Framed or unframed, desk size to sofa size, printed by us in Arizona and Alabama since 2007. Explore now.
Shorpy is funded by you. Patreon contributors get an ad-free experience.
Learn more.
- Baldwin 62303
- Baldwin VO-1000
- Cold
- No expense spared
- Tough Guys
- Lost in Toyland
- And without gloves
- If I were a blindfolded time traveler
- Smoke Consumer Also Cooks
- Oh that stove!
- Possibly still there?
- What?!?
- $100 Reward
- Freeze Frame
- Texas Flyer wanted
- Just a Year Too Soon
- WWII -- Replacing men with women at the railroad crossing.
- Yes, Icing
- You kids drive me nuts!
- NOT An Easy Job
- I wonder
- Just add window boxes
- Icing Platform?
- Indiana Harbor Belt abides
- Freezing haze
- Corrections (for those who care)
- C&NW at Nelson
- Fallen Flags
- A dangerous job made worse
- Water Stop
Photos submitted by Shorpy members!
Print Emporium
Frosty the Brakeman: 1943
January 1943. Chicago, Illinois. "Freight operations on the Indiana Harbor Belt railroad between Chicago and Hammond, Indiana. The Chicago & North Western Railroad yard." Photo by Jack Delano, Office of War Information. View full size.
Love the unique architecture of the signal bridge
I have never seen one quite like that before. You'll note Louis Zerkel, rear brakeman, is carrying a flag as he returns to the caboose, probably having protected the rear of his train. The photographer is standing on its rear platform.
I love all the steam quite evident on this brisk winter day. Most of it is emanating from the engine pulling that freight train across the railway bridge in the upper background.
Railroading, unlike just about every other mode of transportation, operated 24/7 regardless of the weather. It would take an extremely major set of weather conditions to stop train movements. However, I must salute those operating personnel who worked outside both on the ground and in the cabs of steam locomotives. It must have been brutal.
Keep those Jack Delano railroad photos coming. They are an historical and irreplaceable treasure!
Blue Island
Looks like Delano is looking northish; the creek bridge just beyond the brakeman is at 41.64368N 87.68441W
Shhhh, can you hear it?
If you're very still and quiet, you can hear, in the crisp cold air, the crunching of the snow under his feet.
Shorpy.com is a vintage photography site featuring thousands of high-definition images. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago. Contact us | Privacy policy | Accessibility Statement | Site © 2024 Shorpy Inc.
On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5