Customer Reviews:
Best of both worlds.......2006-01-28
I am both a photographer and a "train nut". This book is outstanding!
The Last Steam Railroad in America.......2005-04-19
I'm not a railroad enthusiast per se, but I have to admit I was captivated by the photographic artwork of O. Winston Link. This book abounds with not only great photographs, but Mr. Link has definitely defined Americana of the 1950's through his photography. As a child of the 50's I can definitely relate to the steam locomotives, by the beautiful sounds they made not only at rest, but also by the rhythm of their wheels, and the melodic shrill of their whistles. O. Winston Link is without question one of the greatest photographers of our country, and his photography shows it. This is a great book, and I recommend it to anyone interested in a bygone era.
The Classic Chiaroscuro Photography of Winston Link.......2004-10-04
While my major interest in photography has always been the early-20th-century Camera Pictorialists, I've always loved the photographs of the late Winston Link. With their tremendous detail and chiaroscuro, they have qualities few photos have - drama and mood. Link was actually trained as an engineer but made his living as an industrial photographer. Even his commercial photographs had a strong narrative drive; they told the story of his clients' products. Because of his tremendous mastery of technique, Link was able to compose photographs with great spatial depth, and through well-placed illumination, bring them off. Link was long interested in steam locomotives but when a commercial assignment brought him to Virginia, he began a five-year-long project to document the Norfolk and Western railroad, the last steam railroad in america. While he shot the trains of the N & W in daylight - in both black and white and color - it was his night scenes that made Link a cult favorite among photographers. To capture the tremendous size of the locomotives and their ever-present steam, Link carefully composed each shot, blocking in where the locomotive would arrive and placing syncronized flashbulbs along the track to capture a steam locomotive at full cry. Winston Link was an American original who answered to his own muse - the steam locomotive.
Technically perfect and artistically peerless.......2004-04-09
American steam railroading should go down in history as the most evocative and romantic aspect of the industrial age. Winston Link understood what was happening during the 1950s, and he took care of it. Times were changing, the cheapness of the airplane and automobile were replacing the steam railroad with its giant fire breathing behemoths--indeed the most 'human-like' machines, in my opinion. Link primarly photographed at night using indepedent flashbulbs and reflectors; this way he could control the lighting. This makes his images haunting, yet nastolgic and desirable.
My favorite shot in this book is titled "Highball for the Double Header", one of the last images Link photographed of the railroad, and one of the few in which he used color film at night. In it you witness his mastery for composition as well as symbolism: two articulated steam locomotives being given the all clear by a switchman's lantern, the man being dwarfed by the giant engines and their cloud of steam reaching far up into the night sky--all perfectly illuminated by Link's flashbulbs. A fitting end to Link's oeuvre.
Get this book, you won't be disappointed. Check out the new museum dedicated to his work in Roanoke: www.linkmuseum.org
A Book of Masterpieces.......2003-03-19
O. Winston Link, in my opinion, was the best train photographer that ever lived. He knew where to aim the light, how much light to have, and the best places to take photos. Most of Link's photos are taken at night, which enhances view of the massive amount of pure white steam.
This book defines nostalgia more than clearly. Being a railroad and steam locomotive enthusiast myself, I dream about the living in pictures that Link took. In the book, Thomas Garver, one of Link's assistants, illustrates the sounds, details, and reasons for the trains being where they are in each photo.
The Norfolk & Western was the last major railroad in the U.S. to say "good-bye" to steam power. When Link heard of the inevitable decision, he immediately began to "document" the railroad as it was before steam was gone. From about 1955 to 1958, he spent countless hours taking thousands of photos of the steam engines on the N&W. "The Last Steam Railroad in America" brings out some of the best photos he ever took.
I like the photos in this book that pertain to the "Abingdon Branch" of the N&W. I used to live in Damascus, VA, a small town that was one of the major stops on this line. The railroad bed is now a bike trail and I have found every spot that Link stood at in order to take his photos of the Abingdon Branch.
I highly recommend "The Last Steam Railroad in America" to any train enthusiast, photographer, or anyone who has memories of a steam locomotive roaring by their home. It will always have a special place on my bookshelf.
