Railroad Photography by Harv Kahn: The Raw Essence of Trains

Book Synopsis: The images in this book represent a variety of railroads from the east to west coast. There are over 100 images to view and each picture has a caption of the location, date and description of the locomotive etc. I have always believed that we should have something to show for the time we spent living our life. Some sort of contribution to humanity to leave behind or pass on for future generations' enjoyment or learning. Harv Kahn left behind an amazing collection of historically-significant railroading images which will last forever as long as the collection is nurtured and an effort is taken to share these images. This was his hobby; his mission and he excelled in it. He was focused on capturing railroading in his time and nothing was going to stop him. His style was his own and he was not just a fair-weather, rail fan photographer. If it rained, or was cloudy and dreary, he captured the mood it cast on the trains and rail equipment. If it was muddy and dirty in the rail yards he would trek through it and shoot locos surrounded by an oily mess. If it was a heap of old NYC commuter cars in a junk yard, he not only found art in it but a past generation of rail history in its graveyard rusting away. He wanted to capture what was left on the deadlines before they were scrapped. If it was night time he would do night photography. This is the mere beginning of an amazing collection and gives you the look and feel of railroading in an era before drastic changes came about in the industry. Most of these railroads are now gone and we can thank Harv Kahn for capturing what he did and leaving us with these wonderful images which are sure to please the railroad enthusiast's eyes for generations to come. I feel that if I did not put this volume together for Harv and Lynne, nobody else would take the time to do so, and these images would become lost and that would be a tragedy in my opinion. Nobody else could undertake this project unless they had the collection of images, so it was up to me. The railroad images needed Harv and he passed the torch onto me. I too am a historical preservationist and have other collections from other people that I am caring for and nurturing because I care enough to preserve these classic railroad memories and realize their significance as time marches on and the world of railroading and everything else evolves. Most of the railroads here may be gone and Harv and Lynne too, but they are surely not forgotten. Please enjoy, appreciate and respect their work. Caring for this collection is a big weight upon my shoulders (plus all the other images I have scanned and preserved) but you can help by enjoying these moments in time captured by the lens of Harv Kahn. Some of these images as they get out into the public and are seen, will ultimately become iconic. Every photographer takes ten's of thousands of photographs and has a special few that become iconic. I surely have a good number of favorites. I remember laying eyes on them back around 1989 or so when he gave slide shows at his house and we had pizza and popcorn. Harv and his wife Lynne were great friends and this volume represents a tiny fraction of the 28,000 images I have of Harv's work. This volume will give you a fine glimpse into his style and tastes. Harv Kahn was born on Sept 16th 1946 and raised on the East coast. He served in the Vietnam War and in the mid 1970's began his fascination with railroad photography. He moved to Las Vegas in 1981 and worked as a security guard at the MGM hotel; where he later met his wife Lynne. Incidentally that is where I also met he and his wife. He photographed the Union Pacific Railroad and also traveled to other parts of the country at this time to further his hobby of collecting railroad images of the time. Around 1990 he and his wife Lynne moved to Columbus Ohio. He continued his passion for photography no matter where he lived. On August 14th 2006 he passed away. Happy Railroading, Ray Tutaj Jr 2016