Article about Charles O'Rear "Photographing the Dawn of Amtrak

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Interesting article about a photographer named Charles O'Rear who spent a month or so riding the young intercity train system named Amtrak in the summer of 1974 as part of a project he did for Documerica, a program initiated in 1971 by the newly formed Environmental Protection Agency to document American life at the time, from people to wildlife to landscapes.

http://www.theatlant...wn-amtrak/4148/

The article only has a handful of his Amtrak pictures, More can be found on his Documerica FlickR page which you can see by going to http://www.flickr.co...7629983840058 The Amtrak Pictures start about half way down on page 3 of the set. Some great stuff including some shots of the heritage fleet cars being refurbished after being taken over from their former railroad owners, The 'Southwest Limited' when it was still using ex-Santa Fe Hi-Level Cars (including interiors of the lounge cars which are now the Pacific Parlour Cars on the Coast Starlight), some of the Turboliner equipment, and many shots of what train travel was like for the passengers back then.
 
Great Article and even better photo set!

Thanks for posting it. I really wish Amtrak had kept the smaller Budd domes that VIA still runs (Had a wonderful time riding them on the Adirondack) it was also great to see the numerous different seating configurations Amtrak had to deal with from all that unrenovated Heritage equipment. I have to say, as someone who has gone cross-country in coach a few times I would take a Superliner Coach over a High Level Coach or other Chair Car. The seats in those pictures look less comfortable. The Heritage Economy Class seats on VIA's Canadian I also found less comfortable than those on a Superliner.
 
Only major issue I've seen so far is the photo captions that claim Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal was built for the 1932 Olympics. It opened in 1939.
 
What wonderful memories those vintage Amtrak photo's activated in me. Thanks so much for sharing the link. I especially enjoyed seeing the nice early Amtrak blue and white china on the dining car tables. And those 'psychedlic' uniforms the attendants wore for a short period! Some of the character studies were great...that one of the veteran conductor and engineer reviewing their train orders under that Santa Fe Standard Clock with its Montgomery dial was especially poignant...

I will have to disagree with the poster that said the Superliner seats are more comfortable than the older seats in the chair cars....

I didn't care for the ones in the RTG Turboliners, but the Karpen seats in those Santa Fe Hi Levels and the other chair cars shown were to me much more comfortable. They certainly reclined a lot further, not restricted by having a tray table attached. The only ones better IMHO, were the best of all time Heywood-Wakefield 'Sleepy Hollow' seats that were almost iconic on many roads, and were supremely comfortable....
 
Code:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/sets/72157629983596512/
You'll have to copy and paste - the forum forces the URLs into preview boxes.
 
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In terms of the chair chars, I find Superliners a lot better than the current economy class cars on the Canadian, the only old equipment that is still running long-distance chair cars that I can compare to.
 
Code:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/sets/72157629983596512/
You'll have to copy and paste - the forum forces the URLs into preview boxes.
actually this is the correct one

Code:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/sets/72157629983840058/
 
It's interesting to see that Amtrak originally had grey seats. Later they got red seats, and now they have blue seats. And they're still chartering buses to take over LD trains sometimes.
 
I clicked on the Flicker, and I get this. "This is not the page you're looking for."
Hmmm, the flickr link appears not to work with the Firefox or Chrome browsers. I still use Opera and the link works fine with it.

actually this is the correct one
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/sets/72157629983840058/
Yes, this is the correct address, just copy and paste.

Or you could get there by clicking on the linked text "his photos" in the article right under the first photo titled "Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal - May 1974" then going to page 3.
 
Code:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/sets/72157629983596512/
You'll have to copy and paste - the forum forces the URLs into preview boxes.
actually this is the correct one

Code:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/sets/72157629983840058/
Actually, all 3 sets have Amtrak pictures in them this is in the first set:



Bingo is available for passengers who wish to play in the lounge car of the Southwest Limited enroute between Albuquerque New Mexico, and Dodge City, Kansas, June 1974 by The U.S. National Archives, on Flickr

Due to the size of Charles O'Rear's Documerica collection, it has been separated into three geographical sets.
 
:hi: Thanks for Posting! A reminder why the Rolling Stones called their Greatest Hits "Sucking in the 70s!"

The Music, the Clothing and the Train Decor was Hideous! Remember Disco Sucks? :giggle:
 
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:hi: Thanks for Posting! A reminder why the Rolling Stones called their Greatest Hits "Sucking in the 70s!"

The Music, the Clothing and the Train Decor was Hideous! Remember Disco Sucks? :giggle:
Sort of OT, but your post reminded me about a movie named "Festival Express" about some very prominent rock musicians in a travelling music festival across Canada in 1970. They traveled from show to show on a private CN train, and there is extensive footage of them having jam sessions and socializing on the train between shows. Occasionally it gets posted to youtube, but they usually yank it pretty quick because it is copyrighted material. It is also on DVD...I saw it by borrowing it from my public library.
 
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