COMMENTARY BY ALEXANDER B. CRAGHEAD
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EVEN FROM 20 MILES AWAY, THE NEW YORK CITY SKYLINE MAKES FOR AN IMPRESSIVE BACKDROP AS A METRO-NORTH HUDSON LINE TRAIN RACES ALONG THE HUDSON RIVER AT DOBBS FERRY, N.Y., ON JULY 16, 2012. PHOTO BY OTTO M. VONDRAK
See the City First
WAR ERUPTED ACROSS EUROPE IN 1914, and while the United States was not yet involved, it had large repercussions for the nation. Banking, trade, and tourism were all impacted severe- ly. This last one was particularly of concern to the railroads, for annually thousands of Americans travelled to the great port cities of the Eastern seaboard to board ships for England or for France. The European tour was a longstanding convention of American tourism, but with war on the continent, that quickly ended — and so, too, did many railroad profits. As a result, railroads began to intensify ad campaigns that promoted train travel across the United State as a way to see something just as good as the European tour. One of the most famous of these campaigns ran under the tag line, “See America first!” The railfan of today has his own vacation traditions. Several locations — primarily in the relatively sparsely settled West — are perennial magnets for those who love trains. Great examples include the Tehachapi Mountains in Southern California, the ex-Rio Grande route over Utah’s Soldier Summit, or any number of places on Montana Rail Link, in its namesake state. In places such as these, one can find the drama of narrow canyons, steep hillsides, or vast plains with the intrep- id railroad line snaking through each scene and, at the back of it all, a breathtaking vista of distant mountain peaks. It is not difficult to understand why a railfan would wish to travel to see these locations firsthand. Yet these trips, like the once-convention-
al European vacation, obscure opportunities closer to home. At the beginning of the 20th century, most railfans — like most Americans — lived in cities. Just as too many vacationers overlooked the American landscape one hundred years ago, too many railfans today overlook the city. On page 30, Dennis Livesey shows us the lanscape of the quintessential American city:
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RAILFAN.COM
New York. Despite more than 700 miles of subway, several commuter rail routes extend- ing in all directions, a handful of direct freight lines, and a location at the center of Amtrak’s heaviest ridership corridor, New York City has a reputation as being both “without trains” and “without scenery.” I think after seeing Dennis’s magnificent photographs you’ll agree that reputation is undeserved. While not everywhere can be as exciting
and diverse as New York City, almost all urban areas offer scenic possibilities but a commuter’s distance away. Instead of canyons of basalt or shale, they are of brick, glass, and steel. While the urban landscape cannot offer the drama of a vast desert, it can offer a layered, tightly packed complexity, especially in port cities. As for scenic vistas? Many city skylines can give the Rockies or the Sierra a run for their money. In addition, cities have their own charms.
There are often simply more trains to be seen in the city. Most urban areas are traffic bottlenecks where terminals and junctions increase train frequency while reducing their speed. Cities also have a wider variety of types of railroading to be seen; high-speed main lines, decrepit old switching routes, and grand passenger terminals are all to be found here — sometimes within a few blocks of each other. Last but not least, the city offers several types of railway that are endemic to it only. There is simply nothing else like the spider- web of Chicago’s Metra commuter rail lines, nor its stilt-wearing El. The sometimes cranky MUNI light rail trains of San Francisco are an inseparable part of that city’s character, and Portland’s jelly-bean streetcars are as charming and quirky as that city is. So let’s update that old railroad slogan. See the city first. You won’t regret it.
Consulting Editor Alexander B. Craghead is a transportation historian, photographer, artist, and author.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR/ART DIRECTOR OTTO M. VONDRAK
OTTO@RAILFAN.COM
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