PORTRAITS OF RAILROADING Down at the Depot I
S THERE A MORE ICONIC STRUCTURE in American architectural
varying
— not to mention more common, important, and widely
history in
appearance — than the train station? Today we first think of one of Walmart’s 3,928 stores when challenged to name the most common structure in our towns and cities. Estimates of the number of train stations that existed in the country when railroading was at its peak in the 1920s are as high as 40,000.
So the challenge to artists for this edition of “Portraits of Railroading” was to submit works depicting action centered on the depot. They did not disappoint. Here you will find late night arrivals at tiny depots, other scenes long gone from the landscape, ordinary meets and stately departures, and all manner of related activity. Notice how several artists, when describing their
work,
evoke passion and nostalgia for the heyday of passenger railroading.
The sum of the portraits illustrate
why the goings-on “down at the depot” are themselves iconic, a central feature of American life for nearly 190 years and counting. As an added bonus, the work of six artists who have never appeared here are included. For a detailed look at one of them, John Winfield, and brief sketches of the other 14 artists, turn to this month’s edition of ON THE MENU on page 65.
—JAMES D. PORTERFIELD
OPPOSITE: Arrivals and Departures Acrylic on Canvas, 30x24”, ©2014 John Winfield This painting was commissioned by a Santa Fe buff who specified the railroad, the era (the 1940s) and the action — an arrival and a departure — to depict. Set in Chicago’s Dearborn Station, one detail demonstrates the challenge artists face when doing such work. The client asked that the shades facing the observation platform be raised. That necessitated additional research into what one would see in a Grand Canyon Limited observation-lounge, and what people visible there would wear, including the car attendant. Other details include lighting at the time of day the Limited departed, and what activity would accompany the setting, all while giving the trains prominence.
ABOVE: Pennsylvania Railroad Depot, Brazil, Ind., Fall 1940 Acrylic, 15x30”, ©2016 Jim Rhodes Double-headed Pennsylvania Railroad K4s barely break their stride as they approach Depot Street with eastbound train No. 66, The American, and overtake H10 No. 8672 with coal off the old line to Staunton. Another 2-8-0 idles on the Saline City Branch. Brazil, 15 miles east of Terre Haute, was a major producer of brick and tile in Clay County. This painting was commissioned by the Clay County Historical Society to honor Brazil’s Sesquicentennial, celebrated during the month of October 2016.
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