; they will make it work. Trailer lifeSpeaking of Maine winters, how would they keep the pipes underneath from freezing? And trailers are never insulated all that well, so it would’ve been mighty chilly inside, I’m thinking. As for twin beds, the seating arrangements generally pull into a double bed. [Insulated pipes. - Dave] Mr. & Mrs. BLeslie Eugene Bryant (1919-1995) married Ruth M. Barstow (1919-1994) in Maine on June 25, 1938. In December 1940, Leslie and Ruth were photographed in their home by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. The Bath city directory for 1942-43 mentioned their move to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Leslie was inducted into the Army on September 19, 1944, at Portland. His civilian occupation was machinist. In November 1944, he was admitted to the hospital. Diagnosis: reaction to drugs, vaccines, serums (smallpox vaccine) while in basic training. He was returned to duty. Leslie and Ruth were living in Escambia County, Florida, in the 1950 Census. Leslie was employed as a machinist at Pensacola Naval Air Station. They were divorced February 1957 in Huntsville, Alabama. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, WW2)
Special Agent: 1943
... the Illinois Central Railroad." Medium-format negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. You guys can ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/18/2017 - 12:12pm -

May 1943. Chicago. "Special agent making his rounds at night at the South Water Street freight terminal of the Illinois Central Railroad." Medium-format negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. You guys can be slick...by putting your "Shorpy" logo on that IC reefer in a nearly-matching font. nice jobGreat job of placing the "Shorpy" in this photo. I'd bet Mr. Delano would've had a chuckle over of it like I did. Long time exposure plus flashI do believe that this, in a way, is a self portrait. At least, in the style of the Renaissance painters who would include a likeness of themselves as one of the background crowd. Based on the two bright streaks in the sky, likely planets rather than stars, this appears to be a rather long exposure as would be necessary to get a decent exposure of the buildings while using a moderately small aperture to get adequate depth of field. At some point during the exposure the person in the lower right (Delano probably) manually triggered a flash, lighting the rail cars and leaving themselves as a silhouette. Great technique (except the slight bump to the camera seen as a wiggle in the trails of the planets. [The caption identifies the person in the lower right. It isn't Delano. -tterrace] Channeling ShorpyHe would have loved this tribute, God rest his soul. Great choice of type by the way. Nicely done Detective StoryThe agent's silhouette could very well be the logo of a detective story series, it's such a suggestive image! Wonderful image! Shorpy RRReally like the Shorpy watermark on the box car. (The Gallery, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Stoplight in Vermont: 1941
... corner in Burlington, Vermont." Medium format negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Is that ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/09/2019 - 10:24am -

August 1941. "A street corner in Burlington, Vermont." Medium format negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Is that Grandpa Hall?The man on the corner could be my grandfather Peter Hall. It looks just like him, and he always wore that kind of hat. He also smoked a pipe or a cigar. However, by 1941, I believe he had pulled up stakes and moved to Maine, unless he just happened to be back in Vermont for a visit or for business. Most interesting ghost in the underworldI don't always haunt greasy spoons, but when I do, I haunt Limoge's Grill. It's a long way to LimogesAnother classic title by Dave. Have to wonderAre those singing telegraph cables overhead? Please step downWow, what an interesting building on the corner. It looks like in the old picture, from the step-down entrance on the "ground floor" that someone actually started a restaurant in the basement of what looks like an pre-existing house. Normally you'd expect some kind of hill or slope to necessitate a raised first and second floor in a home, but none exists here. Neat to see that the house still remains, that the paint has been stripped off the brick which suggests a major renovation, and the "basement" appears to have continued service as maybe a rental unit. Looks like the neighborhood has been gentrified. Excellent picture, Dave. A couple of survivorsMostly the same with a lot less character. Ready, Set, GO!Is WALK written on the middle lens of the traffic light? Probably a reasonable explanation and I'm sure it made sense then, but I'd probably have looked both ways and run. Stop-Walk-GoI notice this old Crouse-Hinds traffic signal has Stop-Walk-Go lenses rather than the more typical Stop-Caution-Go. It was an early attempt to provide some pedestrian indications without additional signals and cost. There's a little info here http://www.kbrhorse.net/signals/ch_dt_4-way01.html though the arrangement is different. Wow!This photo has everything! KidsI'll bet there's a baby carriage without wheels somewhere. The daily breezeThe coolest thing about this picture is the lady sitting in the sun on the side porch, with her planter box of flowers, enjoying her newspaper. Stayed close by --We were in Burlington two weeks ago. We stayed at an Airbnb that was just five houses down North Street (toward the lake) from this house. This area is the south part of the Old North End. It used to be a lot rougher than it is now. I was a prison guard in the late 1980s in nearby St. Albans, and half the inmates at that time were from the North End of Burlington. No longer. Burlington is a great town; big enough to be interesting but small enough to feel safe. (The Gallery, Bicycles, Jack Delano, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)
St. Albans: 1941
... the main street in Saint Albans." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Gone 500 ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/21/2022 - 5:05pm -

