Trains

If you like trans you will love this book. My 3 year old Grandson who loves trains set with me while looking through this book, and he loved it. The pictures are in black and white. They range from 1938 to the 1960's. There are pictures of trains, cargo, railroad workers, and rail road stations. The photography in this book is just awesome. It is a relatively short book only 128 pages, but most of the pages are pictures. There are about 10 pages at the back of th ebook that tells you about the pictures as well.



I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

"The Baltimore & Ohio railroad (B & O) - an American class 1 was a first among American railroads: it was the first American rail line to offer scheduled public freight and passenger service; the first to build a combined passenger and freight station, Mount Claire; the first to earn passenger revenues; the first to publish a timetable; and it was the first inter city railroad in the United States."
The recorded facts on the development of these railways in direct competition with canels; the impetus here being the opening of the Eirie Canal and a group of businessmen fearing that there would be a loss of commerce from Baltimore to the west due to this new canal opening. The writing is of value but the book will be a success based on the unique collection of photographs from the collection of A. Aubrey Bodine who was an artist first and understood the medium of photography and how to shhot the perfect picture. In all weathers to capture a mood or enhance the great labours in the contruction of these great rail roads. In addition the power of these locomotives whether stream engines or diesel powered units.
The beauty of these black and white photos is the range of subject matter and the documentary evidence of a previous time when railways were king. I love the inside of the carriage shot which shows the clothing, fashion styles at a moment in time and one can try to speculate on the passengers' collective excitement and mood.
There are other shots of bridges, stations and industrial locations all enhance in the main part by a train. Mixed freight and passenger services shown with their respective motive power. On the B&O or later The Western Maryland Railway. Some show men at work or the raw materials needed to build a rail road.
I love the shots in snow and over great spans carried on majestic bridges; the sense of movement and a celebration of enterprise and commercial activity captured in a moment of time.
As a lad brought up with private companies that became British Rail the contrast is stunning. I have taken many photographs of moving trains and so I can appreciate the skill at work here.
Furthermore each photograph has more specific information at the end of the book.
From the title you would think you only have photographs of trains to suit the enthusiast but these black and white images lovingly capture are a documentary of social/economic history and bring to life a bygone age.
I remember watching Casey Jones on the TV as a small boy and some of the stills took me back to my childhood television hero when all boys wanted to be an engine driver. The steam billowing across the photograph reminded me of times when i have been engulfed in the smoke from the chimney crossing on a footbridge.
Bodine is an interesting character who touched up his photographs by double printing adding mood, cloud formations and additional smoke where required to tell his stories and enhance the photo.
In a modern age of photoshop and snapchat attachments it is good to see equally clever work at play in these B&W prints.
A wonderful collection with a real story to tell. A great book to dip into and enjoy for some time.

True rail fans want to see not only the trains on the track but also behind the scenes. I enjoyed seeing the different seasons as well as these slices of history, the people who work on and around the trains, in the station and warehouses, plus the people who rode on the trains.
Riding a train used to be more of an event than the commuter trains into the big city are today.
This book captures a time we will never experience again.

Although this works beautifully as a digital product, I still enjoy photos like this in an oversized coffee table book format.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to enjoy this book.

Bodine has captured the timeless beauty of the locomotive. Trains is more than we expected, in fact. In particular, we enjoyed the aesthetics of those who are simply employed in this capacity.

Also, joyfully sprinkled through the images are macros. If you have never
tried to photograph metals before, then, you may not realize how difficult it can be. The lighting has to be right, the textures have to be correct and sometimes, you think that you have a great shot.

Then, you blow it up in Adobe and it's just a big ol' mess. It's like viewing a Monet at an extreme close up, not realizing that this is not the best way to view it. Blech!

Trains is history. It is documentation. It is aesthetics.

Yup, the title does not lie.
The photographer uses an old trick, shooting from below, to make the locomotives appear powerful, even majestic. Quite frankly, it looks awesome. Just as picturesque are the white steam clouds found in almost every shot, at least when the train’s running. There’s one particularly excellent shot of a highly stylized tiny locomotive, the kind only seen in drawings. And the shot of the viaduct against the sky is gorgeous.
On the other hand, according to the introduction a lot of the clouds aren’t original, which might make Bodine the first photoshopper. (Kidding. . . there were others before him.) That ruins it for me, especially his justification, but I did my best to enjoy it anyway. Unfortunately, a lot of the photos did not get a second look from me. I like trains well enough, but I’m not the buff that this book is geared for. If you have a Sheldon Cooper-level love for the locos and cabooses, then this is definitely for you. It also helps that it’s his daughter curating this book, bringing a level of emotion to it.
3.5 pushed to 4/5