Virtual Launch Party: Preview of Rio Grande Steam Finale


Tuesday, October 3, 2023
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom

Registration Closed

Join us for a virtual launch of our upcoming book Rio Grande Steam Finale! Step aboard the D&RGW’s spectacular narrow-gauge railway of the 1950s and 1960s through the lens of some of the nation’s most renowned railroad photographers. The Center for Railroad Photography & Art invites you to embark on an unforgettable visual odyssey as we unveil a breathtaking collection of images meticulously curated from our extensive archives. Co-editors Scott Lothes and Elrond Lawrence will delve into the creative process behind compiling Rio Grande Steam Finale and offer unique insights into the journey of bringing this magnificent collection to life.

 

Scott Lothes, editor, has been the Center’s executive director since 2011 and editor of its journal, Railroad Heritage, since 2013. His photographs and articles appear frequently in magazines such as Trains, Classic Trains, and Railfan & Railroad. This is the fourth book he has edited or co-edited.

Elrond Lawrence, co-editor, joined the Center in 2022 as its acquisitions and marketing coordinator. His love for railroads and vintage highways led him to write the book Route 66 Railway, and his work has appeared in a wide range of magazines, news and corporate publications, books, and advertising.

Pre-order the book now: https://railphoto-art.org/rio-grande-steam-finale/  

 

This event is free.
This presentation will be recorded and be made available on our YouTube page, www.youtube.com/railphotoart

Flashbulbs illuminate engines 484 and 487 as they simmer night away in Chama, New Mexico, on October 7, 1965. They’d made two turns up the four-percent grade to Cumbres and back that day. In the morning, they’d make another run up the grade and then continue east to Alamosa, Colorado. Photograph by Victor Hand, collection of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, Hand-DRGW-C08-23

CRP&A Member Exclusive: Inside the David Mainey Collection

Tuesday, September 19, 2023
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom
Registration closes at 4 pm CT on Monday, September 18

Registration Closed
CRP&A members can request the recording link at info@railphoto-art.org 

Step into the world of David Mainey as we take you on a journey through his life and work in our fall members-only program. Join Erin Rose as she sits down with David for an insightful interview, giving you a glimpse into the person behind the art. Explore decades of creativity, from his very first photograph in 1947 to his more recent works in the 1980s. The presentation concludes with a Q&A session, inviting all attendees to join the conversation and learn more about David’s unique experiences and artistic endeavors.

David Mainey has been photographing trains for as long as he’s had a camera. As a youth, he became friends with photographers such as Donald Furler and Bob Collins, where he really began to learn the ropes of rail photography. Inspired and encouraged by these legends, David not only mastered the standard “roster shot,” but he went on to define his own work with a variety of styles – from a classic wedge shot to a stunning landscape, his work spans decades and reflects his views of United States east coast rail history in a spectacular fashion.

Erin Rose joined the Center in 2017 as an intern, and she returned in 2021 to the new role of reference and digital projects archivist. She answers image requests, processes collections, and has managed the migration of files for the Center’s adoption of a new collections management system.

Join us on Tuesday, September 19, at 7 pm Central (5 pm PT / 6 pm MT / 8 pm ET) for this exciting program! This program will be recorded and will be made available to members by request.

 

This event is open to members of the CRP&A

Join Today! Become a member here

 

 

 

DH 1529 on Cascade Wye at Lanesboro, Pennsylvania, on November 9, 1951. Photograph by David Mainey

An Evening with the Winners of the 2023 John E. Gruber Creative Photography Awards


Tuesday, August 22, 2023
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom

YouTube Link

The 2023 John E. Gruber Creative Photography Awards Program brought in contestants from across the globe. With this year’s theme “The Role of Technology,” the judges reviewed and selected six winning photographs in a fascinating and interpretive competition.  In “An Evening with the Winners…” you’ll hear the insights and artistic approaches of the photographers behind this year’s winning images.

 

First Prize
Chris Walters, black-and-white
Blair Kooistra, color

Second Prize
Richard Koenig, black-and-white
John Troxler, color

Third Prize
Frank Barry, black-and-white
George Hiotis, color

 

This event is free.
This presentation will be recorded and be made available on our YouTube page, www.youtube.com/railphotoart

 

Chris Walters, First Prize, black-and-white
Taken with a drone, this view looks straight down upon precise lines of Alstom Metropolis EMU sets – driverless passenger trains awaiting a turn in service on the Northwest Metro line between Tallawong, where this scene was captured, and Chatswood in New South Wales, Australia, on February 5, 2022.

 

Blair Kooistra, First Prize, color
Paul “Piglet” Middleton enjoys a tea break after running a London North Eastern Railway B-1 Thompson Class 4-6-0 locomotive at North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s Grosmont Motive Power Depot in North Yorkshire, England. The same law of thermodynamics that made it possible for the locomotive to move also help Paul heat his tea.

Ask the Archivist: Q&A for the Center’s new collections management system ‘Odyssey’

Tuesday, August 15, 2023
7:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time), on Zoom

YouTube Link

The online portal houses digitized images from the Center’s collection and was just recently launched in June 2023. Odyssey allows users to explore all of the Center’s collections in a dynamic and user-friendly format. Join our director of archives and collections, Adrienne Evans, and our reference and digital projects archivist, Erin Rose, in a tutorial of the site. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask our archives team any questions you may have regarding the functionality of the search portal.

Explore Odyssey: https://railphoto.odyssey.historyit.com/

 

This event is free.
This presentation will be recorded and be made available on our YouTube page, www.youtube.com/railphotoart

 

Sunset on Santa Fe’s Needles District in the Mojave Desert, summer 1976, looking west to Amboy, Calif. Richard Steinheimer photo, Steinheimer-Burman-AG-Temp005

Center unveils Odyssey, our new digital archive of railroad imagery

The sky’s the limit for fans of railroads and photography who can happily immerse themselves in Odyssey, the Center for Railroad Photography & Art’s new collections management system. Odyssey is live and available to explore at this link.

The online portal was selected in June 2022 by CRP&A staff members to house digitized images from its collections. Over the past year, our archives team has worked closely with the platform’s developers to customize and implement the software. Dynamic and user-friendly, Odyssey will facilitate higher cataloging standards among Center staff and greater public searchability of collection materials. Users can explore all of the Center’s images that are available in its Flickr galleries, but now collected in a single location — as well as new offerings from John Gruber, Stan Kistler, David Mainey, and Jim Shaughnessy, with more to come from Richard Steinheimer and many others.

“The Center’s archives and digitization efforts have grown tremendously over the past few years, and Odyssey’s large storage capacity limit offers opportunities for even further collection development,” said Adrienne Evans, director of archives and collections. “We recently finished migrating all of our digital collections from Flickr to Odyssey and we’re excited to introduce everybody to the new portal. Being a new system, we’ll constantly make improvements as we expand the galleries to include more images from our growing collections.”

“After a lengthy search and implementation process, we’re excited to begin sharing more of our collections through Odyssey,” said Scott Lothes, president and executive director. “Our collections team has digitized tens of thousands of photographs in the past couple of years alone. We have so much to share with you.”

We’re deeply grateful for the generosity of donors and members who have made it possible to reach this milestone, and we encourage everyone to make their own odyssey! A search guide is available here.

Please direct any questions or comments to info@railphoto-art.org; follow the Center on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates.

PHOTO: Sunset on Santa Fe’s Needles District in the Mojave Desert, summer 1976, looking west to Amboy, Calif. Richard Steinheimer photo, Steinheimer-Burman-AG-Temp005