August 1941. "Small-town scenes in Vermont. In the square, facing the main street in Saint Albans." Acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Gone 500 MilesThe car they call the City of St. Albans. Life goes on and you can't go back again.One of the best pictures ever. Four geezers reminiscing of years gone by. I was born in Southwestern Ontario two years later. Now I'm one of them. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)A sign points the way to Chester A. Arthur Camp, where the following took place: Built bath house, retaining wall and trench at St. Albans State Park. Constructed a road and fire tower to the top of Bellevue hill. Camp in St. Albans at “Blue Bonnet Park”, 2 miles from L. Champ. Project work was under direction of National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of Interior. Bellevue –- ski trails and lodge. Stone from Gays quarry used in retaining wall. You can learn more about the CCC here. Has a barber shop been there for 80+ years?Here is the view looking west down Lake Street today. On the right, the buildings beyond the one with the arch in the cornice and The News Boy painted on the side are gone, replaced mostly by a fairly new looking Hampton Inn. On the left, the buildings beyond the one with the Coca-Cola blade sign are gone, replaced mostly by a parking lot and the Franklin County Court building. There isn't much retail on this part of Lake Street today -- certainly no Florsheim Shoes or Winifred's Shop for Children; most likely because there's a Walmart just north of St. Albans. But, if you look just below the aforementioned Coca-Cola sign, you can see a barber pole. On Street View, there is a business with the blue awning in that same location (as close as I can tell). That business is a barber shop. At the end of the day... the two on the right became best friends. DIY 55-gallon gas tank Be not deceivedBeneath this seemingly placid scene lurk ancient rivalries. St. Albans is, in fact, three, three, three towns in one. St. Albans City is surrounded by the town of Saint Albans, which is incorporated separately from the city of St. Albans. Accordingly, the peculiar grouping on the bench hints at the schismatic nature of this outwardly idyllic tableau. If Cerberus were a city, he (it, they) would be St. Albans (or Saint Albans or Saint Albans City).There is a theological element in play (as is all too often the case), concerning the precise doctrinal significance of Saint Albans's martyrdom, circa 209 – 305 AD. Had we but world enough and time (and a good Thesaurus), I would unravel a triplicitous tale of treachery that would make Stephen King, of neighboring Maine, blanch in tremulous terror. Think twice before you rush off to Travel Advisor or booking.com! Different Points of ViewTwo guys reading something, possibly the same newspaper, two guys gazing into the distance reminiscing about the good old days, and one on the right watching people. Great photo! Best I've seen in while. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Small Towns)
American Beauty: 1940
... to pick potatoes." Medium-format safety negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Coals to ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/01/2021 - 12:51pm -

July 1940. "Near Shawboro, North Carolina. Group of Florida migrants on their way to Cranberry [i.e., Cranbury], New Jersey, to pick potatoes." Medium-format safety negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Coals to Newcastle...... Potatoes to Cranberry. Cranberry?Hmm. . . strikes me that they are probably going to Cranbury, NJ - I don't know of any town called Cranberry in NJ. Though we grow a lot of them here! ShirtsleevesThese people didn't have a lot of clothing, and what they did have was a bit worn down, but really well made. Look at the shirtsleeve on the man to the right. That's not cheap stuff. I wish I could help the young lady fix the front of her dress. And she's got a ring on her finger. Betrothed? BaldThese people don't look like they can afford tires with rubber on the tread. I imagine they spent a lot of time patching tubes and mounting tires. Oh, my....A somber photograph, but such a beautiful, beautiful face. This is one of my favorite Shorpy photos ever. They are also..."Pledged to Drive Safely" on their way to New Jersey to pick potatoes. Obviously, a very hard working family too. License plate toppers like this one are a very valuable collectible in the automobilia market. Sentimental journeySuch an evocative picture. That beautiful, soulful face. What were her hopes and dreams? And did any of them come true? One of my very favorite Shorpy pictures. It almost makes me cry. Who are you.My God, so beautiful. Did you know, sweetheart? Did you realize? In the next century, we do. American Beauty: 1940and the beauty of it all is she could well still be alive. Wouldn't it be a hoot if she posted here? GorgeousWhat a beautiful young lady. She is still full of hope for the future. I wonder what became of her? The car1934 Studebaker Dictator, if anyone asks. I agreeI think the comments reflect my feeling perfectly. It is really a very moving photograph, and she is absolutely beautiful. Perfect 10The prefix on the license plate indicates the car is from Broward County, probably Fort Lauderdale, Pompano or Oakland Park. WowThis is just one of those pictures you want to stare at forever. Her beauty is classic. La GiocondaA "Mona Lisa" smile.... Beautiful GirlI don't think the ring on her finger is an engagement ring. My guess is it's the one pretty thing she had and she put it on the finger which could hold it. I am curious though--how many of the sharecroppers would have been drafted into the army in another year or so? Did they return to their former lives? Did the women sharecroppers find work in munitions factories? Blossom DearieThis girl is like a gorgeous rose that has suddenly bloomed in a most unexpected place. LovelyBut considering the times, destined to look like the older, tired eyed lady in the background. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Jack Delano, Pretty Girls)
Film Noir: 1941
... Bedford, Massachusetts." Medium-format safety negative by Jack Delano. Office of War Information. View full size. Listen, Schweetheart ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/12/2009 - 9:59pm -