Customer Reviews:
Unique High Quality One of a kind.......2006-03-01
Outstanding book for the railfan and the photographer. Very good prices. I paid $40 when it was new for hardback and don't regret a cent of it. I can't tell you how many times I have looked at it.
Steinheimer and Winston Link are among the TOP rail photographers. I haven't seen anybody else do so many night flash scenes and it is fascinating to see how he did it.
The printing on slick paper is unsurpassed for clarity and awesome photos.
Every railfan of N&W at the end of steam should have this book. I have bought 3, 2 given as gifts.
Great pictures, flawed layout.......2005-08-15
I bought this book years ago when it was first released and was disappointed to see that many pictures are printed over 2 pages which means the fold is cutting the beautiful pictures in two. Also, these pictures look so much better when presented on a white background, why on earth did they use black?
The pictures themselves are of course the best railroad pictures ever taken and print quality is superb!
A Great Book!.......2002-04-05
The late O. Winston Link was truly an innovative photographer. He did much night photography because he was able to control the lighting. In addition, he loved the old steam locomotive. In the late 1950's he made several forays from his New York City office to the Norfolk and Western Railroad to photograph the last of these steam giants in operation.
The result of these sojourns is this book, and what a book it is! An ancient adage has it that a picture is worth a thousand words. These pictures may be worth a few more! They portray an era that is unfortunately long gone. The steam locomotives are placed in the context of those times. The world is richer for Link's work.
Of particular interest to the student of the technical aspect of photography are photographs and explanation of what Link had to do in order to obtain these photographs. There is a lot to learn from this master of the art.
This book is destined to become a classic in the annals of photography if indeed it is not already one. A copy of it belongs in the library of anyone with an interest in either railroads or photography. What's more, at a price of $[money], this book is a steal. If you do not yet own a copy of this book,you should purchase one as soon as possible.
Beautiful.......2002-01-14
Fantastic photography of steam locomotives. Link makes these machines appear to be massive beasts running through the nightime streets of small-town America.
Perfect and rasor sharp pictures.......2002-01-06
What can I tell more about this famous book from the well known photographer? If you like perfect sharp B&W pictures taken at night with steam locomotives, but also from people working with trains or at stations, this is the book you should have.
Book Description
This beautiful photographic collection of urban train station design covers a 100-year period from roughly 1850 to 1950. Striking original photographs chronicle 40 large passenger station buildings still in existence in cities around the world. From the great terminals of London, across the world to Auckland, New Zealand; from Toronto's Union Station to the grand and crumbling Retiro Station in Buenos Aires—vastly different architectural forms are displayed and presented chronologically. One-third of the stations included are among the best America has to offer.
Still Standing: A Century of Urban Train Station Design outlines the history and development of large urban stations throughout the Western world. The basic physical forms and their evolution are reviewed in the context of the rapid growth of train travel. Christopher Brown discusses the arrival and impact of Beaux-Arts architecture in the 1890s and its profound effect on the American terminal. The end of the so-called golden era of passenger rail travel coincided with an architectural move away from the classicism of Beaux-Arts. New and different design forms appeared while passengers defected to other means of transportation.
These dazzling public structures have endured, but the photographs imply a disturbing question: How long will they survive?
Customer Reviews:
A very pleasant surprise!.......2006-03-08
I was pleased to discover this book, and to find it was really more than just a group of train station photographs - as beautiful as they are. The writer/photographer simply yet eloquently shares his love of these structures - both in his writing and in the loving way the many station photographs are presented and framed. I purchase a lot of design and architecture books. It is not often this type of book delivers so much "heart". A very pleasant surprise!
Disappointing...........2006-03-06
The photos are few and mediocre and the printing is of low quality with poor color saturation and muddy details (perhaps because it is printed in China?). Even the limited details of the stations themselves (the only written information in the book) is lacking in depth. Save your money....
Pictures worth a thousand words...........2005-11-19
It is very seldom one finds a book on a specialized subject such as striking photos of train station architecture that is executed with such passion and commitment. The preface gives a brilliant foundation to this study which, in lesser hands, could have easily become dry and academic. The photos are stunning and the placement of the camera always reveals the design or the detail that distills what the designer of the station intended. The layout is beautifully done with a keen eye for color and layout. I love this book, and it is high on my gift-giving list for Christmas.
Book Description
A tribute to the most revered railroad photographer of our time.
