It’s no secret that besides my love for soaring landscapes, I have a unique fondness for railroads. And that’s especially true for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Let’s quickly revisit Engine 476 with a powerful, up-close view.
Mighty 476 showcases the sheer power of a working steam engine. It’s one thing to look at it from afar and see the smoke billowing out. It’s quite another to experience it up close. The raw grit comes through strongly, and you feel its presence. The steam billows behind it, obscuring the rest of the engine, but that’s OK. We know it’s there.
I love to photograph this railroad and do so every chance I get. Usually, I bring out the engines working, but here, I decided to focus, quite literally, on an up-close and intimate view. I adore how the power and grit come through. I also like the rarely-seen “Diamond Stack.”
Of all the photographs I’ve made of Engine 476, and I’ve made more than a few, this is one of my favorite scenes. This up-close view showcases the engine’s power, even though we can’t see most of it.
But it has the vibe and feel of what I was attempting to accomplish, and every time I look at it, it carries me back to that moment, both past and present. Engine 476 has a hold over me, and that’s OK.
Steam engines, and railroads in general, are in my blood. You can find me making close-up views such as this one, of the engines in the roundhouse at night and of engine 476 hauling passengers through the deep snow.