January 1941. "Foggy night in New Bedford, Massachusetts." Medium-format safety negative by Jack Delano. Office of War Information. View full size. Listen, Schweetheartyou and me, we're goin' places, see! Let me just light this cigarette, and then ... Nick DangerIt ain't Los Angeles, but let's see how many Firesign Theatre fans are out there: He walks again by night. Out of the fog, into the smog. Relentlessly ... ruthlessly ... (I wonder where Ruth is) doggedly ... (rowr rowr rar) toward his weekly meeting with ... the unknown. Rocky RococoAt Drucker and fourth, he turns right. At Fourth and Drucker, he turns left. He cuts across McArthur Park and walks into a big stone building. (Ouch! my nose!) Cue Organ MusicBrought to you Loosener's Caster Oil Flakes. Oh George... George...I'm shakin' the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I'm gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Colosseum. Then, I'm comin' back here to go to college and see what they know. And then I'm gonna build things. I'm gonna build airfields, I'm gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I'm gonna build bridges a mile long... Could it be 1942?The OWI was not created until June of 1942, some six months after the Pearl Harbor attack. If Delano worked for OWI when he took this terrific atmospheric photo, it would have to be in 1942 or later. [It's 1941. The FSA and RA photos, upon the demise of the Farm Security and Resettlement administrations, were transferred to the Office of War Information, and are credited to the OWI by the Library of Congress. - Dave] Depth of fieldExposure and depth of field are to perfection for the mood. If you lived here......you'd be home now! I Cover the WaterfrontScene: Fleshy woman leaning against lamppost holding unlit cigarette. Woman: Hi, Sailor. Sailor: Hi, Mom. No!!! Put down that pickle!!!I invite all Nick Danger fans to check out "Pat Novak, For Hire" - a short lived 1949 radio series starring Jack Webb, available in all the usual 'net places. I'm convinced the Firesign boys listened to "Novak" while writing the Nick Danger script, it's a hilarious (intentionally or not) sendup of the hardboiled genre. Don't touch that dialI see you haven't lost you delicate sense of humor, Nancy! Brought to you by the makers of Loosener's Castor Oil Flakes and Fantastic Cigarettes. Loosener's for the smile of beauty; Fantastics for the smile of success! Tune in again next week -- same time, same station - when Nick Danger meets The Arab! Nick Danger - I spell my name ...[looks back at office door to check] ...Regnad. Good Night, LoverHeck, "Pat Novak, For Hire" was a send-up of the hard-boiled genre. If only they'd been sponsored by a certain root-beer maker. Third Eye"It had been snowing ever since the top of the page, and I had to shake the cornstarch off my mukluks." SweetI came to slumped over in the front seat of my own car, lying in a pool of cheap rotgut. I had a head full of ideas that were driving me insane, and a mouthful of cotton candy ... "Ya want some more cotton candy, Danger? It might sober you up!" You're going down for it sweetheartI think I see Miles Archer's body lying on the sidewalk in the distance. Oh, you mean Nancy!(Rocky and Nick in dialogue. As we turn up the microphone, Rocky begins...) Rocky- That tarnished piece of tin is worthless! Nick- Worthless?! Ha! Not to Melanie Haber! Melanie Haber? You may remember her as... Audrey Farber? Audrey Farber? Susan Underhill? Susan Underhill? How about... Betty Jo Bialowski! (thinking) Betty Jo Bialowski! I hadn't heard that name since college. Everyone knew her as Nancy. Then it all came rushing back to me like the hot kiss at the end of a wet fist. It was Pig Night at the Oh Mony Padme Sigma House. */*/* Firesign Theatre rocks. No anchovies? You've got the wrong manJim, if you know for sure that Pat Novak was a parody let me know from where, we've argued about that in our house for years. All I know is that the first time I heard the show, all I could think of was "Gloryosky!! It's the lost adventures of Nick Danger" Miles Archer?I think it's Floyd Thursby.... Name's Tracer BulletI got eight slugs in me. One's lead, the rest are bourbon. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Jack Delano)
Night Freight: 1943
... front of the camera. 4x5 inch Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. Phantom Number The number 3167 was most ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/11/2017 - 2:04pm -

March 1943. "Santa Fe R.R. yard at night, Kansas City, Kansas." Note the light trails made by the yard workers' torches in this time exposure, as well as a phantom number (3167, at right) on a train that paused in front of the camera. 4x5 inch Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. Phantom NumberThe number 3167 was most likely from an engine. The boxcar numbers would not have been that large, and the font is the same as the other engines. wowholy shitakies thats creepy Fascinating!!!Fascinating!!! AmazingBest photo ever. KC and the Moonshine BandThis looks to be a waxing crescent moon (upper left), which would mean this image was exposed on March 10, 1943, give or take a day, according to this moon phase chart: https://www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/1943/march Disclaimer: I am not an astronomer, nor do I play one on TV. Oh yes!I'm surprised that all the shunters are diesel/electric. I would've expected that they would've been the last changed, not the first. Diesel SwitchersFor a long time, it was thought best to keep the new and high maintenance diesels in the yard, where they could do less damage if they broke down. Also, it was thought that diesel-electrics were not well siuted to hauling main line fast freight. The EMD (originally EMC) FT demonstrator tour had a lot to do with changing that attitude, by proving that a stock diesel locomotive design could replace steam locomotives in everyday road service all over the country. There's the moonThe streak in the upper left is a crescent moon, being occasionally obscured by clouds in a very long exposure. Nifty! See something, Say something.I wonder if anyone ever called the Cops on Mr Delano, taking photos of strategic locations in the dead of night? American LocomotiveThe only diesel switcher I see is on the left, either an ALCo S-1 or an S-2 the others are tenders for steam locomotives. I operated an ALCo S-1 that was built in 1943, for 14 years, and it still hits the tracks daily. Ten years onand no one's spotted the Phantom 843 mid-picture? ProceedJudging from the lantern trail next to the tank car, the yard worker was giving the engineer in the ghost engine the signal to proceed. 3167, Found and LostThis mysterious steam locomotive was a Baldwin 2-8-2 "Mikado" type that was lost in the Kaw River flood in Topeka in 1951. Meanwhile, four years agoThe elusive 3167 was spotted attempting to flee the yard. Chasing the motive powerAccording to Steamlocomotive.com, #3167 was a Mikado built by Baldwin in 1917, lost in a flood in 1951 or '52, and now living at the bottom of the Kaw River in Topeka. #737 appears to be an 0-8-0 yard engine built in the Santa Fe's own shops around 1929; #831 is also an 0-8-0 built sometime in the early 1930s. Both would make eminent sense to be working in a big switchyard. (Source) Found that too@Olentzero: Ghost #843 was yet _another_ early-1930s 0-8-0 yard engine, no surprise at all to see in this environment. The other Alco.Slekjr is correct, the only diesel in this photo is the leftmost loco, which I think is an S-1. The other two are 0-8-0 steam switchers, converted by the Santa Fe shops from 2-8-0 road engines originally built by Baldwin and Alco's Rhode Island works respectively. The other important reason that diesels were first used in yard service was their greater availability compared to steam locos. A diesel could probably work all three shifts in a yard without needing any attention at the engine terminal, whereas the steamers would need to be watered, fuelled, sanded, lubricated, and have their fires cleaned and ashpan emptied at least once or twice during the course of a 24 hour period. So their productivity was much greater than the steam engines they replaced. East is east and west is west... and never the trains shall meet. Or something. I went back through the other Delano photos in Argentine Yard and I think, maybe, I have an improved location for this photo. It's on the Goddard Avenue viaduct, looking west. Probably. In the big daytime picture of Argentine seen previously on Shorpy, I am pretty sure that 1) Jack was looking east and 2) the elevated roadway that is easiest to see is 42nd Street. In the daytime photo, you can see some other bridges over the tracks, further east of 42nd Street. You can also see the layout of the yard on the right (south) - rows of parallel tracks, punctuated in at least two places by a few tracks running at a very acute angle. In the daytime photo, the nearer set of acute tracks doesn't quite make it to the furthest right (south) parallel tracks until east of the 42nd Street bridge. The further set of acute tracks does seem to make it to the furthest right parallel tracks, right before one of the other bridges in the background; if you were on that bridge and looking west, it would probably look like this photo. The 1957 USGS topo map (Shawnee quadrangle) shows bridges over the yard at Goddard Avenue (between 28th and 29th Streets), 42nd Street, and 55th Street. I'm pretty sure this photo was taken from the same vantage point as Heart of Darkness. I previously identified that photo as being on the 42nd Street bridge, looking west. However, if we are looking at the *engine* of the westbound train in that photo... then we should be looking east in that photo. (Or maybe the direction in the caption was reversed on purpose for wartime security!) However, this photo shows another bridge over the yard in the background. I think, now, that this photo is from Goddard, looking west, and the bridge visible in the distance is 42nd Street. The moon would be setting, if that is true. I tried to match the layout at the left (track with signal, pole line, two doubletrack dirt roads, and nothing) with the daytime photo, with no luck - but then again, even in 1943, the yard extended for some distance behind that photo as well. On the other hand, the USGS topo shows a small triangle of apparently-unused land just west of Goddard, with the western section of it marked "Park", that might correspond to the open space at the left of this photo. Argentine Yard is still there today and is the biggest yard in the BNSF system. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Pabst Backward: 1943
... yard at South Water Street, Chicago." Kodachrome by Jack Delano. View full size. "Time NOT Forgotten" As though it ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/14/2017 - 11:51am -

