Railroad Landscapes

Space changes around rail lines that remain, generations after their construction. Flowing into the distance or cutting across a picture, the rails leave us in wonder; and yet their confident line anchors one to its path. Once bustling depots sit forlorn, objects of aesthetic pride are forgotten. Elsewhere, tracks flow through immutable mountain passes. This body of photographs examines the overlooked track-side environment of America's railroads. From the urban to the rural, I set out to examine how the tracks exist as a narrative force within the frame while also looking to the places which describe our collective history. Rooted in my passion for architectural design and history, this project has been underway for twelve years. The photographs were created using a traditional 8x10" inch view camera and extensive travel throughout the United States of America.

“He knew at once he found the proper place. He saw the lordly oaks before the house, the flower beds, the garden and the arbor, and farther off, the glint of rails..." -Thomas Wolfe

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Reservoir, Fremont County, WyomingBoysen Reservoir, Wind River, Wyoming

Reservoir, Fremont County, Wyoming

Boysen Reservoir, Wind River, Wyoming

Eastman Chemical, Kingsport, Tennessee

Arena Crossing, Columbus, Ohio

Arena Crossing, Columbus, Ohio

Associated Box Corporation, Brownsville, Pennsylvania

Associated Box Corporation

Undercity Crossing, Columbus, Ohio

This view of an artificial tunnel in downtown Columbus, Ohio shows how buildings have been constructed around railroad tracks in order to maximize real estate space. Two parking lots surround the tracks, symbolic of how the automobile displaced passenger train travel in much of the United States. The Nationwide building rises above the tracks.

Overpass South, Richmond, Virginia

Overpass South, Richmond, Virginia

Overpass North, Richmond, Virginia

Richmond Overpass North, Richmond, Virginia

Steel Mill Landscape, Cleveland, Ohio

ArcelorMittal steel mill and massive power lines surround railroad tracks in Cleveland, Ohio, in this railroad landscape. Atmospheric fog in the background obscures the farthest distance. Taken on large format 8x10 film with a Fujinon 600mm lens. A fence stretches from foreground to background and is falling over in places. Overcast sky.

Steelways Shipyard, Newburgh, New York

Railroad landscape showing the Steelways Shipyard building in Newburgh, New York. Railroad tracks stretch horizontally along the bottom of this panoramic image with the building's glass windows reflecting various shades of blue. The railroad tracks are still actively used by CSX Transportation. Taken on large format 4x5 camera using 4 negatives stitched together.

Riverline, Newburgh, New York

Riverline, Newburgh, New York

Coaling Tower, Marion, Ohio

Coaling towers like this one were once used to refill a steam locomotive's coal supplies. They were constructed during the first half of the 20th century.

Grade Crossing, Napeague, New York

Duel vanishing points of railroad tracks and roadway stretch into the distance as the sun sets over the horizon. A lone railroad crossing gate stands vigil over the scene. Powerlines stretch along the road to the right. This is part of the Long Island Railroad's Montauk Branch.

Tree, Greystone on Hudson, New York

A tree stands before the Hudson River with railroad tracks in the foreground and the Palisades Cliffs of New Jersey across the river.

Right of Way, Garfield, New Jersey

An industrial spur line bisects houses in a suburban neighborhood.

Church, Rhodell, West Virginia

Railroad tracks are seen bisecting a trailer home, three crosses and a church in West Virginia.

Early Morning, Stony Point, New York

A house near Stony Point. New York overlooks CSX Riverline (former West Shore Railroad) with the Hudson River beyond the tracks. A car sits infront of the house and a small blue rowboat is upside down on green grass with a giant tree in the middle centering the scene.

New York & Atlantic Grade, Maspeth, Queens

An industrial corridor in Maspeth frames Long Island City in the distance. The New York & Atlantic Railway operates on these tracks for local freight.

Park Avenue Tunnel Cut, New York City

This railroad landscape view shows Metro North (former New York Central Railroad) tracks crossing beneath a stone wall below the street. Apartment buildings rise above the tracks at street level. The structures seen here range from the tracks and wall built in the 1860s to residential towers from the 1970s. Edward Hopper painted a scene from this location.

Highbridge and Tracks, Harlem River, New York City

The Historic High Bridge, constructed in 1848, stretches over the Harlem River and railroad tracks in the Bronx borough of New York City.

Bootlegger Tunnel, Moab, Utah

Bootlegger Tunnel near Moab, Utah, is still used to carry potash trains from a nearby quarry.

West of Chamberlain, Oacoma, South Dakota

This is a view of the Milwaukee Road's ex Mitchell to Rapid City, South Dakota Line. It was given up after the railroadwent bankrupt in the 1980s. The tracks remain and the elevated viewpoint stretches our view westward toward the Black Hills of South Dakota. This former Milwaukee Road line is now owned by the state of South Dakota and operated by the Dakota Southern Railway. The view here stretches westward toward the Black Hills.

General Merch, Waverly, West Virginia

Oscar Ewton Elevator, Sayre, Oklahoma

The Oscar Ewton Elevator stands in Sayre, Oklahoma as the early morning sun rises behind the structure.

