Thursday, October 27, 2011

The Last Train

My Dad brought us from our cabin to Virginia City to see what life was back in the day…and no, we didn’t go by trainI have a real obsession with photographic textures as you may know.  This place was chuck full of textureI can’t help but think of John when looking at these pictures…he’s a train man and after seeing this I can see whyJust look at the paint peeling around this window on the train…texture!  I can only imagine the train when it was fully functional…those days may be long gone but in it’s own way I think it’s still beautifulI actually wish I could have taken some pictures of this place at night..I think the shadows would have been interestingThe old iron on these trains had seen better days.  I guess they are raising money to do something with these old trains…I ‘d say they have their work cut out for them.  All aboard?  The local houses looked much like the trainOne of the old barns had some rusted metal attached to the weathered siding…how cool!  Hmm, I had never in my life heard about thisCheap cash?  Isn’t that all we have these daysFaded Glory still flies.  No, I did not walk through these doors and wet my whistle.  We aren’t the lone star state however there was still a lone star here.  I love the look of old rusty hinges on weather buildingsNothing like a groundhog eye view of the railroad tracksThe end of this rail seemed like and exclamation point of sorts.  I found the old structures near the old trains as interesting as the trains themselvesI thought the back door to this train car was really in quite good condition.  Look at this old wagon that carried luggage I would imagineNevada City and Virginia City both are terrific places to visit…this way…Please make yourself comfortable while you wait for the next train.  These red trains were in far better shape then the other ones we sawDoesn’t this make you almost see people coming and going back in the dayI have to say ladies:  I’m already “spoke-en” forThat joke was so bad it about made my nose bleed…ugh.  Some talk about white picket fences…but I like this oneI wonder if these were the last trains out that just never leftThis train reminded me of something that would fit right in on the set of that old Clint Eastwood movie where he painted the whole town redCan you imagine traveling any distance in one of theseThese old hand rails had a style of another age too…I think they’re amazing.  It wouldn’t be right to end this blog without showing you the caboose!  We have some warmer days coming but the leaves are about done in for the year…I’m going to have to get creative.  Next time I will cover a few more pictures from our cabin adventure and a few more from the city center…they even preserved the old items in the stores…stay tuned!

12 comments:

  1. Joe each frame is wonderful. I think there are many of us that love the textures and I love to view yours. Amazing place and I always wondered right from a child what it had been like back in the day. I would love a place like this to wonder through. I think I know where there is one.. Just to get to it . The days are so short and getting colder. The sun is shinning here today, the wind is a bit chilly but all in all its still wonderful.
    Have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for the blessing of your story and your photos.
    Lisa

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  2. YOu are KILLIN'ME!!! KILLIN' me! I want to be there SO badly I can't STAND it. That's nirvana to me. I also love texture and boy, did you EVER have some here. WOW oh WOW!

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  3. The photos are all great. Excellent job Joe.

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  4. Love these pictures Joe. I'm sending a link to my son's email as he is a total train fan.

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  5. I'm guessing these are in Montana. When I hear Virginia City, I think Nevada. They need to get those old cars under a roof of some type to keep them kind of repairable. Some places have a big port to put the cars under to keep them out of the weather if they can not keep them maintained.

    Love the story and the shots.

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  6. Wow, those were just wonderful. We used to have a track that ran along the hills on the other side of the river here, with the stations both in the city and the one north of here. I can still imagine the people traveling that way. There was also a line that carried coal to and from the old power plant that is closed now.

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  7. Fantastic! As I scrolled down and saw all those wonderful shots of trains of yore, I couldn't help but want to go INTO one of them. Were you able to get inside, or were they all locked up tight? I absolutely adore places like this that remind us of our past. Where exactly was this place???

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  8. Hi Joe,

    Thank you for sharing these interesting pictures with us.

    Thank you also for all your encouraging comments on my blog

    I hope you have a fantastic week.

    God Bless - Nita

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  9. I love these shots you captured with your camera! My deceased husband, Joe was an Engineer for KCS...and I loved to ride the trains with him.....Crazy Train was their theme song! go figure!

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  10. Oh Joe, I loved this. The pictures and your story was just perfect. Thanks for sharing with us!

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  11. Boy you must have been in heaven here. Cause there sure is a lot of texture and and showed it gloriously. All those little details that your eye seem to see. Just love it. I am good at nature but have a hard time really seeing details in man made stuff. But you really have an eye for finding it. Anyother wonderful stop on your journey and thanks for sharing. Many blessing Carrie

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  12. I thought I better stop by, I don't think I got the subscription thing working over at wp yet 'cause there seems to be a little catching up to do... and this is interesting stuff. Very enjoyable too are those shots of the rainbows along with the thoughtful words. I reply to comments over at at my blog but don't know if they get to people, anyway have a good week Joe("-")

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