April 1943. The PBR R.R.: "Pabst Beer sign over the Illinois Central freight yard at South Water Street, Chicago." Kodachrome by Jack Delano. View full size. "Time NOT Forgotten"As though it were yesterday, seeing that Pabst sign brought back the acrid smell of the brewery as it cast its unmistakable aroma over Peoria during my childhood. The Blue Ribbon Plant, Hiram Walker's, Little Giant and a host of other industries have faded from the banks of the Illinois River as have I, but the memories never will. Thanks, Cliff Shell Fort Myers, FL Memory of Chicago's old front yardI remember the old Pabst sign, I think it is where the Prudential Building stands today. Man that seems like a long time ago. Still good to remember the way it used to be. Thanks Thomas PBRWhenever I see or hear about Pabst Blue Ribbon I think of Ken Niles's Adverts on the Danny Kaye Show. Ken was an amazing announcer. I love how whenever he was a show's announcer they would put him in the show, "It's Ken! Ken Niles! How are you?" "I'm great, and you know why? It's because of Pabst Blue Ribbon, and all its brews!" haha only 22 and love those old radio shows. Still the SameWe drank PBR in the '70s because it was dirt cheap at $4.50 a case. (Miller Lite was $5.85) 40-odd years later, I bought some recently. Tastes exactly as I remember it, in a good way. Now it's $7 for a sixer of 16-ounce ones. Onomatopoeia = AieopotamonoPABST backwards = TSBAP, which is similar to the sound of a 16-ounce "tallboy" when opened quickly. That sound is frequently followed by "aaaaahhhh." Thirsty Railroad workers on payday I would imaginedowned a few of those cold draft PBR's. Just a few. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Jailhouse Rock: 1941
... Greene County, Georgia. Medium-format nitrate negative by Jack Delano. View full size. The guitarist, one Shorpy reader points out, is ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/29/2013 - 9:40am -

