West end pics ?

[NW Mailing List]

Jimmy:

The issue of west end photographs is:

1. Not many railfan photographers take good, sharp photos with good
technique.  Photos taken with poor technique are not suitable for
publication.  So, one has to find the good photographer or the good
collection.
2. The N&W photographers, working from Roanoke, couldn't get too far in one
or two days for a photo assignment.  It was far faster to shoot near Roanoke
and get the assignment done in a short period of time.  If one could get the
shot done in two hours near Roanoke or get the photo at Cincinnati with a
two-day trip, what do you think the manager chose for the photographer to
do?
3. Roads suitable for access to the N&W; chasing trains on the Cincinnati
District was extremely difficult as the road network was primitive along
this route.  The road going down US52 from Kenova to Williamson was even
more primitive- think 1 1/2 lane of poor asphalt or gravel winding along
trackside. Roads along the Columbus District weren't all that accessible
either. 
4. To get Ohio photographs, one needs to get an Ohio based photographer.
Ohio was well covered with railroads, the PRR, NYC, B&O, NKP, and Erie were
very active in areas easy to get to.  Going over to the N&W was something
done only deliberately.  With a day or a weekend available for the railfan,
it was easier and  more 'profitable' to go to , say, Fostoria and photograph
the B&O, NKP, NYC, and C&O with about 80-90 trains a day going through there
than getting over to the N&W with a long difficult trip and shooting a
lesser number of trains.

Ohio was covered with the main crossing routes of the NYC- two lines, the
Water Level, NY to Chicago, and Cleveland to Indy and St. Louis; the PRR Ft.
Wayne Chicago line and the two PRR Panhandle routes to Indy, Chicago and St
Louis; the B&O's Chicago route and the line to Cinti, and St Louis.  There
was a lot of competition for the railfan's eye and film.  

The short of it is that there are photographers working westward from the
east and some working eastward from the west.  A balanced publication needs
to draw photos from two collections.  The author or publisher need to have
two networks to find the photos.

Gary Rolih
Cincinnati

 
-----Original Message-----
From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org
[mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of NW Mailing List
Sent: Saturday, August 04, 2007 12:27 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: West end pics ?

Looking through the new "Steam's Last Stand" book brought to mind a 
question. There were very few pictures in the book taken west and north of 
Portsmouth and west of Williamson. Is there really not that many photos of 
steam operations that were taken in those areas?
Jimmy Lisle 

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