Current Titles (click on the book title to order):

The Port Huron & Detroit Railroad and Connections in Color 1982-1984, Second Edition (Through My Lens, Volume 1)

The Port Huron and Detroit Railroad operated freight service between Port Huron and Marine City, MI. The all Alco switcher short line's last run was on December 13, 1984. The line was acquired by the Chessie System / Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and is now operated by CSX. This book covers the color images I made on trips to see the PH&D from July of 1982 to October of 1984. The PH&D interchanged with the Grand Trunk Western and Chessie System (former C&O / Pere Marquette).

While the main focus of the book is the PH&D, the GT is second in coverage, followed by Canadian National's international transfer power and (ironically) B&O Blue on the C&O / PM. The Second Edition was born of necessity. Kindle Direct upgraded the book paper, which impacted the photo rendition. In the course of adjusting the images to suit the new paper, old images were reprocessed, some previously unpublished PH&D images were rescued by new hardware and software and added to the book. Some relatively current (2014 and 2016) images have been added to provide a bit of "then and now". Finally, there's a new and brief section covering Lake Boats and the St. Clair River Ice Jam of 1984. Captions throughout the book have been supplemented (and corrected where necessary). The Second Edition features 172 color photographs and one Black and White photograph.

The Port Huron & Detroit Railroad and Connections in Color 1982-1984, (Through My Lens, Volume 1)

Interestingly, it's not possible to make a book go away once it's been superseded. You can still see and purchase the First Edition. If you don't have either one, and you're wondering - get the Second Edition, as the images are balanced for the new paper.

The Port Huron & Detroit Railroad in Black and White 1984 (Through My Lens, Volume 2)

This book features 88 black and white photographs of the PH&D as seen through my lens in 1984, one photo per page. A day in the life of the PH&D as seen from the cab and caboose makes this book all the more special. The images are supplemented by a copy of the last Switch List, PH&D forms (paper, not apps ruled the rails back then), Grand Trunk Western train orders issued at Tappan Tower, and USGS topographic maps of the line.

Seven Days in September 1994 (Though My Lens, Volume 3)

Seven Days in September 1994 chronicles seven days of train photographs in New England and New Brunswick as well as a few shots from Quebec.

I was working on the Boston Harbor Project at the time, and my project was nearing completion. I'd spent a lot of time in Maine photographing the Canadian Atlantic (Canadian Pacific) and Guilford's former Maine Central operations. I hadn't really explored Canadian National's former Intercolonial and National Transcontinental Railway lines in New Brunswick, so it was time to do so.

I planned a circle tour that would begin and end in Danville Junction, ME that would give me four days in New Brunswick. In addition to my time coming to an end, the era of Montreal Locomotive Works and Bombardier locomotives on the Canadian National was also coming to an end. I'd always been a fan of MLW power and the Maritimes were the place to be to see them in 1994. Gordon Yard Diesel Shop was the maintenance base for a good deal of CN's fleet.

Seven Days in September 1994 is perhaps a different sort of railroad book. It's a snapshot in time that will appeal to railfans and modelers alike. You're coming along for the trip as I relive it 25 years later. The photos are in chronological order, so it really is like being there with me.

If you're a fan of blue skies and sunshine, and like your books the same way, well, you get what I saw. If you know anything about the weather in those parts, it can change in five minutes. I had blue skies, I had rain, and I had clouds. And I shot every train that I possibly could!

Seven Days in September 1994 doesn't attempt to provide a comprehensive history of the lines and locations photographed, but I do try to give context and a little contemporary (to 1994, anyway) history for your journey. If you're interested in the history, the bibliography and references will be worthy of follow-up. Through freight schedules from 1994 and 2019 for the CN lines in New Brunswick offer a different understanding of the changes over time.

Highlights from Seven Days in September 1994:

Guilford Rail System on the former Maine Central at Danville Junction, ME.
St. Lawrence and Atlantic trains 393 and 394 on the former Grand Trunk.
New Hampshire and Vermont on the Connecticut River Bridge.
Canadian Pacific's Newport - Richford VT Wayfreight and Newport-Montreal freight 917.
Lamoille Valley 3612 on a Passenger Extra.
CN's Pelletier, Napadogan, Newcastle and Dalhousie Subdivisions.
CN's Little Salmon River Viaduct and Foley Brook Trestle.
Interior and exterior images from CN's Gordon Yard Diesel Shop.
One-third of CN's Bombardier HR-616 fleet.
More CN GMD-1s than I remembered.
Canadian Atlantic Railway (CP Rail) train 284 at the Section House in Bodfish, ME

Seven days of train photographs in New England and New Brunswick required over 2000 miles of driving and consumed 26 rolls of film. They are memorialized in 138 pages and 163 color and black and white images.

Works in progress:

Night Trains, 1979-1999

Denver & Rio Grande Western, 1986-1997