May 1941. Music-making in the convict camp at Greene County, Georgia. Medium-format nitrate negative by Jack Delano. View full size. The guitarist, one Shorpy reader points out, is bluesman Buddy Moss. Cool Hand LukeHe can dance but can he eat 50 eggs? Great work!I thought you had just downloaded these photos from the L of C website! Now I see that you have worked a lot on every picture, but is it necessary to put Shorpy's signature down in the corner? [I can see where people might get that impression but there is a lot of slaving over a hot keyboard. I've posted before-and-after pics of some of the photos. The best (biggest) version of the above photo on the LOC site viewable with a Web browser is here. Compare with our full-size version here. I put the site logo on a picture if I think it will be extra-popular and seen elsewhere. Publicity for the site. - Dave] ScansI'm curious as to how you get such high quality b&w scans. Are you scanning negatives or prints? What kind of equipment are you using? [Most of the 1930s and 1940s photos I post are extracted from large (20 mb to 190 mb) image files called tiffs, of scans done in the mid-1990s by a Library of Congress subcontractor in Texas. The scans, made using a Sinar 54 overhead camera, are mostly of the original negatives and transparencies. An example of the raw tiff (scaled way down) is on the left below. I adjust the contrast and toning to make the image on the right. - Dave] Re: ScansThanks for the info, and that's great conversion work you do- I'm currently looking into how I can make high quality b&w negative scans. A Sinar 54 is just a tad out of my price range unfortunately. =) [A Nikon 9000 ED would not be a bad place to start. - Dave] About the watermarkAm I correct in saying that the watermark won't be found on any fine art prints I decide to buy once I'm in my new house? PS. You do good work! [You are correct. No watermark on the prints. And thanks! - Dave] The guitarist is Buddy MossThere's another photo from this series on Stefan Grossman's web site: prisondancer.jpg Thank youThat's an astonishing photograph, thank you for finding and posting it! [You're welcome. I'm hoping it will make 2008's Top 20. - Dave] Cool Foot Luke"I'm shakin' it here, Boss!" Wonderful job of adjusting the contrast and toning, Dave. Thank you. Night in the BoxEvery man takes his top sheet, puts it on the bottom, then takes his bottom sheet, puts it in the wash. Any man needs to smoke must have his feet over the side. Any man smoking in bed gets a night in the box. - Carl the Floorwalker Goober Pea Car Wash BluesDragline: Anything so innocent and built like that just gotta be named Lucille. And, of course, Strother Martin's immortal line, "What we've got here is failure to communicate." Back for a second lookI just wanted to leave a quick comment after having viewed this photograph a couple of times. Dave, I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the time and effort you put in to enhancing these photographs. I've referred a ton of people to this site to take a look at your labors of love. Thanks again, from a very satisfied fan. By the way, this photo says SO much! Thank you everyone for your comments that have added to the story. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Music, Rural America)
A.S. Gerdee: 1943
... View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano, Office of War Information. Kodachrome I love these 4x5 ... hope that Dave will keep on posting Kodachrome images by Jack Delano, he is my favourite. [As long as Jack keeps taking them, I'll ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 9:22pm -

April 1943. A.S. Gerdee of 3251 Maypole Street, Chicago, a switchman at the Proviso Yard of the Chicago & North Western Railroad. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano, Office of War Information. KodachromeI love these 4x5 Kodachromes. For the life of me I can't figure out why anyone would shoot anything else (alright, I do really know why but it's still cool stuff). Its such a shame it's not made anymore. KodachromeI remember shooting a couple of rolls of Kodachrome 25 about 20 or 25 years ago. Absolutely gorgeous results, no perceptible grain, just beautiful. At that time the only people who developed it was Kodak, so you had to send it off in a mailer and in time you'd get your little box of slides back. KodachromeWell, it is still being made, but only as 64 ISO (ASA) 35 mm film. There are only a few labs left in the world that can process Kodachrome. Also the colour rendition of modern Kodachrome is a bit different from the "classic" emulsion that you see so much of on these pages. I do hope that Dave will keep on posting Kodachrome images by Jack Delano, he is my favourite. [As long as Jack keeps taking them, I'll keep posting them! - Dave] KodachromeThey give us those nice bright colors They give us the greens of summers Makes you think all the worlds a sunny day, oh yeah ImmortalMr. A. S. Gerdee, you have been immortalized, my friend! C. W. MossNow we know where the mechanic from Bonnie & Clyde ended up. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Chicago, Jack Delano, Portraits, Railroads)
Pies in Repose: 1940
... Rogerene Quaker living in Ledyard, Connecticut." Photo by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Origin ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/25/2010 - 7:23pm -

