November 1, 1950, Sir John’s Run, West Virginia, Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Engines New and Old

November 1, 1950, Sir John’s Run, West Virginia. Image scanned from the original 4×5 inch negative.

A Baltimore and Ohio Railroad freight engine technology contrast–#108 Diesel A-B-B-A configuration freight drag on left and an unidentified steam locomotive freight consist on right pose together for a company photographer at the small West Virginia hamlet of Sir John’s Run on the Potomac River in Morgan County.

Diesel engine railroad technology, less than ten years in existence at the time of this photograph taken from a signal bridge, contrasts sharply with more than one hundred fifty year old steam technology. The rapid post WWII evolution of diesel technology put most mainline steam engines in either museums or the scrap yard by the mid-1960s.

Ernest Robert’s collection of railroad photographs, on loan from his daughter, provides a rare opportunity for rail fans to purchase silver halide photographic prints from many of his large format negatives–some taken by him and others purchased from photographers and collectors. Other collection images requiring digital restoration will yield inkjet prints.

Original prints in the collection have been copied digitally under rigorous lighting conditions providing inkjet prints of the highest possible quality.

See coloradoinblackandwhite.com in the coming weeks for many more Ernest Roberts Railroad Photography images.

#BandORailroadHistoricalPhotographs
#BaltimoreandOhioHistoricalPhotographs
#VintageRailroadPhotographs