History of the Rails

I have lived by the railroad my whole life and decided to do a little investigating about its past. I uncovered some photos from past days. Locomotive 758, pictured on the trestle, has long been retired. Yet, up until a few years ago, that bridge was still in use. This wooden structure surpassed the 100-year mark. It has since been replaced by a steel and concrete trestle. It's quite interesting the long life-span of the old trestle; it saw all three of this freight trains representing the three last eras, plus older trains as well. In fact, the wood trestle was original to the railroad at completion at the end of the 19th century.

These are all images from the locality in which I was raised.

This reinforces my focus on industrial structures which reside in our landscape. Industrial forms contrasted with nature must be well built in order to withstand the elements. Eventually, the wood decayed to the point that it could no longer support the heavy loads. The steel is subject to rust and will unlikely have a useful life near that of wood.

In thinking about the utilitarian purpose of these structures, there is an inherent beauty and simplicity in the message. It goes deeper however to include such readings as a sorrow for man's interference in the natural landscape, as evidenced by mines and logging when conducted in an unsustainable manner. For me, these forms are dealing with all things that are truly about our existence and things with which we interact. That does not mean they need be dominant; rather, they simply exist and fulfill some kind of purpose. Beyond the utilitarian, they can help us to understand the world in which we reside and the temporal nature of things in contrast to seemingly indestructible materials.