Back Page - The Railroad - Page 2

It's trains, trolleys, underground, subway or the 'L'.

LOST GALLERY presents an exhibit of abandoned photographs associated with the railways. If there's a whole train or just a railroad tie in the photograph, it's on this page.

new additions

New Additions

Can't get enough?
Watch this space!

As you can see by the gaps, this page is still forming. Check back!

For more railway photographs from LOST GALLERY, try
Back Page - The Railroad - Page 1
Back Page - The Railroad - Page 2 (This One)

Go back to THE MAIN INDEX PAGE

There are now more than 8,000 photographs in the Lost Gallery.
Or try out the NEW BACK PAGE INDEX

Bassingbourn 1944
Long lost negatives taken during the winter of 1944-45 at Bassingbourn AAF base in England.

Area 51 and a Half You are probably not authorized to see these.

Don't take my picture! Oh! You DID didn't you! This is a collection of photographs that disappear on the way home from the photo processing shop.

And don't miss
Cabinet Card Gallery
Square America
Tattered and Lost
Vernacular Photography
The best
FOUND PHOTOGRAPH
sites on the web.

And for postcards try
POSTCARDY
And see what's going on over at
Sepia Saturday!

All images are the property of Lost Gallery and the author. Permission must be granted for their use. All rights reserved.

THE KIDS
It is always a mystery how a photograph of any of these precious children could end up lost or abandoned. Here are a few. You will probably say "Ooh..." at least once.

Dee and the Business School
The beautiful Dee. A curious story; What do you see?

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?

"What are they doing?"

Another Mystery - The Railroad Conductor.

This photograph turned up in an "antique" mall in Amarillo, Texas.

The uniformed gentleman appears to be a bus driver or a rail employee.

The message on the reverse is very short but informative. We know his name is John T. Gibson, he's retired from something, and the date is September 30, 1943.

The large flashlight might indicate a railroad career.

Well, let's assume that John retired on that date. If he retired at around 65 that would make his birth year about 1880. Of course he could have retired much earlier than 65 or for that matter, much later. But let's use 1880 as a target date and look at anything give or take ten years.

As for location, well, there's not much help there. These old abandoned photographs have a way of circulating around in the junk markets form state to state. And of course there is no way of telling if the photograph might have been sent across many states to a relative. So the fact that it was found in Amarillo really means nothing.

As you might have guessed, Ancestry.com says there are LOTS of John Gibsons from that time. No clue as to which one is our man.

So let's look at some city directories from the era around 1943. Ancestry.com turns up a few listings about the right age.

After reviewing a dozen or so, this one from a 1941 Denver City Directory turned up a couple candidates. There were two of John Gibsons living in Denver a the same time.

In 1941 there was a John T. Gibson working as a Brakeman for the Union Pacific Rail Road. Do you suppose this is our man? Might be just a coincidence. But wait. Look at that address. 5757 West 35th Ave.

Now let's look back at that photograph for more clues. There it is on the door behind John. 5757. It's our John T. Gibson.

Having established where he was in 1941, with his name, approximate age and employment, we should be able to find lots about him now.

Here's a tidbit: Google Earth shows the house is still there. The screen has been replaced and the numbers are now mounted on the left door casing. But the narrow windows are still there as well as the two step concrete entryway.

I'll spend a little time and see what else I can find. I'll add to this page if something interesting turns up.

Go back to THE MAIN INDEX PAGE

There are now more than 4,000 photographs in the Lost Gallery.
Or try out the NEW BACK PAGE INDEX

The most popular photographs An album of the most requested photographs in the Lost Gallery.

Area 51 and a Half You are probably not authorized to see these.

Don't take my picture! Oh! You DID didn't you! This is a collection of photographs that disappear on the way home from the photo processing shop.

And don't miss
Cabinet Card Gallery
One Man's Treasure
Penny Tales
Square America
Tattered and Lost
Vernacular Photography
The best
FOUND PHOTOGRAPH
sites on the web.

And for postcards try
THE DAILY POSTCARD.
POSTCARDY

All images are the property of Lost Gallery and the author. Permission must be granted for their use. All rights reserved.

THE KIDS It is always a mystery how a photograph of any of these precious children could end up lost or abandoned. Here are a few. You will probably say "Ooh..." at least once.

Dee and the Business School
The beautiful Dee. A curious story; What do you see?

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?

"What are they doing?"

Back Page - The Railroad

Trains, trolleys, underground, subway or the 'L'. LOST GALLERY presents an exhibit of abandoned photographs associated with the railways. If there's a whole train or just a railroad tie in the photograph, it's on this page.

Sunday afternoon on Mount Clod. It wasn’t exactly planned you know. Augustus “Dad” Dusted and neighbor Finley Flay took their wives for a Sunday outing on the Downtown Dirtpile Transit (DDT) to the top of Mount Clod.

Their Jitney Touring Coach hit a dime on the tracks and derailed. So while DDT rail men worked to right the cars and return them to the trolley track, the touring couples and other passengers strolled the rocky terrain taking in some sunshine. Two other coaches stopped to give aid (it was the only track) and soon the entire transit company was atop Mount Clod, not to mention most of the population of Dirtpile City.

Gus and Dorothy, Finley and Faye posed on some rocks in the sun while another passenger with a box camera took this picture.

Later the next week Finley remarked, “Your friend with the pointed hat was a bit strange.” He blew a bit of foam off his schooner of lager.

To which Gus replied after a long pull on a cool draft, “My friend? I thought she was your friend! I don’t know her.”

“Gosh Darn!” (Actually not an exact quote,) “I gave her a hundred bucks because she said she was collecting money for your birthday!” said Finley.

“NO! She said the same of you and I gave her a fiver,” Said Gus and he belched.

“I believe we have been bilked a bit,” fumed Finley. “Wait a minute. A fiver?”

The conversation that followed is also not quotable exactly but continued far into the night ending only at closing time, as far as anyone knows.

It turned out to be a nice photograph even if in the background Ezzard Yoost did choose that very moment to practice flashing.

Here's a few photographs on the inside of a passenger train.

Can't get enough?
Watch this space!

Go back to THE MAIN INDEX PAGE

There are now more than 4,000 photographs in the Lost Gallery.
Or try out the NEW BACK PAGE INDEX

The most popular photographs An album of the most requested photographs in the Lost Gallery.

Area 51 and a Half You are probably not authorized to see these.

Don't take my picture! Oh! You DID didn't you! This is a collection of photographs that disappear on the way home from the photo processing shop.

And don't miss
Cabinet Card Gallery
One Man's Treasure
Penny Tales
Square America
Tattered and Lost
Vernacular Photography
The best
FOUND PHOTOGRAPH
sites on the web.

And for postcards try
THE DAILY POSTCARD.
POSTCARDY

All images are the property of Lost Gallery and the author. Permission must be granted for their use. All rights reserved.

THE KIDS It is always a mystery how a photograph of any of these precious children could end up lost or abandoned. Here are a few. You will probably say "Ooh..." at least once.

Dee and the Business School
The beautiful Dee. A curious story; What do you see?

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?

"What are they doing?"