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 EDITORS MICHAEL T. BURKHART JAMES D. PORTERFIELD


MIKE EVANS, CHICAGO & NORTHWESTERN WELDER AT THE PROVISO RIP TRACKS IN APRIL 1943. PHOTOGRAPH BY JACK DELANO AND COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, LC-USW36-574.


Seeking out the human side of railroading


WE RAILFANS GIVE A LOT OF ATTENTION to equipment of staggering proportion. Loco- motives weighing 400 tons, trains measur- ing more than two miles long, rail systems that stretch across half a continent and more. While impressive, what we so often forget is how important people are to the railways that we admire.


The railways have, historically, been massive employers. In 1940, the Pennsylva- nia Railroad alone employed more than 150,000 people. Although improvements in efficiency have reduced the workforce, the industry remains a major employer. As of this year, more than 230,000 people present- ly work for railroads in the United States. That’s more than are employed by Chrysler, Apple, or Intel — combined. Despite the importance of people to the function of the railways, documenting them has always proved elusive. People’s names litter the covers and pages of employee timetables, decorate train orders and track warrants, and are found throughout Rail- road Retirement Board files, yet other than these brief printed names there is rarely a trace of their humanity in the historic record. They work hidden away inside loco- motive cabs, behind office doors, or other places we are not often allowed. As a result, we know so little about who they are. We are fortunate, then, when a photogra- pher captures the railway worker in his na- tive environment. Jack Delano, working for the federal government, made photographs of dozens of railway workers just prior to the Second World War. His images, shot on ear- ly color film, are a window into the industry the likes of which we rarely see. A few years ago, the Center for Railroad Photography and Art in Madison, Wisc., be- gan to sort through Delano’s portraits, in an attempt to determine who these men and women were. Volunteers conducted exten- sive genealogical research. Descendants were found and interviewed.


Consider Delano’s portrait of Mike Evans.


The name is not Irish or Welsh, but an Americanization of “Evancevich,” a Serbian


4 APRIL 2014 • RAILFAN.COM


name. Mike, a welder for the Chicago & North Western, remained devoted to his homeland despite his name change, and of- ten spent time after work playing a tradi- tional Serbian stringed instrument and singing songs of the old country to his wife and daughter. It was through finding that little girl — now 80 and still active in Chica- go’s Serbian community — that the Center’s researchers were able to learn such details. (The results of the research into Mike’s por- trait — along with scores of others — is the “Railroaders” exhibit at the Chicago History Museum until August 10, 2015.) Why do any of these things matter? With- out such details, it is all too easy to read in- to the images whatever we wish. Consider the irony here: when the National Archives released its 1940 U.S. Census data in 2012, they used Mike’s portrait as the cover of its journal, as a stand-in for the “all-American” railroad worker. Little did they know how deeply steeped Mike was in his native Ser- bian culture! Details such as these help move portraits of railroaders like Mike Evans from two-dimensional images that are more about us, to portraits of three-di- mensional people who loved and hurt, suf- fered and triumphed, and who were an inte- gral part of the American railway story. Today, a combination of security culture and a smaller workforce make access to rail- way workers more difficult. Anyone wanting to learn more about today’s workers would not be advised to go gate-crashing railroad offices or to disturb railroaders at their jobs. Yet there are still more than a few railway workers who are also railfans — even if they don’t call themselves such — and it is not uncommon to meet them either in person at slide shows, swap meets, and the like, or on- line. Get to know them and don’t be afraid to dig a little deeper to uncover today’s human side of railroading.


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


watercolorist, and self-described “transportation geek” from Portland, Ore.


COLUMNISTS


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


DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING JOHN A. EARLEY


ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER PIETER UPTEGROVE


DIRECTOR OF MARKETING GEORGE RILEY


BOOK ACQUISITIONS MANAGER CHRIS LANE


ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER PHYLLIS M. CARSTENS


CUSTOMER SERVICE LYNN GOOD


DEALER SERVICE CATHY STREETER


Visit us at carstens-publications.com


RAILFAN & RAILROAD (ISSN 0163-7266) is published monthly by Carstens Publications, Inc., 108 Phil Hardin Road, Newton, New Jersey 07860. Phone 973/383-3355. Henry R. Carstens, Publisher; Phyllis M. Carstens, Secretary-Treasurer. Periodical Postage paid at Newton, NJ 07860 and additional mailing offices.


POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RAILFAN & RAILROAD, 108 Phil Hardin Road, Newton, NJ 07860. Copyright © 2014 by Carstens


#124725060. Publications, Inc. Printed in U.S.A. Canadian GST


Publications Mail Agreement No.40957020; Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4R6.


SUBSCRIPTIONS: U.S.A.


$69.95 for two years, $99.95 for three years. Single copies are $5.95. Canada : $50.00 per year, $94.00 for two years, $136.00 for three years. Overseas: $58.00 per year, $110.00 for two years, $160.00 for three years. Payment must be in U.S. funds. All com- munications regarding subscriptions and changes of address should be sent to Circulation Manager, RAILFAN & RAILROAD, 108 Phil Hardin Road, Newton, NJ 07860-0700. Please allow six weeks for change of address. Postmaster send Form 3579 to RAILFAN & RAILROAD, 108 Phil Hardin Road , Newton , NJ 07860. Periodicals class postage paid at Newton, NJ and other mailing offices.


CONTRIBUTIONS: Articles and photographs from our readers are always welcome. Contact editor Steve Barry at editor@railfan.com for details. The contents of this magazine may not be reprinted without written permission of the publisher.


ADVERTISING: Address all inquires to RAILFAN & RAILROAD, 108 Phil Hardin Road, Newton, NJ 07860. Phone: 973/383-3355. Fax: 973/383-4064. E-mail: ads@railfan.com.


and possessions: $37.95 per year,


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64