Opinions and Stories by Bill Thomas, Editor

Here today, gone tomorrow!  We’ve all heard this saying at some point.  There are so many railroad related things I wish I had taken pictures of when I was carrying around my 35mm Yashica FR camera in the late 70s and early 80s.  I was fortunate to get a couple of photos of the Family Lines/L&N GP40 I claim as my first cab ride.  But, oh, the things I missed within 100 miles of me; two train stations in Chattanooga, my native city.  The yard at Elizabeth (Marietta) GA, where the Hook & Eye line diverged from the main Atlanta/Chattanooga/Knoxville line.  Etowah, TN, former division point and offices.  Atlanta and its variety of railroads – Family Lines, Southern, Central of Georgia, West Point Route – back when you could run around the yards without being chased out.

My “point” is, take as many photos as you can of current railroad things.  Those SD40-2s have only so many years although they seem immortal.  Have you noticed how many RR crossing lights and gates now have electronic bells instead of the “gas station” bells we’ve heard for so long?  Remember journal boxes?  Cabooses, section flags, wig wags, roof walks, stock cars, not to mention steam locomotives?  Looking at Don’s picture, above left, I wonder how much longer we can ride public passenger trains.  At one time these were items that we took for granted.   In a day of nearly unlimited photo storage and easy access to digital cameras, we should have plenty of visual records.  So get out there and shoot!