Things Spooky, Broken, Haunted

Broken RVICE Station - near Lively, VA - 2001

One of the spookiest and most unmistakably haunted places I have ever been. [Maris] and I were wandering through the mountains of Kentucky late at night when we happened on this scene in Lynch. There were ghosts. I know there were. Men died in that mine. It's a museum, now, but I have no doubt the ghosts are still digging. 1999 photo.

Just across the road from the mine portal, we found a rotting old locomotive, which I attempted to shoot, and this caboose, shot by [Maris]. It was nearly pitch-black, so focus and exposure suffered greatly, but by this time we were so spooked, it was time to go.

Maybe it was the chilly, damp weather. Maybe the fact that it was Sunday. Maybe everyone was at the McDonald's out on the highway (the worst McD's in the universe). Whatever the reason, Grafton, WV was a creepy, sad little ghost railroad town when we visited in 1997.

This one is more sad than haunted. This 1688 grave stone is in Salem, MA. The lower inscription reads "An aged person that had been but nineteen winters in the world." 1998 photo.

Broken Happy Place. The north end of the Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, DE after the 1992 Nor'Easter.

Overgrown Farmhouse - Northern Neck of Virginia - 2001. I'll bet there's a ghost in there.

Big creepy, spooky, haunted house in Garrett, PA in 2001. TELL me there isn't a whole mess of ghosts in there!

Wind turbines looming creepily above Garrett, PA in 2001. They don't scare me the way they do some people, but I have to admit, seeing them up close when you're not accustomed to them does sort of make the little hairs on your arms stand up.

Finally, "Bart's End." I know - I've posted this one before, but I just love it so. It speaks to me, and every time I look, it says something different.

Thanks for dropping by. I'm thinking it might be time for some barns, next.

Trainless Railfan Days

It is possible to spend an entire day sitting by railroad tracks and not see a single train. That isn't always a bad thing, especially if you're willing to get dirty, climb trestles and shoot everything you find. Above: Looking west on the CSX bridge over the Monocacy River near Dickerson, MD in 1993.

Okay, so there is ONE train in this set, but it's far away and of little overall consequence to this composition. This is westbound CSX Q397 approaching the east end of the yard at Brunswick, MD in 1992.

Winchester Station in Winchester, VA - 1997.

Old B&O target signal at Barnsville, MD - 1995.

It's not always pretty. Grafton, WV is the second ugliest place I have ever seen. Sorry, midwestern city who shall not be named here - you're still number one. This shot includes CSX "D" Tower and the hulking old B&O Railroad Willard Hotel, both of which stand as symbols of the Great American Railroad, as well as its decline. The year was 1997.

"WB" Tower in Brunswick, MD in 1999. One of the last of its kind.

The iconic B&O station at Point of Rocks, MD in 1991. Its church-like appearance is no accident. It was designed by E. Francis Baldwin, a devout Catholic responsible for many of the B&O stations in Maryland, as well as several churches and seminary buildings.

The east portal of the Sykesville, MD tunnel on B&O's Old Main Line.

Silver rails and the old "HO" Tower at Hancock, MD - 2001.

Slightly less silver rails leading into the yard at Brunswick, MD in 1991.

Right. I think that'll do it for trains for a while. Miles to go before I get to my digital material...