www.railfan.com/departures


www.railfan.com FOUNDING PUBLISHER


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 WES VERNON


“HEʼS NOT LOST, THATʼS MY EDITOR!” ON ALTAMONT PASS, CALIFORNIA, MARCH 2012. PHOTO BY OTTO M. VONDRAK Get Lost!


GOING SOMEPLACE NEW is always an exciting thing. Uncharted territory is full of new op- portunities and new sights to see. It is no surprise, then, that when faced with a new place — whether for a visit, or a more per- manent move — that railfans are often tempted to dive into research mode. Massive time gets spent searching online map sites, asking questions on various discussion boards, and reading books about the region. It is only natural to want to prepare yourself for your new journey. I have one piece of advice: Stop. One of the greatest joys of a new place is in the discovery, and no matter how good the map, no research material can ever replace that joy. It can, however, sometimes dimin- ish it. There is a pleasure in not knowing be- fore you go, in experiencing and immersing yourself in a place for the first time in all of its three-dimensional glory.


In my personal experience, I can remem-


ber the first time that I visited the Mid- west. As a fervent West Coaster, I had grown up with the idea that the world was made up of several types of geography: rolling farms, forested hills, rocky coasts, snow-capped volcanos. I was also used to the railroad world they created, one where the tight geographic pinch-points of river canyons and mountain passes had effec- tively put an upper limit on the number of main lines that were built. When I visited Ohio in 2005, I found a region where there were no such barriers, and where main lines and branch lines and spurs sprawled in every which way.


I had no way to be prepared, but I am glad now that I had not tried, for my guide, a na- tive of the region, thus became a fountain of fascinating stories. Here was the New York Central’s former Michigan Central main line, there was the old Erie now abandoned in place, this roadbed was the Pennsy, here’s where the Wabash crossed it, and so forth. And it was a mess, and a maze, and more


4 OCTOBER 2013 • RAILFAN.COM


than I could absorb. But you know what? It got me interested, fascinated, enthralled. It started my imagination going as I tried to figure out where what went, and why, and why it still did or didn’t anymore. And be- cause I didn’t know what was around the next bend, I was always ready for a new scene, a new point of view, and a new photo- graphic opportunity.


If I had prepared ahead, if I had studied up and read the maps, I might have been far less open to these options. I would more like- ly have said, “Show me the XYZ main line” or “Take me to such-and-such,” and missed out on the obscurity that was discovered by merely looking to see what was around the next bend.


Recently, I became one of those two-city people, when I took on a project that re- quires me to spend most of the year in the Bay Area of California, 750 miles from my native Portland. Although I know a little about the region, I had no books, no maps, and done little research on the area prior to my move. My first book — a thin volume on the old Key Line interurbans — I bought a few weeks after arriving. For me that means driving about until I find the old Northbrae Tunnel or accidentally re-discovering the old Western Pacific depot at Third and Washington in Oakland is that much more exciting. There is something to be said for just being there, and letting your imagina- tion wander, and searching out the meaning behind it later.


So next time you go someplace new, con- sidering leaving behind the books and maps and discovering it all for yourself first. There’s nothing like the feeling of not know- ing what is around the next corner.


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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