November 28, 1940. "Pumpkin pies and Thanksgiving dinner at the home of Mr. Timothy Levy Crouch, a Rogerene Quaker living in Ledyard, Connecticut." Photo by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. OriginWe finally see where the origin of the fruitcake came from. Could it be the exact same one that my mother had on the table that no one ate in 1950? The First FruitcakeI remember well the ritual of the long process of making the holiday fruitcakes from cracking nuts (in shells) to chopping candied fruit and dicing dates and finally, after it was all baked for hours, to wrapping it in brandy or rum soaked cheesecloth and storing it away in some cool spot being forbidden to cut into it before Thanksgiving. These rustic pies look and smell (I have a good imagination) incredibly tasty, and the laboriously crafted fruitcake had no idea that in less than 70 years it would become a much maligned and unwanted joke. The elderly in your audience will remember when fruitcake was a highlighted specialty of the holiday season. I understand that now they actually shoot them from cannons and use them for doorstops. As for this photo, I find it outstanding in every way, just beautiful. Thanks yet again for this warm family portrait. Mmmmm, pieeeeI can smell them! NeatoI love that wallpaper. I wonder what colour it was. Ummmm, pie!The pies look delicious. I would be willing to bet those flaky crusts were made with good old lard, too. When you talk of shortening, there wasn't anything shorter than lard. $5 on the pumpkin pie!I wonder what the folks in this wonderfully American family photo would think if they knew that 70 years later thousands of people were spending their Thanksgiving gambling at a massive casino (Foxwoods) located in the very same town? It's the kind of wallpaper that's difficult to hangIt's interesting to analyse past family festive gatherings by the relative loudness of the patterns on the wallpaper and curtains in the background. This kind of wallpaper is annoying to hang to get the patterns to line up. Could we have a sequence of photos on 'wallpaper and curtain patterns through the ages'? (The 60s and 70s seem to have been particularly loud). Family albumMore of the Crouches here. How It Was DoneThe pie in the center front brings back memories of watching my mother finish putting together pies by holding a fork upside down and pressing the tines into the pie's rim all the way around, sealing the top to the bottom and making those tiny grooves. OmigoodnessI have nothing clever or insightful to say, just want to express my appreciation to Shorpy for showing a slice of life gone forever. We are fortunate indeed to have these photos. The lively wallpaper and cloth speaks to a Quaker way of life I did not know existed--no "plainness" here. "Just shut it, Tim"The centerpiece lets me pretend it's the Missus sticking the fork in his mouth. There's something about this pictureThat is just lovely. This is what i like about this site; it reintroduces photographers like John Vachon and Jack Delano. Reflections on a holidayTaking the photo in the mirror is a great idea. RogerenesI had never heard of the Rogerene Quakers before, which surprised me, since I am a Quaker and have read quite a bit about Quaker history. A little googling shows that the Rogerene Quakers had no connection to other Quaker groups, although there was some similarity in their beliefs (particularly pacifism). They also resemble Baptists and Seventh Day Adventists. I have to say that's a lovely photo, the use of the mirror is terrific. And I would love to have a slice of that fruitcake. I don't know why they have such a bad rep. Like everything, there are good ones and bad ones, and a good one is a real treat. Compare and contrastInteresting to contrast this family with the one in Kentucky of which we saw so much earlier in the fall. I wonder if their dessert table ever looked liked this? The pies at my daughter's house yesterday looked just like these--courtesy of my ex-wife. Makes me feel guiltyI only baked two pies yesterday! I wonder what kind the two-crust pies were; apple, cherry, mincemeat? This also reminds me of a certain fruitcake my mother baked in 1967. It was kept in our extra fridge, in the utility closet. That was also where my dad's huge liquor collection resided. Mom was soaking it with bourbon every once in a while, and so was I. By Christmas that was some wonderful fruit cake! It had a lovely bourbon flavor, but didn't taste like alcohol. I hate hearing all of the maligning of fruitcakes that takes place, now! It was just like everything else; bad ones were awful, but good ones were delicious. I would bet the one in this picture was delicious! I like fruitcakeWe don't see very many people in this mirror view, but the impression is that there aren't that many. After all, the stove in a previous picture wasn't cooking cauldrons. So, six pies (at least), and a fruitcake? Wow. Those home-made pies were probably great, but still seems like a lot of pie. On the Wallpaper-Mr. Plate looks sad. Now THISis Pie Town! The wallpaperThe wallpaper really got my attention. The house we rented from 1958-63 had a very similar print washable wallpaper in our kitchen. Given that this photo was taken in 1940, then our wallpaper might have been 20 years old (or older) at the time. FROOTSCAKES!Let me at that fruitcake, man. Om nom nom nom nom! No punsAbout the large family of the rogerin' Quakers? Good, because that would be rude and tasteless. Thanksgiving 1940Thanksgiving day 1940 was November 21st, not November 28th! [It was celebrated on two different dates that year, as well as 1939 and 1941. The New England states observed the traditional fourth Thursday in November. - Dave] Cookery I can't speak for these dear people, but my family always coded two crust pies differently. The slits and occasional decorations on top denoted the contents. I would guess, a pumpkin, sweet potato, cherry, apple and peach. While that glorious molasses and candied fruit and nut bundt would wait for evening coffee and tea, foolishly ignored by the unsophisticated children, in favor of the sweeter and juicier fruit offerings. FruitcakeI never liked it until I ate my mother in law's. Now, our family demands I make it every year. Usually made two at a time to begin with so one will be ready for the next year. Then every year after, one is made and stored away while the previous year's is eaten. I have to say it is the best I've ever eaten and my family agrees. Even the kids like it. Love to see pictures like this. Brings back memories of my childhood. My mother wore her hair like that and our family Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners were enormous. Lots and lots of people and food. So many, we had to eat in shifts. Such happy memories. The Timothy Levi Crouch familyThis pictures, along with several others, were taken at my great-grandparents' Thanksgiving dinner in 1940. My grandfather, one of their sons-in-law, is the gentleman with the fork in his mouth. This collection of pictures by Jack Delano is really neat, and I love to see them posted on the internet. There were 14 Crouch children living at the time this was taken, the youngest being about 12. There were definitely more people at the dinner than this picture would indicate, and most likely some of the other married children dropped in later in the day to enjoy pie. For many years the family only knew of this one picture. It wasn't until the age of internet that we discovered that there were about 20 of them along with pictures taken at the one-room schoolhouse. My mother is in pictures at both locations. She remembers the photographer being at the dinner, but she doesn't recall him being at the school. It was quite the shock when I showed her all the pictures! (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Thanksgiving)
Proviso Perspective: 1943
... Proviso yard, Chicago." Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. If you listen ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/28/2022 - 4:50pm -

April 1943. "Tracks at Chicago & North Western railroad's Proviso yard, Chicago." Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. If you listen closely... you can just make out Boxcar Willie practicing. (btw, that's a really cool photo ... talk about vanishing points) Good ol' Chicago --Where the tracks are paved with gold. It's not a perspective illusionThe tracks really do come together in the distance. The ParaTracks ViewThose of you born after 1974 ... go ask your grandparents. For Shorpy old-timersThe great Yellow Rail Controversy of aught eight. Days PastI grew up less than a mile south of the yard in the '50s and '60s. Fond memories of hearing them move cars from one train to another on a warm summer night. Ah, memories.I worked night shift in the Burlington's Clyde hump yard in Chicago back when I was in college. Once you get the sounds in your head on a quiet night, it never goes away. I can still hear it 55 years later. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
American Gothic: 1940
... of gutters and downspouts. Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. American Gothic hard working people doing ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/05/2017 - 4:02pm -