To the true rail fan, Richard Steinheimer is an authentic hero, the best of the best. A pioneer in train photography, Steinheimer lived through and documented the railroad's heyday and its decline. He is one of very few photographers who appreciate the aesthetics of all locomotives, from steam engines to the latest diesel-powered behemoths. He has a particular fondness for the landscape of the American West, and many of his images situate trains in the larger geography and culture of the time. Known for taking pictures at night, in bad weather, and from risky perches on top of moving train platforms, Steinheimer has an enormous creativity and productivity. This, the first full-length celebration of his work, presents 160 of his duotone images, with an introduction by Jeff Brouws.
Customer Reviews:
Uncommon composition of captured railroad action in B&W photographs.......2007-01-05
Richard Steinheimer has captured in black and white the everyday life and romance of railroading in a bygone era with an incite that earns him a prominent place in recorded railroad history. As a rail buff and life member of the Waterford Township Historical and Preservation Society in Waterford, Michigan, I recommend that anyone who is drawn to the sound and thrill of railroad action should experience atleast one of Richard's publications to place a picture in their minds eye.
more than trains.......2006-07-05
The photographs capture more than trains, but never less. They capture the beauty of the land that trains opened up. They bring us people, both on and near the trains. His sense of composition draws us into the scene and makes us want to look at it again and again.
If you have a passion for trains, you'll have a passion for this book........2005-08-10
Black and white photography's superior ability to communicate both detail and atmosphere is dramatically demonstrated by Richard Steinheimer's A Passion for Trains.
This is one of the most totally satisfying railroad books I own, and I own over a hundred.
Steinheimer has a unique ability to display both the railroad and the faces and geography of its environment. Landscape and nature over conspire against railroaders, as Steinheimer frequently demonstrates in A Passion for Trains, yet the weather never quite overwhelms the trains or the men who keep them moving.
The photographs contain detail you can just about feel. Text on most pages is limited to a single line identifying the location. Thumbnails at the back of the book contain an additional paragraph about each photo.
If you have a passion for trains, you'll love this book. It covers a wide variety of railroads, geographic environments, and weather. Many of the photos will soon become your favorites. In fact, I considered getting a second copy, just to be able to frame some of the pages!
The term "coffee table book" is often used derogatorily. Yet, what's wrong with a book so fine that you'll want to keep it on your coffee table where you, and your friends, can frequently enjoy it?
GREAT PHOTOGRAPHS, FLAWED REPRODUCTIONS.......2005-06-08
As the antique dealer haughtily remarked to a customer who expressed shock at the astronomical price of an exquisite 1780 Philadelphia Highboy, "My dear sir, it is sufficient that it is available."
So it may be said of Richard Steinheimer's big new book of railroad photographs, A PASSION FOR TRAINS. The images are superb, indeed, in a class by themselves. These are pictures that anyone who is interested in great photography will admire, regardless of whether or not they care about railroads and trains.
It is regrettable, therefore, that the reproduction of Steinheimer's photographs in this volume aren't far better than they are. The problem is that the blacks are consistently too dense, with a disturbing loss of shadow detail in nearly every instance. Furthermore, the whites are generally grey and flat when they should be bright and buoyant.
It is difficult to tell from the book whether these defects are a result of poor printing, poorly made, excessively contrasty photographic prints or a combination of the two. However, flaws notwithstanding, it can safely be predicted that many railroad enthusiasts and some photography buffs will snap this work up (as I did myself), gratefully acknowledging that it is sufficient that it is available.
For nonpareil examples of photograph reproductions as they should be, see CALIFORNIA (Adams, Little, Brown, 1997), IN THE LAND OF LIGHT (Smith, Houghton, Mifflin, 1983), COURT HOUSE (Pare [ed], Horizon Press, 1978), NEW YORK, EMPIRE CITY 1920-1945 (Stravitz, Abrams, 2004) and THE CHRYSLER BUILDING (Stravitz, Princeton Architectural Press, 2002).
Great book!.......2005-01-18
Someone else called 'A Passion for Trains' Poetry in motion, I would like to second that.
this is a great book, and makes a wonderful gift. I know firsthand. I gave it to two people, and they both loved it.
Book Description
From the early 1960s through the 1970s.
