Welcome to Mike's Railroad Photo Archive

I have been photographing railroad subjects off and on, mostly in Southern California, since I was a teen the mid-1970's, including the period of time I was employed with the Union Pacific Railroad in the 80's and 90's working on the Los Angeles Subdivision. In an effort to digitize and catalog my sizable photo collection, I created this site to index and organize my photos as I scan them. Although this is a work-in-progress, I decided to make the site public to share my collection with those who may find the subjects useful for their research, modeling, etc. Most shots are roster type shots but there are also general shots, detail shots and occasional "scenery" or "general interest " shots.

In addition to locomotives, I also shoot freight cars and I have a special interest in cabooses. When available, I have included the date/location of the image. Most of the older images were captured on either Kodachrome or Ektachrome transparency film then scanned on a desktop slide scanner (currently a Minolta DiMage Elite 5400 II). Most of the newer stuff (such as CCT 1790 above) was shot digitally. I made the transition to digital in 1998 starting with a Nikon N990 point-and-shoot then shortly after discovering the limits and frustrations of using that type of camera to shoot moving subjects, I switched to a Fuji S2 Pro. I currently shoot with both a Nikon D200 and a D70 digital SLR.

In the future I plan to offer photographic quality prints to those who wish to have a print for their research or modeling endeavors. In the mean time, if you locate an image on my site you wish to use for a publishing project, send me an E-mail. You will find my contact information on the Contact page.

Aside from my lifelong interest in railroads, I am presently...ahem...40-something and married and I live in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, California. I am currently self-employed as a motorsports event marketing and operations consultant specializing in the urban youth market, which mostly revolves around import cars. I have also worked extensively in the advertising, marketing, photography, and publishing fields and I have owned a number of other businesses throughout the years.

Thanks for visiting!