A comprehensive survey of master railroad photographer Jim Shaughnessy’s images of the railroad in North America in the transitional era from steam locomotives to diesel- powered engines Jim Shaughnessy is an essential witness to six decades of change in North American railroading, from the late 1940s into the twenty-first century. His photographic achievement is one of the pinnacles of railroad photography as a genre, which he, along with others of his generation, raised to the level of art, worthy of consideration beyond the world of trains and the interest of rail fans. The early years of his career coincided with the dramatic shift in the railroad industry from the steam locomotive to the diesel engine. During those transition years of the 1940s and 1950s, Shaughnessy was there to record every nuance and every detail with uncommon insight and unrelenting dedication. Shaughnessy loved steam, but he also embraced diesel. It was a period of transition, and it would only happen once, and he made the most of it, for he understood that he was a witness to history. Born and raised in Troy, New York, a city with a deep industrial heritage rooted in iron and steel, Shaughnessy began by documenting the railroad scene in the Northeastern United States. His interests and travels also took him to other areas of the country to document the Rio Grande narrow gauge in Colorado and the Union Pacific Big Boys in Wyoming, and into Canada and Mexico as well. Shaughnessy distinguished himself from the previous generation of railroad photographers by thinking more photographically and exploring the creative potential of the medium, challenging the conservative vision that had dominated railroad photography through to mid-century. This led him to see beyond the trains themselves to visually interpret the industrial and cultural landscape through which they moved. And so he documented the railroad environment, set within village, town, and city as well as rural and wilderness landscapes. He not only photographed the trains and locomotives, but contextualized the railroad by depicting the personnel, the infrastructure, and architecture, documenting for posterity the workers behind the machines that operated in the depots, roundhouses, and back shops. He captured a sense of place and time in astutely observed moments during both day and night in all seasons. Particularly striking are his images of trains at night―as author and historian Lucius Beebe once described Shaughnessy’s work, “He was master in the massive effects of black and white.” Drawn from a lifetime’s work and an archive of some 60,000 images, the principal focus of this revealing new book is on the decades of the 1950s and 1960s, perhaps the most dynamic era of North American railroading. 150 duotone illustrations

Jim Shaughnessy Essential Witness: Sixty Years of Railroad Photography

Arts & Photography

Keefe, Kevin P.

Shaughnessy, Jim

Individual Artists

Thames&Hudson

Delaware & Hudson: The History of an Important Railroad Whose Antecedent Was a Canal Network to Transport Coal

Here, in a pictorial history, Jim Shaughnessy turns an eloquent photographer's eye to the Delaware &amp; Hudson, the line that began in 1823 as a canal system to transport Pennsylvania coal to New York State. The D&amp;H extended from Montreal to the coal fields of northeastern Pennsylvania. It was active for 170 years, when the route was sold in 1993 to the Canadian Pacific Railway Corporation. The line made early railroad fame by importing from England the famous Stourbridge Lion, the first steam locomotive in America. This occurred during a great expansion into gravity, an interesting phase which took advantage of the mountainous terrain. The nineteenth century saw a period of economic growth and amalgamation, which was shaped by extremely able and ambitiou company presidents. Eventually the D&amp;H advertised itself as "the Bridge Line to New England and Canada." Mountainous terrain around the coal mines challenged the line with heavy grades, so it was natural for one of its presidents, L. F. Loree, to be fascinated with experimental traction power. The many Loree locomotives, leaders in progressive design, are pictured and described herein. Because a good railroad history is always an economic history of a region, this book will surely please historian, too. Delaware &amp; Hudson is a definitive work, encompassing the mining of the region and detailing the steamboat operations on Lakes George and Champlain. Syracuse University Press is pleased to reissue this exemplary study of a railroad. Delaware &amp; Hudson has―and will―continue to raise the standards for all future railroad books.

Delaware and Hudson (New York State Series)

History

Americas

Syracuse University Press

One would be challenged to find a railroad to compare scenically and historically with the Rutland Railroad. With Yankee persistence, it struggled for its existence in the snows of Vermont and northern New York for more than one hundred years. Running through territory amply covered by larger and stronger lines, it survived bankruptcy, receivership, flood, unequal competition, seizure, depression, and strikes. Its vestigial remains operate in a small area to this day. Jim Shaughnessy―award-winning railroad photographer and authority―discusses the Rutland's entire history thoroughly, from preconstrnction in 1831 to the present. In this updated edition, the author covers the history of the three lines that continued to operate after the demise of the Rutland Railroad-the Vermont Railway, the Green Mountain Railroad, and the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority. Lavishly illustrated with more than 500 incomparable photographs (including those by railroad photographer Philip R. Hastings), The Rutland Road has other features for the railroad enthusiast and historian alike: maps, charts, reproductions of advertisements, a detailed index with engine rosters, a chronology of the Rutland Railroad, and other significant statistical information.

Rutland Road, Second Edition (New York State Series)

Engineering & Transportation

Transportation

Through the years poets and journalists have captured the character of the locomotive, some transforming it into an animate creature, others such as William Dean Howells and Thomas Wolf relating a symbolic odyssey by train. Here, in a pictorial history, Jim Shaughnessy turns an eloquent photographer's eye to the Delaware & Hudson, the line that began in 1823 as a canal system to transport Pennsylvania coal to New York State. The Delaware made early railroad history by operating the first steam locomotive in America, the Stourbridge Lion. Its president of thirty-one years, L. F. Loree -- a highly irascible eccentric, who had an obsessive devotion to British design -- was fascinated with experimental traction power and went on to produce the groundbreaking Loree locomotive.The Delaware & Hudson is an all-encompassing account of its 144-year history, which includes the mining in the region as well as the steamboat operations along Lake George and Lake Champlain. Jim Shaughnessy incorporates over 600 photographs and illustrations, maps, and timetables.

Syracuse Univ Pr

Possessing the flavour of all scenic New England railroads, the Rutland Railroad ran through Vermont and northern New York for more than 100 years. This is a sweeping chronicle of the Railroad from pre-construction in 1831 to the present.

Possessing the flavour of all scenic New England railroads, the Rutland Railroad ran through Vermont and northern New York for more than 100 years. This is a sweeping chronicle of the Railroad from pre-construction in 1831 to the present.

The Rutland Road

Howell-North Pubs

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shaughnessy, Jim. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Shaughnessy, Jim

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shaughnessy, Jim. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Jim Shaughnessy Essential Witness: Sixty Years of Railroad Photography

Delaware and Hudson (New York State Series)

Rutland Road, Second Edition (New York State Series)

Delaware & Hudson: The History of an Important Railroad Whose Antecedent Was a Canal Network to Transport Coal

Rutland Road, Second Edition (New York State Series)

The Rutland Road