![]() ![]() With the railroad engine terminal, the American fascination with mechanical processes and gadgetry found a wonderful venue in which to indulge itself.Ĭould it be that just as one visits a cemetery and touches a tombstone to find some solace over human loss, we take pleasure from finding a still extant water column, roundhouse or concrete coaling tower, as a similar connection to the past? We have to be satisfied with so much less than those who witnessed a live O&W. ![]() Even the daily task of loading the great black wooden bin with coal from two, three and four bay hopper cars caught the ear and eye. Noise, dust, the movement of machinery and the purpose-filled activity of several railroad laborers were very much of part of steam's fascination. Roundhouses, coaling docks, water tanks, turntables, and erecting shops also projected heat, flame, smoke and sound like the machines which relied upon them for "life" and maintenance. The tasks of coaling and watering steam locomotives were events in themselves. With or without steam locomotives, those structures were a dominating presence in the neighborhood if not the entire community. It was not only the drama inherent in each active steamer's presence that provided the indelible vividness, but also the massiveness, solidity and durability of the structures which were the necessary adjuncts to steam operation. As fine as they are, they fail to provide us with the multi-sensory experience that so impressed a trackside observer during the century and a quarter long steam era. ![]() We can only employ the facility of sight now and that in such a small way with these two dimensional, 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch photographs. I suppose that one living along the railroad was quite aware that the sight, sound, and smell of steam locomotives were gone from the railroad and had been for almost a year and a half. Isn't it striking that the fixtures of steam railroading overwhelm the diesel set in these pictures? It's as if the diesels have yet to reconfigure the O&W to suit their own needs and personality. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |