COMMENTARY BY ALEXANDER B. CRAGHEAD
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ANDOVER, NJ 07821 NORFOLK SOUTHERN LIGHT ENGINES CROSS THE OHIO RIVER APPROACHING CINCINNATI, OHIO, 2011. PHOTO BY STEVE SCHMOLLINGER Please Don’t Call it “Flyover Country”
ASK SOME RAILFANS FROM THE COASTS and they will tell you the Midwest has no scenery. It has no mountains, no great gorges, no drama. It is all flatness and sky. Sure, the Missis- sippi cuts a nice set of bluffs up around the Illinois-Wisconsin border. Sure, the hills and dales of Ohio and Indiana can make for vertical interest now and then, but they aren’t mountain grades. Thus the stereotypes of the Midwest are exaggerations, yet there is enough truth in them that many railfans who live outside the region ignore it. Much to their loss, as Steve Schmollinger demonstrates beginning on page 46. To say the Midwest has no drama is quite
simply to miss the entire point. No drama? Stand beside any number of the high iron main lines that crisscross the region and you’ll find your drama in the sheer volume of traffic. Some lines are so busy you can quite literally see a new train every ten or 15 minutes. Much of the Midwest is positioned between the ports and populations of the eastern seaboard, and the great national railway hub of Chicago. This makes for great volume and in nearly every sort of cargo that the railroads carry, from coal to containers to cars. To really get a sense of the power of the North American railway system of the 21st century, you really must behold the spectacle of these lines operating at peak capacity. When it comes to weather, this is a region
of extremes. Winters can bring heavy snows, covering the world in a heavy blanket of white. At the opposite extreme, summers can bring both dazzling sunshine and torrential thunderstorms, all in the same day. Anyone who complains about the rains of the Pacific Northwest has never experienced a sudden 4:00 p.m. August downpour in Indiana! These conditions offer numerous creative possibili- ties for photography. There are of course more subtle attractions.
Many lines traversing the region, such as the former Nickel Plate Road main through Ohio, now operated by Norfolk Southern, have a deep sawtooth profile as they cross numerous
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valleys. There is something beguiling about standing beside the NKP main, watching a distant headlight bob in and out of sight as it traverses the rolling landscape. Passenger trains are an integral part of
life in the Midwest. From the Amtrak route that calls in the lonely hours of the night thrice-weekly to the hourly Metra suburban commuter run, these trains form an essential part of the Midwestern landscape. Away from the mainlines, there are still
many Class I branchlines, regional railroads, and even shortlines brimming with character. The Midwest is a place where one can still find an end-cab switcher working a three-mile line serving, say, a tire factory or a candy company, with a whole company town built around it. Many towns owe their continued existence to the railroad, making their dot on the map just a little bigger. This leads me to the region’s greatest charm
— its small-town character. Oh sure, the Midwest has its cities, from the great Chicago to a constellation of interesting middleweights like Minneapolis-St. Paul, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and so on. Yet, for me, the region is defined best by its myriad small towns. A ride on the Empire Builder through Wisconsin alone is instructive. The line from Milwau- kee to the Twin Cities is primarily Canadian Pacific (former Milwaukee Road), and it seems like every town the train passes through still has a handsome brick depot, an old freight house, a small yard, and a locomotive on standby for the local switch job. The Midwest is more than charming villag-
es and pastoral landscapes, fast freights, and pokey locals. It is a dynamic and exciting environment, full of worthwhile challenges for the photographer, railfan, and historian alike. For all of its contrasts, it is a region that can defy definition. But, please, don’t call it “Flyover Country.”
Consulting Editor Alexander B. Craghead is a transportation historian, photographer, artist, and author from Portland, Ore.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR/ART DIRECTOR OTTO M. VONDRAK
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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS MICHAEL T. BURKHART MIKE SCHAFER JEFFREY D. TERRY
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