The Rutland Road
As we enter fall in the Northern Hemisphere, I figured I would offer a few Autumn reading suggestions. the first is The Rutland Road by Jim Shaugnessy. I discovered this book on the shelves of the University of Massachusetts more than 30 years ago and it became a favorite. I ended up borrowing it dozens of times until I managed to get my own copy in the early 1980s.
I have always enjoyed Shaugnessy's photography and the story he tells of the Rutland also made me a fan of this railroad. While others dream of watching Union Pacific or CSX hauling endless unit trains, or the Pennsylvania sending four trains around the Horseshoe Curve at once, my perfect railroad moment would be to watch a milk train roll through the marble yards at Proctor, Vermont on a fall day in 1954. Shaugnessy's book was the closest I ever came to that.
The book covers the entire history of the railroad from its semi-violent struggles to stay alive to its time as part of the New York Central empire to its hard financial times and ultimately its drawout death that seemed more like a fade to black than a complete collapse.
As a side note, Shaugnessy took what I consider to be one of the truely iconic New England railroad photographs when he captured a Rutland RS-3 passing the Bartonsville covered bridge on a fall day more than 50 years ago. Unfortunately, the Bartonsville bridge was one of the casualties in the flooding caused by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene a few weeks ago. I was never able to recreate that shot myself, although I did watch a Vermont Rail System train pass by the bridge on another fall day about 10 years ago.
Another reminder to us all to take pictures when we can.
I have always enjoyed Shaugnessy's photography and the story he tells of the Rutland also made me a fan of this railroad. While others dream of watching Union Pacific or CSX hauling endless unit trains, or the Pennsylvania sending four trains around the Horseshoe Curve at once, my perfect railroad moment would be to watch a milk train roll through the marble yards at Proctor, Vermont on a fall day in 1954. Shaugnessy's book was the closest I ever came to that.
The book covers the entire history of the railroad from its semi-violent struggles to stay alive to its time as part of the New York Central empire to its hard financial times and ultimately its drawout death that seemed more like a fade to black than a complete collapse.
As a side note, Shaugnessy took what I consider to be one of the truely iconic New England railroad photographs when he captured a Rutland RS-3 passing the Bartonsville covered bridge on a fall day more than 50 years ago. Unfortunately, the Bartonsville bridge was one of the casualties in the flooding caused by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene a few weeks ago. I was never able to recreate that shot myself, although I did watch a Vermont Rail System train pass by the bridge on another fall day about 10 years ago.
Another reminder to us all to take pictures when we can.
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