2016 - Ten Years

Ten Years and Counting
Introduction

         The summer of 2006 we started the Columbus Railroads website with a posting about horsecars, the NYC Xplorer, and a Picture of the Month. Over these ten years 400 - 500 such pieces have been added to “Columbusrailroads.com - the website for historic photos, stories and articles from Columbus, Ohio”.
         We thought it would take a year or two to complete the project. Now we know that view was naïve as the subject will never be exhausted. There is at least another ten years of information and material on hand to add to the story of railroading in Columbus and much more yet to be uncovered.
         With so many pieces already posted it’s likely the casual reader is not familiar with all that is available on Columbus Railroads. During our Tenth Year Celebration we will be pointing out some of our favorite pieces in hopes you will enjoy them as well.
         To get started we offer an 1891 Columbus Dispatch article that gives a glimpse into the railroad post office car and clerks that rode the rails in the late 19th Century – The Pan Handle Mail Train..

#2 - Photo of the Month

         One of the first features introduced ten years ago was the Photo of the Month. The POM was a way to highlight interesting photos and take the time to describe - as best we can – where the photo was taken and what is going on.
         Ten years later there are six POM Index Pages, one for each major category (Streetcars, Interurbans, Steam Railroads, Industry, Railfanning and Aerial) with a total of 103 photos.
         To aid the reader, once you have selected one of the six index pages you can scroll to the bottom of that index page to easily transfer to one of the other five index pages.
         When you have selected one of the individual photos to view you do not have to go back to the index page to transfer to the next photo. There are transfer selects at the top left corner of the page that will take you to the preceding or succeeding photo or return you to the index page.
         The first Photo of the Month, dated Oct. 2006, was a PRR, Sandusky Branch double header approaching Oakland Park Avenue in 1953. To see it and practice your transfer skills - click here.

#3 - Columbus Railroads Photos

         Photos are like a time machine taking us to a long ago foreign land – Columbus of the past. With the help of our imagination we can almost enter the scene and learn about that time in our history.
         Clicking the left select button on your computer with the curser on the photo or when using an ipad tapping on the screen will enlarge the photo. Some photos will further enlarge by clicking on that left select button or tapping on the screen a second time.
         The details in a photo are often the most intriguing part. I like to take a batch of photos and place them in the background directory for my computer. As the various photos pop up for their turn as the computer screen’s background I will often notice something missed the previous times I looked at the photo. Coming back to the photo again and again helps me see more of those details.
         As an example click here for the photo of a limestone quarry on the west side of Columbus circa 1905. It is loaded with details of 1905 work life – an excellent candidate for a tour as your computer background.

#4 - Aerial Photos

         In ten years working on columbusrailroads.com preparing aerial photos for display has been a favorite activity with me. It’s part trip down memory lane and part opportunity to learn more about a section of Columbus I remember from the 1950s. Most of the 23 aerial photos on Columbus Railroads are from the 1940-60s and most of what those photos show is now gone. Here is your chance to see what it was like just 60 years ago.
         One of my favorite photos is Freight House Row from the Photohio.org Collection. Here you can see where all the passenger trains converged, most of the freight house business was transacted, and where several of the many railroad yards were located.