Nostalgia & History > SP9204 west rolling through Obrien California mid-1980'

SP 9204 west rolling through Obrien California in the mid-1980's. There is even a splash of yellow in the consist. Little did I know that splash of yellow would be the main color in another decade. It was also a time when section houses were still a common sight.

Robert Morris Photography
http://www.snowcrest.net/photobob/index1.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/14 16:48 by photobob.

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Mighty fine shot there Bob. Nice location with the elevated curve, which I think really adds to the shot, not to mention the section house. Thanks for sharing.

Kent in CArmel Valley

Section houses, cantilevered signals and the like are what gave the railroad charm and personality. Too bad all that was scraped away and the landscape sterilized.

Warren

Used to like to see that splash of yellow in those days in the consist

It seems to be a railfan tendency to revere the past, denigrate the present, and dread the future no matter which decade they are living in. When cantilever signals and section houses were everywhere, they were easily ignored as folks lamented the loss of train order stations and semaphores as THE things that gave railroads charm and personality. Before that it was passenger trains, before that steam and its attendant facilities. No doubt there are things we take for granted now that will be gone in 30 years, and future railfans will mourn their loss as THE things that gave railroads charm and personality while complaining that they are living in the worst of times with sterile, ugly, uninteresting railroads.

Luckily there are people who like trains and take pictures anyway. Thanks for capturing the filthy, uninteresting SP of the 80's, Bob. It isn't anymore.

Evan_Werkema Wrote:
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> It seems to be a railfan tendency to revere the
> past, denigrate the present, and dread the future
> no matter which decade they are living in. When
> cantilever signals and section houses were
> everywhere, they were easily ignored as folks
> lamented the loss of train order stations and
> semaphores as THE things that gave railroads charm
> and personality. Before that it was passenger
> trains, before that steam and its attendant
> facilities. No doubt there are things we take for
> granted now that will be gone in 30 years, and
> future railfans will mourn their loss as THE
> things that gave railroads charm and personality
> while complaining that they are living in the
> worst of times with sterile, ugly, uninteresting
> railroads.
>
> Luckily there are people who like trains and take
> pictures anyway. Thanks for capturing the filthy,
> uninteresting SP of the 80's, Bob. It isn't
> anymore.

Evan, in spite of what you wrote, you have to admit that the way modern railroads have streamlined their rights-of-way to the point of looking more like a freeway than a railroad.

Another awesome railroad photo.
JB

I think all the points Evan Werkema made are perfectly true and valid. There is something about the human brain that causes it to give off a small dose of dopamine when a fond memory is recalled. Thus, we have the phenomenon Evan described, so keep taking pictures. At the same time, one has to admit that those little details that used to be part of the total railroad picture, whether we focused on them or not, were integral to the total experience. I am nostalgic and lament the fact that they are gone now and will reiterate photobob's often quoted phrase, "It's all crap now."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/14 13:00 by warrenpweiss.