Railway Quarterly Photograph Collection: Amtrak (1980) – CARLI Digital Collections Featured Image

As a transplant to Illinois, I'm totally enamored by the state's rail network. Living downstate, I love the convenience and economy of taking the train into Chicago for work or play.

I recently had a chance to visit the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, for the first time. It wasn't quite what I'd expected. I was prepared for the "watch cars evolve throughout the 20th century" exhibit, and seeing the limousine in which President Kennedy was assassinated and the bus in which Rosa Parks sat her ground was salient but unsurprising. I was not, however, prepared to see the chair from Ford's Theatre (yeah, even considering the name connection), or Henry Ford's collection of 17th-century violins. The railroad exhibit was especially interesting, featuring both stunning replicas and genuine engines and cars from the past 150 years.

This 1979 image of an Amtrak train comes from a collection of photographs that appeared in Railway Quarterly. I can't wait for my next opportunity to climb aboard!

Written by Anne Shelley, Illinois State University

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