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HAROLD H. CARSTENS (1925-2009)


PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER HENRY R. CARSTENS


VICE PRESIDENT JOHN A. EARLEY EDITOR


E. STEVEN BARRY


ASSOCIATE EDITORS WALTER C. LANKENAU OTTO M. VONDRAK


CONTRIBUTING EDITOR JAMES D. PORTERFIELD


COLUMNISTS


ALEXANDER B. CRAGHEAD THOMAS KELCEC GREG MONROE GEORGE M. SMERK JEFFREY D. TERRY WES VERNON


A CSX TRAIN PASSES THROUGH BOTKINS, OHIO, ON THE EX-B&O TOLEDO LINE, 2006. PHOTO BY ALEXANDER B. CRAGHEAD Journey to the Unknown


IN THE WORLD OF RAILFANNING, there are many locations well known for their oppor- tunities to capture numerous trains in scenic or dramatic environments. The Tehachapi Loop, or Horseshoe Curve, or even the lead tracks at Chicago Union Sta- tion have all become well-known places that railfans will treat as hallowed destinations. Sometimes these trips resemble pilgrim- ages, and are accomplished only after great savings, much planning, and lengthy travel. Too often, though, these trips tend to focus on these “holy sites” while other locations are overlooked or ignored altogether. Take, for example, New England. With small


quaint towns, many backwoods


branch lines, and alluring scenery, it has be- come a picturesque magnet for railfans. Yet there are regions of the South equally beau- tiful and interesting that do not receive near- ly their due. Is it a case of distance from ma- jor population centers, the uniformity of the major Class I’s that absorbed the colorful re- gionals and short lines a generation ago, or simply the result of negative stereotyping? Yet this is a matter that goes beyond the pros and cons of specific regions or places. This goes to the heart of the matter, to why a railfan should travel at all. While many of us travel in pursuit of our hobby, there are many more who choose stay within a rela- tively short distance of their home turf and berate other regions as dull, overdone, or in- ferior. They posses the defensiveness of a old spinster aunt asked why she never left the comfort of home. To both the pilgrims and the spinsters I say: get out and travel, and moreover travel someplace that isn’t famous. Where does not matter. It can be someplace with dramatic scenery, far far away, or it can be someplace mundane the next state or region over. Turn attention to that part of the map that is un- known to you, and go there. The obscure and the overlooked await you!


4 JUNE 2012 • RAILFAN.COM


The first time that I travelled to the Mid- west for a railfan vacation, more than one West Coast friend questioned my judge- ment, and not just because I chose to go in August. Surely Indiana had no snow-capped peaks, Ohio no sweeping vistas. Yet I en- joyed my time there immensely, in large part because I had never been there before, and there was so much to learn and discov- er. And getting to know the territory meant getting to know its stories. I got to see the re- mains of the old Erie Lackawana west end cut into small pieces; to learn about the Van Sweringens and their saw-tooth Nickel Plate Road; to see the bridge at Portsmouth, Ohio, that embodied all of the Chesapeake & Ohio’s faith in its own future.


I have experienced similar senses of an- ticipation, risk, and reward on first visits all over, from urban British Columbia to the mountains of North Carolina. On a basic level, all such journeys put me in places where I do not know what train is coming nor when, much less where, a given rail line comes from or goes. There was great joy in the discovery of the new and unknown. There is a magic to this experience that we railfans often forget, especially when the close and familiar can be so comforting. Rising costs may make cross-continent journey less attractive for many of us, but the exploration principle holds true even closer to home. There are always those lines we neglect because they are not as busy or not as convenient. Get to know them, spend more time with them. After all, isn’t half the reason any of us get into this hobby to an- swer the perenniel question of “Where does this track go?”


Alexander B. Craghead is a writer, photog- rapher,


watercolorist, and self-described “transportation geek” from Portland, Ore. You can reach out to Alex on our web site at www.railfan.com/departures.


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