Outbound Trains features distinguished photographer, writer and rail magazine editor Jim Boyd's best images, with emphasis on the colorful first-generation diesel railroads. A lively text and scores of incomparable photographs take the reader coast to coast with most major American railroads and provide a sampling of interesting short lines and restored steam or main-line steam.
There are spectacular photographs of aging roundhouses, country stations, busy interlocking towers and the great stations of Chicago; pre-Amtrak passenger trains, from the Twentieth Century Limited and the Midnight Special to lowly locals, mail trains and branch-line doodlebugs; N&W Geeps and SDs in the West Virginia coalfields, the California Zephyr threading through the Feather River canyon, and slant-nose, stainless-steel-paneled Burlington E5s racing across the Illinois prairie; Pennsylvania GG1 electrics, Milwaukee Road boxcabs and Little Joes; and the historic steam of Southern Pacific Daylight and Union Pacific Challenger 3985, the world's largest operating steam locomotive.
Outbound Trains is an absolute must for every railfan's bookshelf.
Customer Reviews:
This man was THERE!.......2007-09-21
Ok, I admit that I know Jim Boyd, but that doesn't mean I own all his books. His photography is always excellent but his subjects don't always match my interest. This book was different. In it he captures the time period when I first became interested in trains, so his images took be back in time. The book is well thought out and well arranged. It is a great way to spend some time in the past.
Wonderful train photos from a bygone America.......2006-06-13
..
I'm not a serious train fan, but I like to look at good photos of old trains.
I picked up this book on a whim, and next thing I knew, a couple of hours had passed. Every small boy loves trains, and every big boy remembers, and gets a little nostalgic when he sees a big, black loco on display in the city park....
This is a slice of bygone America, and it's very nice to be reminded of those days.
The railroads built America, and inspired a lot of good old songs and stories, which you'll remember, seeing these remarkable photos of the Santa Fe Super Chief, the Twentieth Century Limited, the Midnight Special, the City of New Orleans, the Rock Island Road....
Boyd is an inspired photographer, and an obsessive railfan. But the rest of us, who wouldn't know an F7 locomotive from a GP-9, can just relax and enjoy the ride. Highly recommended, for serious railfans, casual buffs and people (like me) who just like to look at train photos now and then.
Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman
This book filled me up with pleausure.......2006-03-06
Everybody is happy about toy train catalogs and toy train layout pictures that just look like the real ones. Well, what about pictures of real trains that look like model trains?
This is what I thought when I started reading Jim Boyd's book Outbound Trains -In the era before the Mergers.
What a splendid book. Well written and FULL of some of the most beautiful train pictures I've ever seen. And it's not only the trains. Look at the cars, people's fashion, the landscape.It is difficult to believe America looked like this not long time ago.
If you want to rekindle your love for trains by all means buy this book.
A Must for Every Railfan!.......2006-02-26
Jim Boyd has brought back wonderful memories of the upper Midwest in 60's and early 70's. He covers more geography than that but that was my home then. No repetitive wedges, just well focused and printed photos that cover a lot of fallen flags. Great stuff!
A must have in every railfan's collection.
Average customer rating:
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Rolling Thunder: A Portrait of North American Railroading
Gary J. Benson
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions
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ASIN: 0393029077 |
Customer Reviews:
Boring!.......2004-04-07
Wow! This is one boring book. Filled with the standard front angle shot so overused by train fans.
Go check out O Winston Link for real photography.
Rolling Thunder.......2002-02-04
While Mr. Benson's first volume, "The Art of Railroad Photography", was outstanding, the photography in this volume is simply exquisite! Mr. Benson has really outdone himself on this one, and shows what a gifted photographer (his vocation) can do! (Unfortunately, this was Mr. Gary Benson's final railbook, as he has since passed away)
Average customer rating:
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Alco official color photography
Walter A Appel
Manufacturer: Morning Sun Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Transportation & Highway
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ASIN: 1582480060 |
Product Description
"Find out how your favorite Alco looked when it was brand new! 128 pages of company photos of new Alcos from the early 1950s till 1968, posed right outside the shops and out on the road."
Book Description
Travel the world through the pages of this unique pictorial capturing some of the most impressive, significant, and interesting elements of railroading from today and yesterday. Lush photos are accompanied by informative and fascinating stories that convey the energy and excitement of steel-rail transport.
