The Railroad Photography of Donald W. Furler
By: Scott Lothes
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During the 1930s through the 1950s, Donald W. Furler (1917-1994) helped create the genre of railroad action photography with his razor-sharp images of steam locomotives at work. From his home along the Erie in Glen Rock, New Jersey, Furler traveled widely in pursuit of railroads throughout the Mid-Atlantic, New England, and Appalachian regions. Using a series of ever-larger cameras, Furler created thousands of negatives portraying the drama and excitement of the late steam era. He was also active and influential in the rail enthusiast community, and he frequently contributed to Trains magazine in its early years while corresponding with its editors about the aesthetics of railroad photography. In 2015, his son, Alan, donated Furler's photographic work to the Center for Railroad Photography & Art (www.railphoto-art.org). The Furler Collection is a cornerstone of the Center's archive, collectively an example of the pinnacle of steam action photography. Scott Lothes, who has served as the Center's executive director since 2011, will present a selection of Furler's photography along with an overview of his life and his lasting impacts on the field.
Railroad Night Photography: Large and Small Scale
By: William Gill
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William Gill will describe how model building and model photography informed his night photography process of full scale subjects - building large scale sets using lights along the railroad tracks. The process of rigging the lights for night images and waiting for trains - spending hours at a single point of interest - then changed his approach to modeling to include the feeling of being in place in the models he builds. Gill will share night photography of the prototype and models and share the behind the scene process for both.
Barcodes for the Chaotic Hobbyist
By: Jeff Faust
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Has your hobby hoard gotten out of control? Having trouble finding that unbuilt kit you bought five years ago, or the car you want to take to the next run night? Maybe barcodes can help! Jeff Faust talks about how he's using barcodes and spreadsheets to organize his rolling stock collection. In this clinic, he'll discuss encoding standards, readers, labels, and how to set up an inventory spreadsheet for your model railroading items.
Choosing and Creating an Era for a Model Railway
By: Steve McMullin
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This clinic will explain how choosing and creating a particular time period for a layout can add enjoyment and operating possibilities. We will consider practical ways to depict a particular era on a model railway through scenery, buildings, vehicles, roling stock, and operations. The clinic includes many photos (both model and prototype) to demonstrate how the portrayal of a particular time period can add a sense of realism.
Basic Scenery from the Ground Up
By: Doug Dedrick
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In this clinic we will go over some basic scenery tips starting from bare white plaster and building it from the ground up. I will show you how I apply static grass and how to build off of it by creating some basic bushes. At the end of the clinic I will show you a technique I used to match my static grass to the back drop.
Photography 101 for Railfans anbd Modelers - Composition
By: Mike Hauk
This clinic is the second half of a 2-part presentation. This portion of the presentation focuses on:
- Editing and adding more visual interest to the standard “wedge shot”.
- Introducing basic concepts of composition, as applied to railroad subjects.
- Breaking the “rules” of composition for artistic effect.
- Examples of thinking outside the box of the usual “train shot”.
Coal, Cod and Cash: The Old Colony & Newport Railroad
By: Steve ERickson
This clinic tells the story of a railroad that ran from the Gilded Age resort of Newport to Spindle City—Fall River—once home to more than one hundred textile mills. Coal, Cod, and Cash explores the Old Colony & Newport Railroad as it followed the shoreline of Aquidneck Island, linking steamships, maritime industries, improbable Rhode Island coal mines, and eventually the United States Navy.
Beginning at Newport’s intermodal waterfront terminal—where passengers once boarded trains for Boston—the line served steamship connections, waterfront industries, and naval facilities. It was a cash cow for its promoters and financiers, if not always for the railroad itself.
The clinic examines the railroad’s history, the industries it served, and the remarkable structures along the line, including Newport’s bizarre station, an ocean-facing roundhouse, and the massive coal mine complex at Portsmouth. The railroad still exists—and remains one of New England’s strangest success stories.
Centercabs and Kitchens
By: Malcolm Houck, MMR
Center Cabs and Kitchens borrows one term-of-art used by the New York Ontario & Western Ry. to described its anthracite coal burning steam locomotives, sometimes more commonly referred to (elsewhere) as "Camelbacks," and often called "Double Cabs' by other of the "Anthracite" roads.
During the steam era, and virtually to the very end of steam operations, the NYO&W relied on these locomotive types in all types of service. At one time, before the retirement of older saturated steam engines, the O&W had a roster of 98 double Cab / Center Cab locomotives in wheel arrangements of 0-6-0, 2-6-0, 4-6-0, and 2-8-0.
This presentation is a survey of the different types operated by the NYO&W Ry. along with descriptors and historic photo images of the different types, with photos of some of Malcolm's collection of HO Scale models (largely built from scratch of otherwise significantly rebuilt and modified).