lilbuttonose
AJ Russell, Citadel Rock and Green River Bridge, 1868, Omaha, NE, wet plate collodian, Union Pacific Railroad Museum Archive Photo Gallery: AJ Russell Views
Andrew J. Russell was born in New Hampshire 1829 and was raised in New York. His family was in the canal and railroad construction businesses. Russell was originally a painter. It was while he was an Army captain during the Civil War that he was given the opportunity to photograph for the US Military Railroad. From 1868-9, Russell recorded the progress of the Union Pacific railroad from Laramie, TX to Promontary Summit, UT. May 10, 1869 is when he photographed the joining of the Central Pacific (from Sacramento, CA) railroad to the Union Pacific (from Omaha, NE) railroad. Russell continued to photograph the Pacific Railroad as far as California and then decided to return to New York. It was here when he opened up his own studio and also became the world's first photojournalist.
I think this image shows the industrial adaptation overtaking the land. This photograph shows the construction of the Union Pacific railroad from Omaha, NE that was being stretched towards Utah. This photograph is quite popular in the way that it was featured in Geoffrey Ward's "The West, an Illustrated History," and on PBS "The West" website. The locomotive shown is on a temporary wooden bridge while a more permanent bridge is being constructed out of stone piers and abutments. Because the Union Pacific was in competition with Central Pacific to get the railroad construction completed in time, some bridges, such as Green River Bridge, were temporarily built until later replaced with iron or stone. This was a setback and more of a liability issue because the construction had to be re-done with better materials.
AJ Russell, Citadel Rock and Green River Bridge, 1868, Omaha, NE, wet plate collodian, Union Pacific Railroad Museum Archive Photo Gallery: AJ Russell Views
Andrew J. Russell was born in New Hampshire 1829 and was raised in New York. His family was in the canal and railroad construction businesses. Russell was originally a painter. It was while he was an Army captain during the Civil War that he was given the opportunity to photograph for the US Military Railroad. From 1868-9, Russell recorded the progress of the Union Pacific railroad from Laramie, TX to Promontary Summit, UT. May 10, 1869 is when he photographed the joining of the Central Pacific (from Sacramento, CA) railroad to the Union Pacific (from Omaha, NE) railroad. Russell continued to photograph the Pacific Railroad as far as California and then decided to return to New York. It was here when he opened up his own studio and also became the world's first photojournalist.
I think this image shows the industrial adaptation overtaking the land. This photograph shows the construction of the Union Pacific railroad from Omaha, NE that was being stretched towards Utah. This photograph is quite popular in the way that it was featured in Geoffrey Ward's "The West, an Illustrated History," and on PBS "The West" website. The locomotive shown is on a temporary wooden bridge while a more permanent bridge is being constructed out of stone piers and abutments. Because the Union Pacific was in competition with Central Pacific to get the railroad construction completed in time, some bridges, such as Green River Bridge, were temporarily built until later replaced with iron or stone. This was a setback and more of a liability issue because the construction had to be re-done with better materials.