Locomotives, trains, stations, bridges, tunnels, and other railway masterpieces are richly displayed, accompanied by technical details and distinctive perspectives. American railroading takes center stage in this volume—including Grand Central Terminal, the Pioneer Zephyr and Moffat Tunnel—but readers will also experience the best the world offers: Britain's Flying Scotsman, the Japanese Shinkansen, Finland's Helsinki Station, and more.
Solomon is a leading world railroad photographer and writer. He has co-authored more than ten books and has studied railway operations in more than a dozen countries. The book draws from his 100,000+-image collection, plus features the photographic work of such notables as Otto Perry, Jim Shaughnessy, Colin Garratt, John Gruber, and many others.
• Lush photos of current and historical trains, bridges, stations, and more
• Feature stories tell the tale behind each masterpiece
• Author is respected railway expert, photographer, and writer
Customer Reviews:
Well Done.......2005-10-03
I want to do railrway photography and found this book very helpful. The pictures, personal accounts and advice from other photographers stimulate creativety. There is a lot of useful information about general photography and camera selection. The literature and photography are excellent making this a great rail picture book as well for anyone who's not interested in taking pictures.
Excellent pictures, a great read, useful information, stimulating, helpful, well organized. -- Recommend --
Average customer rating:
- This is the Reason We Photograph Trains
- Superb Photography & story line
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Passing Trains: The Changing Face of Canadian Railroading
Greg McDonnell
Manufacturer: Boston Mills Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Rites of Passage: A Canadian Railway Retrospective
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Canadian Pacific Railway (MBI Railroad Color History)
ASIN: 1550461834 |
Book Description
Passing Trains examines the changing face of Canadian railroading over the past 50 years and features the work of more than two dozen of North America's finest railroad photographers. With over 200 color photographs, as well as gallery-quality black-and-whites, this book takes us back in time for an intimate view of old-order railroading and how it has evolved.
Customer Reviews:
This is the Reason We Photograph Trains.......2000-03-27
This book intentionally looks at the gone and nearly-gone elements of railroading in Canada. Semaphores, passenger trains, 40-foot grain boxcars, Prarie branchlines, the Spadina Avenue Roundhouse, paint schemes, nothing that lives on short time seems to have escaped the cameras of Mr. McDonnell or his henchmen. From crisp black and whites of steam engines in a roundhouse, juxtaposed with a scrapper cutting one of them apart a year later to GMD1s tiptoeing across the Prarie to the BC Rail M630 recovered from the bottom of a lake, this book wears nostalgia on its sleeve. I never got a sense of melancholy or loss in the writing, but rather celebration of recording "what is" while understanding that it is soon to become "what was." The book made me more aware that I need to record certain things for my own collection of posterity before there are no more chances left. One other thing to mention---this is the rare volume that devotes more space to the Maritimes than to British Columbia. Not that I have anything BC, y'understand, I've vacationed there three times, it's just that *no one* goes to the Maritimes and *everyone* goes to BC.
Photo selection is extremely strong. There is an excellent blend of scenic shots, where the train is distant, as well as close-ups. There are many night shots, plus quite a few inside roundhouses, where lighting conditions are challenging. Mr. McDonnell's own contributions were notable, stylistically, because of a tendency to frame the train or other subject from within a building (looking out a window, for example). I liked the shot on page 125 of a string of 40-foot boxcars on a soon-to-be-abandoned branch shot from inside a collapsed farm building. The human element is certainly not ignored, and there are several strong photos of dispatchers, engine crewmen, even a guy loading a grain box. Reproduction is uniformly excellent.
"Passing Trains" should be your next purchase if you don't already have it, your next read if you've bought it and haven't read it yet, or your next re-read when you wonder why you should get out of bed at 4 a.m. to drive to BFE, Indiana. This book is why.
Superb Photography & story line.......1996-12-29
ONe of the best Canadian Railway books in recent years. Well worth the price
Average customer rating:
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Burlington Northern Diesel Locomotives: Three Decades of Bn Power
Paul D. Schneider
Manufacturer: Kalmbach Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0890241430 |
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Steam Steel and Stars
A Passion for Trains: The Railroad Photography of Richard Steinheimer
Outbound Trains: In the Era Before Mergers (Masters of Railroad Photography)
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