This is a shot of Chicago, Aurora and Elgin trolley car, No. 20. It was built by Niles Car & Manufacturing in 1902 and currently resides at the Fox River Trolley Museum in South Elgin, Illinois. The museum bills it as the oldest operating interurban car in the country. It’s one of those shots that seems deceptively simple — it’s just a wedge-o-matic shot taken on a nice October day — that has a much deeper meaning for me. I was kind of struck by the rush of thoughts and emotions that ran through me while I was processing it.
Rolleiflex 2.8D Xenotar, Kodak Ektar 100
This was taken on my last birthday. Amanda had asked what I’d like to do and I mentioned that going to the Trolley Museum sounded like fun. I had not been there in decades. It was a frequent stop for our family growing up, though. So going back was something of a trip back in time for me.
As I processed the picture today, though, that time travel evolved into something more. It brought back a wave of memories of my dad and all of the things he taught me. The love of railroads and photography are but two of the fun parts of life he passed on to me. The feeling I felt this morning was something more basic and primal than that, though. When I think about outings like our trips to the trolley museum, I’m reminded of just how safe I felt growing up. It also reminded me how much I miss him and wish I could seek his counsel today with everything going on in the world and in my life. In a world dominated by fear of pandemics and about the economy on the other side of everything, it would be nice to talk to him one more time and find out how he always managed to make everything seem happy and safe growing up.
3 Comments
What a lovely old car! The Ektar was a stellar choice for this scene.
also: I envy you your relationship with your father.
I had loaded the Ektar earlier in the week hoping to get some fall color on my birthday. Last year’s autumn was pretty late, though, so I didn’t get too much. But I do like how it worked here.
I was indeed lucky to have the dad I did. I wish I had had long with him — he died a week before my 15th birthday — but the short time I did have with him was really special.