LEFT: This scene at Santa Fe’s passenger en- gine terminal at 18th Street in Chicago re- mains one of author Mike Schafer’s favorite Boyd shots. It combines Boyd’s nack of good composition with the proper use of fill-in flash (one bulb to light the nose of E6A No. 14). The low angle helped give the slant-nosed E6 a heroic look. JIM BOYD PHOTO
the confines of our hometowns. And then he began to show us how to get our work published, as Jim himself was be- ginning to establish his name in the print media. A man of unending gen- erosity, Jim readily shared with us the “secrets” of getting published (which was basically, bombard publishers reg- ularly with your work). And now I was bit by the publishing bug, too. We didn’t know it at the time, and in
a sense Jim didn’t either, but he was al- so teaching us, mostly by osmosis, how to be both a leader and a friend. As an extraordinarily friendly and approach- able fellow —with a glib and sometimes
wicked (and often off-color) sense of hu- mor — Jim was a natural at drawing others into the fold and then inspiring them to strive for lofty goals. Case in point: Late in 1968, as I whined to Jim about the lack of railfans around Rockford, his response was, “Well then, let’s form a club!” Jim took off with the idea, lighting fires under us groupies. In February 1968 the North Western Illinois Chapter of the Nation- al Railway Historical Society was born, with Jim in the presidential hot seat. In 1967, Jim had left WTVO and tak-
We didn’t know it at the time, and in a sense Jim didn’t either, but he was also teaching us, mostly by osmosis, how to be both a leader and a friend... Jim was a natur- al at drawing others into the fold and then inspiring them to strive for lofty goals.
en on a dream job for anyone with a bent for railroading, as a field instruc- tor for EMD delivering new locomotives for railroads all over the country. The two-year-plus stint at EMD was fol- lowed by brief gig as a brakeman on the Illinois Central. Now he could add “railroader” to his growing list of expe- rience as a photographer, railfan, au- thor, technician, and leader. All the while, Jim’s positive influence
on people around him spiraled along with his ever-widening circle of friends and associates. But, deep in the recess- es of Jim’s psyche there remained a yearning for journalism, and so in 1971 he entered the publishing field full
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