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The Human Element
By: John Witthaus
January 11, 2008
 | | John Witthaus |
When someone says “train” or “railroad,” what’s the first thing you think of? A brand new EMD ACe, or GE GEVO, or how about Union Pacific’s shiny, flashy heritage units? Maybe a big black steam engine charging down the tracks, with a little red caboose at the end? That’s generally the reaction you’ll get from most people when you mention those words. The first thing anyone thinks of is the equipment, the machinery that makes the railroad “go,” and rightfully so. The machinery is the most visible part of the railroad, and the one thing that makes the first impression on people.
What about behind the scenes, though? Those locomotives don’t operate themselves, those switches don’t throw themselves either (even power switches have to have somebody hit the button somewhere). It takes people to run the railroad, and many times this element of railroading is grossly overlooked. The
third trick yardmasters, the remote interlocking tower operators, the crews in the yard assembling the trains, these aren’t exactly highly visible parts of the railroad, however, without them, nothing would move. Being a railroader myself, I’ve made it a bit of a personal vendetta to record this hidden element of railroading.
It all started a couple of years ago, when I was out at about 0300 in the morning, in the Mississippi River Bottoms, practicing my night time photography. I ran across a manifest waiting for a signal to go north at “ICG.” This was the thickest fog I had seen in a long time and it was at about this time that a southbound showed up. The conductor got down and performed a roll-by of the passing train, the engineer flipped the headlights on bright for the conductor creating a great silhouette of the conductor.
It was then that I realized that people make the railroad, not the machines, working in all weather conditions, at all times of day.
In early 2006, I recorded the work of Terminal RR MOW crews working on Valley Jct. interlocking with a small window of time to complete their work, but it was their work that kept trains moving. More recently I made it a point to record the operations of Ridgley Tower in Springfield, IL, of noted historical importance because it is the last “Armstrong” tower with operational rods left on the Union Pacific. Granted, there’s only one rod in operation, but that still makes it the last. There have been mixed rumors that the tower won’t be around for much longer, also that the tower will be around for a long time to come. Either way, it’s a lost piece of railroading that’s still alive and well in Springfield, because of the people behind the scenes, and something that I believe deserves to be recorded. So the next time your trackside, take a closer look at the people behind the scenes who make the railroad go round, the track laborers, the freight crews, the yardmasters, the human element.
Copyright © John Witthaus. All Rights Reserved.
This article has been viewed 7722 times.
User Comments on this Article:
Posted by Andrew Blaszczyk (2) on January 11, 2008:
Awesome, awesome article, John! I cannot recall as clearly as you can when I started focusing on shooting the "human element" but I think it has added a lot of value to my work as it has yours. One part in particular that I strive for is capturing the connection between "railroaders" and the "everyday person" whether its a wave, a look, etc. This was a great read and a great topic that I think more people should take note of. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by Kevin Ashbaugh on January 11, 2008:
Very excellent artical indeed. Thanks for writing.
Posted by Mike Wnek on January 11, 2008:
Great article and pictures! This is something I try to capture as much as possible in my pictures, and I still think one of the most overlooked.
Posted by Todd Boyer on January 12, 2008:
Brilliant essay. Newbies to photograghy such as myself should take note.
I live in close proximity to The Diamonds in Rochelle. That means when I do get to Railfan I get to see numerous trains in a relatively small amount of time. In my general awe of the massive HP rolling by me on both sides all I thought of was trying to get as many shots of engines as I could. It never dawned on me to try to get a shot of the guy in the cab. This year I too am going after a few shots of "The Human Element.
Posted by B.A.Harrison on January 13, 2008:
Excellent article John. Yes, too often we focus on the power and not the crew making it run. Started taking a few pics of crews and MOW guys a year ago and find them to be some of my more enjoyable shots. Thx.
Posted by Kelly Lynch on January 13, 2008:
Amen, amen. The human element is the real story.
Posted by TrainmasterCurt on January 27, 2008:
I've caught the human element of railroading a few times here in Manitoba, on the CEMR and CPR, it was Greg McDonnell and Robert Sandusky who inspired me with their photos
Posted by Frank Orona on January 28, 2008:
The human element is a great shot, but you have to be careful you don't capture the worker breaking any rules violations. You don't want to get him/her in trouble.
Posted by Andrew Robb on January 28, 2008:
Great Article, as a "Human Element" of the Railroad myself, it really interested me
Posted by Nick Resar on February 16, 2008:
When I read this article, my first thought was O. Winston Link and his record of steam power on the Norfolk & Western. In many of his photographs, the train is almost an after thought, with the focus being on the people who worked on the railroad or lived by it.
Posted by Paul Morgan on March 22, 2008:
Incredible! Hope to see more, nice job on brining in the human element.
Posted by Jim Powell on April 2, 2008:
People who love trains don't see the people behind the scenes. People inspecting track conditions for the safety of the train crew, the train and the people on the ground watching and taking pictures. People fixing broken rails, replacing cross ties, maintaining bridges, signals and locomotives so that people can enjoy websites like this.
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