The stories behind this photograph
I
t has been said that every picture tells a story and I suppose that that is true. Here is the story of how, over a half century ago, I came to take one of my favorite photographs and the two stories that it tells –one of a man and one of a railroad. In the mid-1950’s, the Staten Island Rapid Transit was in dire straits. The New York City Transit Authority, having taken over the privately-owned and operated bus system on Staten Island, drastically reduced fares and was on the verge of knocking the SIRT out of business. Realizing what the loss of the rail system would mean to the Staten Islanders, the NYCTA made a minor concession—they would not compete directly with the SIRT’s mainline to Tot- tenville. This left the railroad with only one of their three lines protected, so they applied for abandonment of the South Beach and the Arlington (North Shore) branches. And so it came to pass that I and my photo buddy, Will Faxon, found ourselves at the grade crossing at the outer end of the South Beach line, taking photos of the operation. After covering the area pretty well, we were perplexed as to why the crossing gates were not operating but were manned by a gateman. This was doubly odd since the base service was then only using single car trains. So we asked the gateman. He told us, in highly Italian accented English that the line always used gatemen after the summer rush was over; apparently it was less expen- sive than using the mechanical gates.
Then he shyly asked me if I would take a photograph of him, “to send to my family in the old country.” I quickly agreed, at which point he disappeared into his shack for a moment, emerg- ing, not only with his red caution flag but also with a tall STOP sign. And, he was grandly wear- ing his official, dusty, obviously rarely used, crossing guard hat. Proudly, he posed when the next train came down the line, his face glowing with happiness that somebody cared enough to notice him in his position of importance at a lonely railroad crossing in Staten Island.
I do not know if he ever received his copy of the photo I sent to him in care of the SIRT, but I
was proud as anything to have captured such a memorable moment on film. And, if you check the internet for photos of the SIRT in action, you’ll probably see a copy of this picture, taken as a railroad was about to lose some of the pride and glamour that made railroading such an in- teresting subject.
STEVEN MEYERS
42
NOVEMBER 2012
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