RAILROAD DINING, ART, AND CULTURE IN REVIEW BY JAMES D. PORTERFIELD Step by Step to Today
IT STARTED WITH A CALL to Jim Boyd, legendary late editor of RAILFAN & RAILROAD. Dining by Rail was about to be published, and I want- ed to publicize the book’s subject for a couple of years to one of its primary markets. My thought was to write a monthly column about the then-nascent dinner train phenomenon. Amtrak’s on-board Express rejected the idea. Trains rejected the idea. Boyd said “Great,” and asked when I could have the first column finished. Such is the writer’s life. That was in late 1992. The result? This col-
umn completes 23 years, not just “a couple,” of creating ON THE MENU. It has been, as the Beatles once noted, “a long and winding road.” Look What Happened: ON THE MENU has
both morphed and given birth. Its first spin- off, the “Annual Guide to Dinner Trains,” was in the mid-’90s. That led to a second book, From the Dining Car, and the opportunity to write for other publications — Disney’s Fam- ily, United Airlines’ Hemispheres, and most recently Popular Anthropology. Throughout, my interest has been popular
culture and history. My reading preference is non-fiction, not technology — except for noir crime novels, the occasional acclaimed liter- ary work (think To Kill a Mockingbird), and... well, see below. I’ve relied on my kind and patient editors Boyd, then Steve Barry, with help from Mike Del Vecchio and Walt Lanke- nau, to help me tell an F3 from an F7, or to distinguish an ES44C4 from an SD70ACe (it helps that steam engines are known by their wheel arrangements). With what one likes to think of as astute editorial judgment, Boyd, then Barry, also bought into another suggestion, the “Site Guides to American Railroad History.” This annual feature, which is to be revived in June 2016, takes an in-depth look at a location where railroad history occurred that changed American history — think Honesdale, Pa., and the Stourbridge Lion, for example, or the junction at Branchville, S.C. — and that can be visited today to see much of what was there when the history happened. That activ- ity led to writing assignments from the Na- tional Trust for Historic Preservation’s (now defunct) travel blog website, for the Rails- to-Trails Conservancy’s “History Happened Here” blog, and now for Stanford University’s HistoryPin project. Other flowers blossomed. John Gruber,
then editor of Vintage Rails, bought the idea of reprinting classic railroad fiction in the (now defunct) magazine. That led to locating and securing the rights to reprint Harry Bed- well’s classic railroad novel, The Boomer, and a contract to assemble a soon-to-be-published book of 19 classic railroad stories by noted au- thors who once worked on the railroad, both from the University of Minnesota Press. The writing led to being asked, in 1996, to organize and host the annual Penn State Al- toona Railroad Heritage Conference. Seeking to apply my interests there, we started the nightly film festival (on a remote campus at night, we needed something wholesome to do), and were able to steer two conferences to the fine arts. That led to the creation of another R&R annual feature, “Portraits of
Railroading,” to showcase 12 North American artists by offering works devoted to a single theme. That too is being revived, beginning in February 2016. The theme? “Electric Trains.” An “Encore Career”: It was eventually suggested by friends in the railroad heritage community that I consider combining my ex- perience as an educator (high school and col- lege), as a writer, and as a sales and marketing executive, and establish what became in 2013 is the Center for Railway Tourism at Davis & Elkins College (D&E) in Elkins,
W.Va. That project, the largest application by far of my interest in the impact railroads have had on American life and culture, has three priorities: (1) An Undergraduate Minor: The admis-
sions goal is modest and tied to the likely growth of job opportunities in railroad heritage tourism management. We seek to engage ten new students each year, and be graduating at least eight of them annually within five years. They will have been exposed to railroad heri- tage activities from year one, through extern- ships, a field project, and model railroading, and immersed in the subject their junior and senior years by completing 18 credits — six specialty courses — that include a required in- ternship. A non-credit distance education ver- sion of the undergraduate coursework, which leads to a certificate of completion, is to be available for those who already have a degree or who do not want to pursue one. (2) Helping Rail Heritage Sites: Based on
my belief that the future of railway heritage preservation lies in tourism, not merely pres- ervation, the Center is devoting resources to finding ways to broaden the appeal of railroad history to embrace young people, minorities, and immigrants. Those are our future mar- kets. First up, the West Virginia Railway Heritage Initiative, a planned annual one-day event, took place on November 16. It marked the beginning of an effort to call national at- tention to the unique, challenging, important, and ultimately fascinating history of railroad- ing that took place — and continues to take place — in the mountains that gave birth to the state’s nickname. Or did you think it was easy to move 100-plus-car coal trains through rugged terrain? It is also intended to be a mod- el for how others can partner to build the “ex- perience” today’s heritage tourist is seeking. Then Reading ‘n Railroading, an activi- ties-based program built around children’s picture books that is intended to draw young families to railway heritage sites throughout the typical seasonal operation’s April-Octo- ber schedule. It can also be used to increase awareness of railway heritage in communi- ties that are not home to a specific railway heritage site. And this; with the help of work-study stu-
dents supplied by Davis & Elkins College, we have created and are now refining what is, with thousands of entries, perhaps the largest database of North American railway heritage sites in existence. It includes not only muse- ums, excursions, and the location of static dis- plays, but the administrative centers for all rail trails; railroad heritage sites that have been restored and are being repurposed, per- haps as a restaurant, visitor’s center, or town
Pennsylvania: The Eastern Lines
The
The Pennsylvania: The Eastern Lines is an all-color book on this great railroad, written by Steve Stewart, with color photography by Dave Augsburger. The book is largely a photo book, covering the area from Long Island through to Harrisburg. The photos show the diesel era on this road, as well as electric operations with a variety of power.
$30.95
S/H per book: $5 US, $9 Canada,
all others, call or email for rates.
Order item CRS-PRRE
877-787-2467 TOLL-FREE 660-695-4433 NON-US
WhiteRiverProductions.com 57
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