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Classic Chrome-Modoc Beet

Among my thousands of ‘lost’ Kodachromes is this view from 32 years ago on Southern Pacific’s Modoc Line.

‘Lost’ is a relative term. In the 1990s, I was exceptionally prolific. I spent lots of time making photos: Not just of railways but of just about everything. If you were standing next to me in the 1990s, I probably made a photo of you too.

Anyway, while I made a great many photos, I was especially picky in my editing and rejected thousands of images. Today, many of the ‘rejects’ look pretty good. In some instances, I was diligent and labeled even my substandard slides. In other circumstances, I never got to the yellow boxes and they went straight into a carton full of more slides.

These ended up packed away in my parents’ attic for more than 25 years. Gradually, I’ve been retrieving the cartons, going through the ‘lost’ slides, and pairing them up with my notebooks.

So! This box was labeled ‘Modoc Beet’. Luckily, I took pretty good notes on the trip, and I have a good memory of making the photos.

On November 18, 1991, Brian Jennison, J.D. Schmid, and I chased the ‘Beet Hauler’ compass east on SP’s Modoc Line from Texum near Klamath Falls, Oregon to Stronghold, California and back. This was led by three 1950s-era SP SD9s (rebuilt as SD9Es).

I noted that we photographed the outward (empty train) at Texum, Malone, Oregon, and Stronghold, California, paying special attention to the locations of wigwag grade crossing signals, and the semaphores at Stronghold, where SP crossing BN’s former Great Northern.

This particular image didn’t make my cut in 1991. It sat in the box for 32 years until Monday, when I scanned it.

Unfortunately, I cannot specifically identify the location, although I suspect it is near Malone.

So what’s wrong with this photo? To my 1991-eye, I would have rejected it because: 1) the sun was obscured by a cloud; 2) It didn’t feature a wigwag signal, 3) the SD9 had its ‘Mars Light [oscilating headlight] removed, and 4) I had better photos of the same train from the same day. Despite all that , this image looks pretty good to me now! Kodachrome slide exposed with a Nikon F3T with 35mm PC lens.

There’s enough unlabeled slides in my lost Kodachrome files to fill years’ worth of posts on Tracking the Light.

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Lightshow at Viewland

On January 25, 1993, I rolled by Southern Pacific Co. Modoc train (symbol ROEUM-Roper to Eugene, Manifest) climbing the grade at the Rt395 highway crossing near Viewland, California, where I exposed this single frame of Kodachrome of the helper as it trailed away into the desert fog.

Union Pacific abandoned this unusual railroad many years ago.

Between 1992 and 1994, I made at least a half dozen trips to the remote Modoc Line to capture freights on the move.

SP Modoc Line near Viewland, California. Exposed on Kodachrome 25 using a Nikon F3T with 35mm PC lens. Exposure about 30 seconds with camera mounted on a Bogen 3021 tripod.

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Holding Back the Best

Yesterday, I was discussing photography with my Fiancée, Kris as we drove through rural western Maine.

I explained that I rarely display the photos that I feel are my finest work.

Why? The reason is very simple. I made the best photos for me, and I can be selfish. I put a huge amount of work into some of these images and I’m holding them back for just the right moment.

In 1994, I spent months photographing Southern Pacific. One of my favorite lines was SP’s remote Modoc Line, especially the section built on the old Nevada-California-Oregon three-foot gauge alignment across the Modoc Plateau between Wendel and Alturas, California.

At the end of the day on May 21, 1994, I was poised near Indian Camp, waiting beneath a desert sky with chocolate clouds as a Wendel-bound freight worked across the desert floor. Beyond, the railroad twisted and turned through the Likely Loop and up toward the sinuous Indian Camp Loop.

For more than half and hour, I could hear the low harmonic pulsating exhaust of EMD 20-cylinder diesels as the train gradually drew closer.

Working with my Nikon F3T loaded with K25 slide film, I exposed a series of silhouettes as the long freight growled through Indian Camp.

In 1999, I published one of these images on page 11 of my book titled Narrow Gauge Locomotives.

The rest remain sequestered.

The best way to perceive this image is to view it projected from the original Kodachrome slide upon a reflective screen in a darkened room.

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