This photo is a nod to this week's
Sepia Saturday with trains as the prompt.
I have no information about where or when this train wreck took place. I can say that the photo was purchased from a Pennsylvania seller which, for me, opens all sorts of questions.
Click on image to see it larger.
I've mentioned in the past that my maternal grandfather worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad his entire working life. He started out as a fireman, including working on the Flying Scotsman when it made its visit to the states. Eventually he became an engineer on steam engines with his final years on diesel engines.
I spent quite a bit of time with my grandparents when we lived outside of D.C., but once we moved to Hawaii, and eventually a return to California, I saw them infrequently. I have so many questions that will never be answered because they both died in '68.
I have memories of my grandfather coming and going in his blue and white striped engineer uniform, carrying his black metal lunchbox and thermos. My dad has told me that there was a corner on his run that he always dreaded. A lot of trains had wrecked on this corner. I'll never know where that corner was located.
This shot is alive with sounds and texture. I can hear the steam pumping from the engine in loud spurts. Feel the cold of the winter wind. Hear the voices of the people talking. The photo is very much alive. And for all I know my grandfather could be one of the people in this shot.
UPDATE: In case folks don’t read the comments I wanted to post what blogger WJY of
The New Found Photography posted. He might have identified the location of this wreck.
Near Brady's Bend, Pennsylvania along the Allegheny River. I'd lay money on it. River ice would jam at the bend and get pushed up on to the railroad tracks, shutting down the route. When I was young and foolish, I once tried to walk across the ice.
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Come back and visit during the next week to see a "deconstruction" of a rather humorous group photo. I'll be featuring a different person, or group of people, each day until I've posted the entire large image. There are some real characters in this one.
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Check out all of my
Tattered and Lost books
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Tattered and Lost: Buckaroos and Buckarettes for $14.36.
An American Dream is the latest book in my series of vernacular photography books. The American dream of owning a home through vintage vernacular photographs. The focus is on the people who lived within the homes as well as the varied architecture from the late 1800s to the 1960s.
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