December 1940. "Children in the tenement district, Brockton, Massachusetts." These houses, which look to have been built in the 1890s, must have been imposing in their day. Note the elaborate woodwork and intricate system of gutters and downspouts. Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. American Gothichard working people doing the best they could. American GothicJust wanted to say how much I appreciate someone sharing these awesome pictures with the rest of the world. Thanks! The HouseI am totally in love with this house..I just can NOT get enough of these incredible colour pictures of the 40's. I think they appear to have better quality than the photos of today. I'd so love to live in this era. My HouseI lived in a house like this one in the 50's but it wasn't in Massachusetts. They tore it down and built a hospital which greatly distressed me. I hate it when old houses die. Red RyderThis look like a scene from the film "A Christmas Story". DetailsThe kid all the way to the right is clearly some sort of weisenheimer. Looks like he's adopting a purposely artificial pose or something. There is another little kid peering out the window all the way to the left. Little boys have been playing in dirt, as evidenced by the lovingly molded dirt mound replete with tunnel for the toy truck to drive through. There is an old can, perhaps for a game of kick the can...? It must have been around Christmastime, as there are wreaths in the windows. The proud fellow in the red and black jacket could be Terry Malloy in another fourteen years. Love that there is a sense of love and protection coming from the parents. I get the idea that though the kids didn't have much they knew they were cared for and didn't feel sorry for themselves. Thanks for indulging my ruminations and thank you for this gorgeous website. I love it to bits and pieces. Cue boiling oilThis reminds me of the Charles Addams cartoons from the old New Yorker magazine. Just needs a punch line. "I'm sorry, Ollie"The kid on the right seems to be doing a Stan Laurel impression. The street nowWhat Was There offers a nifty view of what this street looks like now. Is it possible half the house is still standing? (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Brockton, Dogs, Jack Delano, Kids)
Home Depot: 1940
... store, Brockton, Mass." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. As of 2007, Saba Mechanical Plumbing & Heating ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/21/2012 - 10:32pm -

December 1940. "Secondhand plumbing store, Brockton, Mass." 35mm Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. View full size. As of 2007, Saba Mechanical Plumbing & Heating is still in business in Brockton, at an address on Linus Avenue. Hmmm!Even in 1940 people couldn't figure out the difference between You're and Your. This is building is not on Linus StreetIf this is the same company that is still in business, they have definitely moved locations. This building is too old to be on Linus Street, which is in a "newer" section of Brockton. This photograph must have been taken downtown. [You are correct, the satellite photos of the current address show a newish house. Even back in 1940 this one was getting nibbled at by the road, and had lost the upstairs porch roof. My guess is it is long gone. — Dave] The Wily ApostropheHeh. I noticed that too. Definitely Not GoneAh! This house is (a) not in Brockton, and (b) not gone! It's in Somerville, MA (or maybe on the edge of Somerville and Cambridge). It's on the bus route that I used to take from work to home. It's *still* got all the radiators and junk sitting outside of it, 60+ years later -- that's how I recognized it. Not GoneAmazing! If you could send a photo or GPS coordinates that would be super. I was looking for it on Google Earth but in the wrong place! BIG THANKS. Definitely.A photo will be taken, and I'll send it along when I have it. photo of current building RE: DefinitelyCan an url for for a current photo be posted here? Possibly Gone.I'm the author of the 'Definitely Not Gone' comment. A friend tells me that I might be wrong about that -- it might not be (oddly enough) the same house. So when I get a chance to take a photo, I'll pass it along, right or wrong. But maybe I shouldn't have been so certain in the first place. RE:This building is not on Linus StreetI left that original comment, but I would not be surprised if this building is still standing. Most of downtown Brockton still has all the old buildings. I am going back there in a few weeks and will try and track it down. I will let you know if I find it, and take pictures for you. Smart advertising for theSmart advertising for the 40's. Very funnyI thought that, too. (The Gallery, Brockton, Jack Delano, Stores & Markets)
Santa Fe Diesel: 1943
... Kansas. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. Great for railfans! What a great photo for railfans! Santa ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/17/2012 - 10:08pm -

March 1943. Washing one of the Santa Fe R.R. 5,400-horsepower diesel freight locomotives in the roundhouse at Argentine, Kansas. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Jack Delano. Great for railfans!What a great photo for railfans! Santa Fe DieselYou can say that again!! The Loco in the picture would be the 1st mainline diesel freight unit built by EMD, the FT-103 A-B-B-A unit to replace steam. Each individual unit was rated a 1,350 HP for a total of 5,400 HP for all four coupled up. A = cab unit, B = booster unit. not only rail fansI don't give a hoot about trains per se, but I find all Delano's photos of them completely engrossing. The color, the composition...... Amazing photographer. Thanks for another one. The first AT&SF FT'sThe first AT&SF FT's delivered in A-B-B-B configuration, as the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers didn't like the idea of there being two cabs and only one engine crew. Later contract negotiations allowed for uncrewed A units to be multiple united. The Art Of Industrial DesignIt's just an old train but this photo definitely makes it a work of art. "I got them steadily depressin', low-down mind messin', working at the train wash blues." (apologies to Jim Croce) And you thought you had a lousy job working at the carwash. Horse of a different color!Santa Fe really had a lot of horses of a different color! For those of us who KNEW that the only AT&SF color scheme was silver/red, that is a real letdown. And, yes, those Kodachrome transparencies are doozies! Somebody should write a song about them. Engine ColourIt wasn't unusual for railroads to have different paint schemes for their freight and passenger diesels with the passenger engines getting the flashier or more elegant colours. On the Pennsylvania Railroad most passenger engines were a sort of maroonish red known as Tuscan Red, while the freight engines were an extremely dark green. It's not surprising really - the passenger equipment was the face that the railroad showed the world and it had to be clean and elegant and modern because some of the people who rode in those passenger trains would make decisions on what line they'd use in their freight business. That at least was the philosophy in the 1940s. What you see on this picture that you don't see anymore is the detail of the paintwork even on this workhorse engine. There are at least three colours here, four if you count what is probably brushed stainless steel or aluminum on the Santa Fe logo on the nose of the engine. There's the red striping separating the main yellow area from the blue, and the three stripe yellow "wings". It is, for lack of a better term, fancy. These days locomotives are frequently one or two colours (often red or black, sometimes blue) and the way engines are painted is very utilitarian. It saves money at the paint shop (and mechanised cleaning saves money too even if it often isn't very effective) but it sends an equally untilitarian message to the public. SF #103#103 shown here was part of the first four sets of FT engines that ATSF purchased from EMD (General Motors) in January 1941. Units #100-104 each consisted of a cab lead engine, two cabless boosters and a trailing cab unit (an "LABC" configuration). A total of 320 FT units were acquired by August 1945. These were used primarily in CA and AZ resulting in total dieselization of "through" freight trains (Winslow, San Bernardino, Bakersfield) when this great photo was taken. After the war, the #103 set was moved to the Argentine-Corwith freight pool on the Illinois-Missouri division of the ATSF (KC-Chicago). #103 lasted until 1960-61 when it was traded back to EMD for a new road switcher. The early nose paint scheme shown here only existed on the #100-104 units. The red striping and SF shield were replaced by the classis yellow "cigar-band" used on all later blue FT/F3/F7 and ATSF passenger engines. Body and Paint changesI've ordered the FT set A,B,B,A and wondered how much work it would be to show them as F7's. Thanx for a great web site. Santa FeI grew up in a 3rd generation Santa Fe house in Oklahoma. I used to get to ride form North of Tulsa to Cherryvale, Kansas to see my Grandmother. It was always a treat to ride the train. Throne firstMy grandfather rode in these things. The crew restroom is located directly behind the Santa Fe logo on the nose. It is an odd and vulnerable feeling to be sitting in there while hurtling along at high speed, knowing you'll be the very first thing to be crushed if this zillon-ton monster runs into anything! Aboard the Super Chief(The Gallery, Kodachromes, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Steeling Home: 1941
... Pennsylvania." Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The rest ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/04/2022 - 5:30pm -

