making mistakes."
-Phil Tippett, filmmaker
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Steam locomotives have a special place in the hearts of Fredric Winkowski and Charles Fulkerson, Jr. Author and photographer, respectively, of The Great Steam Trains: America's Great Smoking Iron Horses, they've created a book that reflects their genuine love for the iron work horses of an era past. Through Winkowski's deft writing, and Fulkerson's artful images, the reader is taken on a tour of the industrious railways that shaped our nation, filled with history and nostalgia for the great smoking beasts.
Though relics today, steam locomotives were once a critical cog in American society. The rails shaped the nation's economy, providing relatively cheap transportaion of resources and goods. The rails shrunk the nation, opening the western frontier to mining and settlement. Rails gave us - out of necessity - the concept of time-zones. Hungry for funding, railroads gave birth to investment banking, as one could not exist without the other. They shortened distances in light of how fast one could travel from point A to point B, essentially setting the stage for that twentieth-century phenom: the suburb. By their apex in 1916, America's steam locomotives dominated the transit sector with over 160,000 engines on 254,000 miles of track, a dominance they would hold until the post-World War II era when economics demanded railroads switch to a more cost-effective work horse with none of the romance of steam. As the author puts it: "Their undoing was the diesel-electric engine, an ultra-efficient machine with the
comparative romance and intrigue of a delivery truck."
While Great Trains is an obvious shoe-in for train buffs, there's room for disappointment within that demographic as well. Winkowski has obvious favorite tourist lines and museums which he features in the book beside sumptuous photographs by Fulkerson. Many of those featured may be familiar to the reader; others not so much. And train buffs being what we are, each have a particular line or museum that's near and dear to our own heart, which may not have been included. So read it, not to see what the author has to say about your favorite train museum, but for the insight he offers on the history of railroads in general, and their magnificent steam engines. Read it for that and Fulkerson's great photographs, and you'll not be disappointed.
pop.u.luxe [pop-yuh-luhks] noun 1: the decade between 1954 and 1964; 2: the products and concepts associated with that decade.
When folks refer to "the good ol' days", more often than not they're reminiscing on the 1950s. It was a decade of commercial progress in America, with products the likes of which had never been produced on such massive scale. Madison Avenue was born for such a moment, honing the marketing techniques of advertising agencies on a captivated consumer audience. It brought to the table new concepts in consumption, such as the perceived necessity for a new vehicle every year. Consuming was marketed as an exercise of privilege; luxury as necessity. Overnight, the consumer society was born.
A Perfect Storm
Of course, this great economy wasn't for everybody. '50s America was still largely segregated. The economic boom of the Populuxe decade mostly benefited White America. Many ethnic groups remained in poverty. As White Americans moved to newly created "Leavittowns" (planned suburban communities) in their latest model automobiles, Blacks and other minorities remained stuck in decaying urban neighborhoods, receiving none of the advantages the Populuxe economy offered, save for one: secondary markets. With Americans convinced they needed new automobiles every year, the secondary car market blossomed. Now, households that couldn't afford a spanking new automobile often could cough up the cash for last year's model.
Though automakers created flashy ads that claimed each year's model was better than the last, truth be told there was little to no technological improvements to cars during the Populuxe era. Their shapes were modified here and there to make them appear more aerodynamic, or taller tailfins were added each year, but they weren't designs that improved the function of the car. America was reaching for the stars, and our automobiles were simply a reflection of that. Cars were sold as "forward dynamic," and "dynamism" was everywhere; esoteric terms used to describe anything to do with speed and the future. As Hine observes, "Forward motion at ever-increasing speed was what Americans expected from their nation, their cars and their careers."
Back to the Future
Though seemingly quaint and nostalgic today, for all it had going for it the decade had more than its share of downsides. The Populuxe era introduced concepts and processes on a scale that threatened our very existence. Whether it be nuclear arms production (and the prickly topic of storage), or the explosion in plastics (and the tricky quest to keep them out of our landfills), or America's habit of rampant materialism (depletion of resources), we have the '50s to thank.
These unintended consequences are not the focus of Hine's book, though. It's more a peek into the psychology and economic conditions behind the Populuxe era. It is a celebration - not an indictment - of the inventions, products, furnishings, architecture and advertising of the period which the author describes as "an expression of outright, thoroughly vulgar joy in being able to live so well." An excellent read, our idea of "the good ol' days" may never be the same.
posted 12/11/24
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