Nostalgia & History > Oakdale, Pennsylvania

Perhaps my fascination for pictures of steam locomotives and section men comes from living in Malta as a youngster. Malta was a stop of 25 or so people about three miles from Leadville. We lived close to the trains particularly the spur that went to Leadville but we didn’t live as closely as Bobby Hart. Bobby Hart tells of living in Dotsero in his book, “Bob-o’s Turn in Avon, Colorado.” “As those big, heavy #3600 steam engines went past the house the ground would shake so hard it felt like it might shake your teeth out. The house was around 80 feet from the track, so anything left on the table or on the counter would vibrate its way to the edge and sometimes drop to the floor.”

Picture 1 is from the website,

http://explorepahistory.com/story.php?storyId=1-9-10&chapter=1

Picture 1, “Section gang Oakdale.”

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For a Zoomit enlargement of picture 1 click on http://zoom.it/t8gc#full . Continue to click on the + button on the lower right of the picture until the enlarging stops. Use the cursor and the left mouse button to move the picture.

Picture 2 is from the website,

http://chuckmanchicagonostalgia.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/postcard-chicago-train-chicago-and-northwestern-steam-engine-number-954-and-crew-sepia

Picture 2, “ Postcard, Chicago, Train, Chicago and Northwestern, Steam Engine Number 954 and crew, Sepia.”

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For a Zoomit enlargement of picture 2 click on http://zoom.it/rvjo#full .

Seems like no one smiled when posing for photos back then.

Among other things, with the slow photographic plates and later film of that era, people had to hold still for an appreciable length of time. There may have been an element of "Goldurnit, we've got work to do! Get your picture taken so we can get our jobs done."