Trackside Maryland: From Railyard to Main Line

In the 1950s, as railroads underwent major changes, some marginal lines stood on the brink of extinction. Steam locomotives grew scarcer by the month, as did rail passenger connections. With a keen eye for location and composition, James Gallagher in Trackside Maryland captures the drama and majesty of steam transportation in Maryland in its waning days, when passing trains left clouds of cinders and smoke behind them and the sound of steam whistles still echoed across the landscape―all these sights and sounds giving way to modern diesel locomotives. Here Jacques Kelly's evocative prose accompanies Gallagher's ever vigilant lens. We are transported back to the last years of steam railroading.

"Each of Jim's photographs tells a story and conveys mood, spirit, atmosphere, and character. The ground in his photographs rumbles. Some of the antique trains he photographed look as if they might rust and crumble before the end of their trip. Other photos impart a feeling of majesty and romance. And you don't have to be a train buff to appreciate them. Just step aboard and savor the results of Jim Gallagher's skill, luck, and persistence."―Jacques Kelly, from the Introduction.

James P. Gallagher (1920-2002) was a Baltimore native and avid photographer who worked as account executive at a Maryland securities firm. During World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Force and served as a communications officer with the 49th Fighter Group of the 5th Air Force in the southwest Pacific. With The Fifth Army Air Force: Photos from the Pacific Theater, his photographs and memories of this experience, was published in 2001 by Johns Hopkins. His photographs of Maryland and West Virginia railroading were published in the 1950s in the Sunday Sun Magazine, Trains Magazine, and B&O Magazine. In 2000, he received the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Lifetime Achievement Award.Jacques Kelly is also a Baltimore native and historian and writes a regular column for the Baltimore Sun.