Higley's Saloon, Champion, Michigan

SS American Victory, Port of Superior, Wisconsin

In 1975 American Victory's sister ship, the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost in Lake Superior with all her 29 crew aboard. The American Victory, formerly the Middletown, is one of the oldest and most historic ships on the Great Lakes. The ship saw duty during World War II on both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean as a tanker, where she's credited with shooting down an enemy airplane. She was also hit by a Japanese bomber.

Depot, White Lake, South Dakota

View of White Lake, South Dakota with Milwaukee Road (Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul & Pacific Railroad) Depot with Grain Elevator and Supersweet Feeds sign. A white car sits in front of the depot with railroad tracks alongside.

Ohio River, Saint Marys, West Virginia

A newly constructed house sits along the Ohio River in West Virginia.

Flood Wall, New Boston, Ohio

Casino, Lawrenceburg, Indiana

The Hollwood Casino is seen along the Ohio River in Indiana.

Interstate Overpass, Columbus, Ohio

Five sets of railroad tracks lead into darkness as they enter an overpass for a roadway in Ohio. Graffiti is strewn across the walls with a cloudy grey sky above.

Fuel Transfer Station, New Windsor, New York

A fuel transfer station sits along Hudson River with railroad tracks in immediate foreground. A pier with pipes stretch out into the water with a sign describing dangerous cargo at the entry to the pier.

Shaker Pub, South Union, Kentucky

This building is part of the South Union Shaker Village, an original settlement of The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, a Christian sect most active in the 19th century.

Hudson Line, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York

An overpass to the former Anaconda Wire & Cable Company in Hastings, New York.

Devil's Throne, Los Cerrillos, New Mexico

This section of New Mexico was a mining town in the 19th century and later became a stop along the route of the Santa Fe Railway. Devil's Throne was the name given to the rock formation here because of the treacherous country.

View of Manhattan, Blissville, Queens

Diptych view of Midtown Manhattan as seen from Long Island City, Queens.

View from Motel Balcony, Columbus, Ohio

A panorama is framed through the second floor of a motel with room numbers pointing in opposite directions, mirroring the parallel tracks in the mid ground.

Mainline North of Woodlawn, New York

View north towards Woodlawn Junction on the Metro North Railroad.

Mingo Junction, Ohio

A walkway leading to the steel mill in Mingo Junction, Ohio, stretches over the tracks.

NA Tower, Martinsburg, West Virginia

View of Baltimore & Ohio NA Railroad Tower in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Railroad tracks are visible on the left and residential houses on the right side.

Peebles Plaza, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

Signage of strip-mall and a McDonald's fast foot restaurant surrounding a railroad crossing in Western Pennsylvania.

2TRAINZ, Cleveland, Ohio

Star of the West Milling, Ligonier, Indiana

Flour Mill structures in background with rail cars in midground and railroad tracks in foreground frame this architectural railroad landscape view.

Vines on Wall, Newburgh, New York

Vines are seen growing on a wall alongside railroad tracks.

Studebaker Plant, South Bend, Indiana

Formerly part of the Studebaker Automobile Company, this is a section of what remains of the original factory. The parallel of the tracks with the industrial building is something which I return to in the railroad landscapes project. The large window array reflects blue sky and the rising sun glints off the building's windows. A pile of ballast is in the foreground with various other railroad supplies.

Behind Broad Street, Waverly, Pennsylvania

This railroad landscape views shows a variety of colorful buildings and an Adult Video store with two cars parked along the tracks.

Clearing Storm, Medicine Bow, Wyoming

A clearing storm and thick clouds dramatize this scene of the Union Pacific's transcontinental railroad in Wyoming. In the foreground are roadside ruins along U.S. 30 Lincoln Highway, which runs parralel to much of the railroad in this area. The buildings and clearing sky symbolize the railroad's influence on Manifest Destiny.

Crossing, Newburgh, New York

Crossing, Newburgh, New York

Views of the Overseas Railway, Florida Keys

View North and view South of the Overseas Railway in Florida Keys, completed by industrialist Henry M. Flagler in the early 20th century. Sections were destroyed by the Labor Day Hurricane in 1935 and the line was abandoned.

Sinclair Refinery, Carbon County, Wyoming

Sinclair's refinery sits beyond the railroad tracks of the Union Pacific's first transcontinental line, completed in 1869.

Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, Alabama

This is a view of Sloss Furnaces National Historic Site in Birmingham, Alabama, which was called the “Pittsburgh of the South” because of its industry. The mill produced pig-iron from 1882-1971.

Interstate 90 and Tracks, Gillette, Wyoming

Railroad tracks parallel Interstate 90 as the natural Wyoming landscape recedes into the background.

Platform, Buffalo Central Terminal, Buffalo, New York

Historic Buffalo Central Terminal platforms and infrastructure are visible in this railroad landscape view.

Stanford, Montana

Prior to the front range of the Rockies and cresting the continental divide, agricultural structures such as this grain elevator are some of the most striking buildings along the rails. Because some are well over a hundred years old and others, like this one, are new, they indicate a long relevance of the railroad in serving agro-industry.

Hudson Line, Oscawana, New York

The tracks of the former New York Central Hudson Line, now part of the MTA, are seen at sunset.

OWEN, Bedford, Virginia

OWEN, Bedford, Virginia

John Sanderson Backyard Railroad North Carolina.jpg