Other Railfan Resources

 

If you like railroads, railroad photos, railroad art, model railroading, railroad stories, etc., you may find the following websites to be of interest.

Don Kirk has been spearheading the opening of the Oregon Transportation Museum.  Their website gives background and information about the new museum and their mission of "Preserving America's Past - Building For The Future."

If you like traveling by rail, particularly in the United States and Canada, I highly recommend visiting Ted and Sylvia Blishak's Accent on Travel USA website.  Ted and Sylvia have been Rail Travel Specialists and professional train travel consultants since 1976.  They design deluxe, customized trips for their clients, and they ride all the trains they recommend.

Restoration and preservation of railroad's nomadic culture is the mission of the Black Butte Center for Railroad Culture at Black Butte, near Weed, California.  They are not only restoring railroad artifacts, but are working to restore the ecology of the area as well.  A worthy project and one I hope you will participate in if you are able; they need volunteers!

Brian McCamish's excellent website about Abandoned and Active Historical Railroads of the Pacific Northwest covers virtually all present and former rail lines in Oregon and throughout the northwest.  Brian also features a number of railroad videos he has created, as well as railroad news and history.

Artist Andy Fletcher has drawn over a thousand steam and diesel era railroad subjects and has created a line of refrigerator magnets which he sells on his website at customtrains.org.  Andy designed Burlington Northern Railroad's SD70MAC Executive color scheme and has been commissioned to paint trains for many of the railroad historical societies and museums.

Chris Kinoshita's Golden State Railfan website features Santa Fe, Burlington Northern and BNSF photos spanning from the 1980s to present day.  In addition to locomotives, Chris catalogs photos of rolling stock, structures, and miscellaneous items.

Hailing from Chico, California, Graybeard's Train Stuff railroad photography website displays his excellent photography of mostly northern California railroading.  Retired from the work-a-day world, Graybeard enjoys the ability to take off on rail photography adventures as often as possible. (As often as his wife lets him, no doubt!) He's a good friend of mine (even if he doesn't think too highly of Geocachers!)

Jeff Moore is a veritable encyclopedia of knowledge about the McCloud Railroad in northern California.  His McCloud Rails website reflects Jeff's high-quality photography as well as his interest in the history of the railroad.  I consider Jeff to be an expert in the railroad field and he has provided me with detailed information that I would never have been able to find on my own.

Jeff also maintains his High Desert Rails website, showcasing railroads large and small that have provided rail transportation into the outback of the high deserts of Oregon.  His detailed histories of lines present and past - and even the "what might have been's" - are well worth reading.

Joe Fugate's Siskiyou Line in Southern Oregon during the 1980's is a must-visit for anyone interested in the SP, either prototype or model.  Joe's modeling tips and photos are exemplary!  I have never seen such a realistic portrayal of southern Oregon scenery in H.O. scale as is present on his model railroad of the Southern Pacific's Siskiyou Line as it existed in the 1980s.   Joe's site features so much more than just photographs and history; his forums are well visited and his video productions tips are exceptional.

Within the pages of Joel Ashcroft's Southern Pacific in the Cascades website you will find several photos relating to the Southern Pacific, the majority of the photos being vintage which have been contributed by former SP employees or relatives of SP employees.  Joel also highlights much of the history of the railroad, along with important dates, events and people who have shaped it.  References following the Union Pacific takeover "are kept to a minimum."

For those who enjoy modern passenger transportation on our nationwide rail system, Jonathan D. Ortiz' Amtrak Pages may be just the ticket.  Jonathan's photojournalistic approach to documenting his journeys aboard Amtrak is the highlight of his web site.  Great views of Amtrak equipment, people and places, as well as views from the trains.

The official website of the Modoc Northern Railroad Company underscores the pride that the Modoc Northern has in its people and history.  The railroad operates on what is left of former Southern Pacific's late great Modoc line, between Klamath Falls and Lakeview, Oregon and Alturas, California.  Their base of operations is in Tulelake, California.

Of course, there is more to be found about railroads than just photos, videos, memories and such.  You can listen in on live railroad radio communications from many areas of the United States at railroadradio.net. Their website features streaming audio, forums, and more!

Find still more neat sites to whet your train whistle at RailServe.com: The Internet Railroad Directory - Over 11,000 rail-related links, search engine, daily rail news, free classified ads, discussion board, Train Simulator add-ons, and more!

Professional photographer Sam Reeves has had an interest in trains inspired by his family's background in the railroad industry. On his website, Sam Reeves Photography, Sam displays many railroad photos as well as outstanding photography of other subjects.

The San Bernardino Railway Historical Society is the home of Santa Fe 4-8-4 no. 3751.  Their website not only presents the entire history of this locomotive, but documents its restoration and offers educational outreach as well.  Image galleries, mechanical articles, news and support contacts are included on their site.

The goal of the San Diego Electric Railway Association is to preserve the history of the San Diego Electric Railway.  That railway was San Diego's primary streetcar system, operating from the late 1800s to 1949. The San Diego Electric Railway Association is also the operator of the National City Depot, an historic Santa Fe railroad station.   Their website features a lot of interesting information and historical photographs.

And now, for something completely different! Here is a website which not only showcases Past-Day Railroading, but Willys Jeep Station Wagons, too, and does it all with pleasantly irregular wit and humor!  WX4 Dome o' Foam is a must-see website, best viewed when one has hours to spend indulging themselves in its very entertaining content. Who would have thought a foamer could have a sense of humor?!  What's a foamer?  The WX4 Dome o' Foam website offers a great definition, complete with pronunciation guide, function and etymology.

For those interested in shortline railroading in Oregon, I submit two resources of interest. The Yahoo! Jefferson State Shortlines Group covers shortline railroads in western Oregon, and its sister group, the Yahoo! Jefferson State Shortlines II Group, is for those interested in the Modoc Northern Railroad, Lake County Railroad, Klamath Northern Railroad and the City of Prineville Railroad (shortlines east of the Cascades). These groups provide a great place to pose questions about the railroads in their areas of coverage.

A Yahoo! group has been launched covering the railroads of the Shasta/Cascade area of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America.  The name of the group is Shasta Cascade Foamers. 

Thousands of miles of railroads have been abandoned in the United States over the years.  A website dedicated to Abandoned Railroads serves up many photographs and descriptions of some of these lines.  I have been privileged to contribute information to the website regarding some of Santa Fe's abandoned lines as well as the Portland Traction Company.

Finally, although it isn't railroad related, I find such things as the Over The Horizon Backscatter Radar receive facility near Tulelake, CA to be fascinating.  Unfortunately, the good stuff was all removed and torn down in the past couple of years, but you can still see photos I took of it on my OTH-B photo album.

If you have a site you would like me to link to, please email me and let me know about it.

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