Click to enlargeRailroad iron is a magician’s rod,
in its power to evoke the sleeping energies of land and water.
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— Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
.in its power to evoke the sleeping energies of land and water.
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— Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
When I processed this image into black and white the soft, almost dreamlike, quality of the result seemed to imply that sense of magic and wonder the railroad used to hold far more than the industrial blight it so often connotates today.
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What do you think? Is the romance of the railway dead? Did it ever really exist or have our rose-colored glasses exchanged the black coal smoke for the haze of dreams?
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Visit Monochrome Weekly for more monochrome images from around the world.
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Lovely in mono.
ReplyDeleteI agree - it has rare quality.
ReplyDeletePersonally - I love trains. I just wish it was a more affordable transportation option. And your picture is lovely.
ReplyDeleteWonderful... I can hear the train coming, those tracks are humming ..
ReplyDeleteNice! I like the tunnel of threes
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful shot. I am a romantic but I can see both sides. I think the past is often romanticized when the reality is much harsher.
ReplyDeleteGreat shot!! WOnder where it leads. It's true, like Kate says, its soo expensive. Would love to travel by train.
ReplyDeleteI love to travel on trains. Always certain it will stop on a designated station. Lovely mono.
ReplyDeleteThis picture does it fantastic in B&W
ReplyDeleteI don't think the romance is dead, I wish we turned more to trains v. planes. It's a beautiful photo.
ReplyDeleteI think it existed. I used to love the old trains with corridors, just like in all the best films!
ReplyDeleteThis one was REALLY good :-))
ReplyDeleteThis may be one of your best photo's!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shot!
ReplyDelete"Steel rails chasing sunshine round the bend, winding through the trees like a ribbon in the wind..." (a little Alison Krauss for you :-) I think part of the romance is that it connected people when little else did...like postal mail was more romantic when it came once a month and by pony express...and letters came from people from whom you never otherwise heard. And they're just pretty and mysterious, how they wander off through the woods without shoulders, billboards, highway signs, etc.
ReplyDeleteLove the old feel to this
ReplyDeleteI love the feeling of motion... and age... and an older wisdom.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful and better enlarged! Fantastic in mono-
ReplyDeleteI love train tracks...ahhh, the journey!
ReplyDeleteThis is magical! Sorry I'm so late returning your visit.
ReplyDeleteHey Robin--I haven't been on nearly as much as I used to, so I'm trying to catch up on your photos. I love railroads, and for a long time I've wanted to get a good railroad track shot. Kind of like this one, actually. I love it.
ReplyDeleteMakes for a great b&w. I feel mostly a wistfulness, so maybe the romance is gone? My wife and I when we were in college (not married yet) would walk the railroad tracks to town and back so the romance for me (us) comes from a slightly different remembering.
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