Lovely decaying tracks at Mead's Quarry.
Railroad tracks have always held a special place in my photographic heart. They exhibit perfect symmetry necessary to keep the trains on the rails; they are precision on a mass scale. This symmetry can be appealing as it leads your eyes very easily through the image. But they also have another side, when they are seldom used they can be left to fall into terrible disrepair. Ties rot, railbeds sink, and the rails can bow out of gauge. The compression of a telephoto lens really enhances the dips in old tracks, especially track that is jointed and not continuously welded. Prior to the mid 2oth century all rail was produced in 39ft pieces (known as “stick rail”) so it could be easily transported to the worksite in the then standard 40ft gondolas. This type of rail is bolted together at the joints using four bolts and “fishplates” but over time with little or no maintenance the joints sag making a rough ride for train crews. Modern rail is continuously welded from the factory in quarter miles sections which are carried and laid at the worksite by special rail trains.
Rough jointed track, note the extreme wavy effect of the rails caused by bad joints and rotted ties. Needless to say I didn't stand too close as this thing rolled by me.
Railroads have a sense of history about them, they paved the way for the settlement of this country. You’ll often find them in the older, ruinous parts of town with all the interesting the buildings and the winos. They are one of my favorite industrial subjects for several reasons, but the tracks they run have an interesting story all their own. Especially on older branches or spur tracks the rail can be very old, I have seen some dated into the 20’s and 30’s still in service. That’s amazing considering the stress induced by trains running over it all the time. So next time you are out shooting don’t forget the trains (and tracks) hiding on the back side of town can be a subject all their own. Just remember to shoot from public property, roaming rail yards is a quick way to get arrested, many people don’t seem to realize that railroads are private property and walking the right-of way is trespassing. Happy shooting.
Old image from way back when I first got into photography. It's not so great but shows the perfect symmetry of the tracks on the Lower Twin Bridge at Weaver's Bend near the TN/NC state line.
Into Ruin 