January 1941. "Busload of steelworkers going home. Aliquippa, Pennsylvania." Medium format acetate negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The rest of the busThis appears to be a Twin Coach bus from the late 1930s, possibly a 30-R model. Here is a photo of this type of bus as seen in Los Angeles. Been there, done thatBack in the early 2000s, I used to ride the 16A - Aliquippa bus to and from work in downtown Pittsburgh. Routes have changed since then. I'm not even sure the buses still run out to Aliquippa. 14 years later, New OrleansInevitably reminds me of Robert Frank's 1955 photo of a New Orleans trolley. In choice of subject and framing, Delano and Frank evoke two different social conditions and two styles of documentary photography. Both of these great photographers of the American scene were immigrants: Delano from what is now Ukraine and Frank from Switzerland. (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Factories, Jack Delano)
Squeaky Clean: 1943
... the flute after he has taken a shower." Photograph by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Wonder if he ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/27/2012 - 1:49pm -

July 1943. "Greenville, South Carolina. Air Service Command. A scene in one of the barracks. Enlisted man playing the flute after he has taken a shower." Photograph by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Wonder if he is thinking aboutthe lady in the photo "Nighthawk - 1943" I love this site! Home I grew up a mile from the old air base. It was turned into an industrial park in the 1960's and has been called Donaldson Center ever since. Some of the companies on the base are Michelin Tire, 3M, Lockheed and I worked in the old Procter and Gamble plant there. My family moved to Greenville in the early 60's after the base closed and houses were very cheap. Precarious Towel PlacementWell. Well. Well! A little beefcake to counter all the cheesecake we've seen on Shorpy. On behalf of us woman folk who truly ah-dore Shorpy, thank you Dave for satisfying all us ladies once again. [It's exhausting work. Got a light? - Dave] KeylessLooks like he's playing a fife. Might even have a "cheater pipe" on it. Sometimes a fluteis just a flute. Why hello there handsome rogueI wonder if he survived the war. Donaldson Air Force Base This was probably taken in one of the barracks at Donaldson Air Force Base. Bomber crews trained there. The runways and many of the buildings are still standing, including some of the old barracks, and some are even used today. Lockheed Martin has an aircraft repair facility out there, and the big planes still take off and land. Gasp!ooh la la JimmyThis reminds me so much of that famous image from "East of Eden" where James Dean is sitting shirtless on the bed, playing the recorder. Charms to soothe the savage breastGiven the setting — an un-air-conditioned South Carolina barracks in the middle of July — his serenity is pretty remarkable. No tweetled arpeggio could soothe ME. In addition to a flute, he's got peanuts, white petroleum jelly, and a fly swatter. Can anyone identify the tall bottle and the striped jar on the left? [The one with the stripes is Mennen talcum powder. - Dave] NutsThat can of Planters looks like it was purchased yesterday. Nice to see some things never change. Mr. PeanutInteresting use of the newspaper as a bath mat. Interesting also is the Planter's can at right -- before plastic lids. It appears that it was one of those key-open cans which, while you could reclose it (provided you didn't bend the can or the lid too much), almost certainly left a pair of sharp steel lips which could give ya a nasty salty cut if ya weren't careful. About 14 years later, my dad was stationed at this same location after it was renamed Donaldson AFB. It's where he met my mom in between the nightly boredom of guarding the flight line. Forget it girlsThis guy's married, check out the ring. Or maybe that makes him more appealing ZamfirIf the Master of the Pan Flute looked this good, I'd consider becoming a Zamfir Groupie. He doesn't and I won't. All flutists are not made alike. Don't AskI wore a gold band in Basic. Kept the girls from bothering me and the guys from asking too many questions. That cotlooks really uncomfortable to sleep on. Do they still use cots like that? I guess I imagined they would have metal bed frames with springs below a mattress made from blue and white ticking. That cot looks like you'd have a backache from the sway of it. But I love the leg, and exposed thigh. Very suggestive. With the flute, and reclining, he's rather like Pan. Rolls His OwnIn front of the striped Mennen talcum powder is a pouch of cigarette tobacco and, probably, rolling papers. WindowsThose are some interesting window fixtures. Cheap and simple solutions for cheap and simple structures, I presume. Another rakeDon't forget to add this one to the new Handsome Rakes category! [Not really new, but will do. - Dave] The TooterThat's not a flute, you fools! It's a piccolo. Neither flute nor piccoloIt's not a flute or a piccolo, it's a fife! (The Gallery, Handsome Rakes, Jack Delano, WW2)
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