Autumn 1967 was the beginning of my junior year at Purdue University. On September 30 I took my Instamatic 100 {students didn't have much money back then} and walked to downtown Lafayette IN to see the last passenger train to run on the Monon Railroad.

When I got the pictures back from the developer, I must not have been very happy with this one {I think I was disappointed that I hadn't gotten a better view of the "farewell" signs railroad employees had placed on the side of the locomotive}, because I tossed the print and negative into a shoebox I used to collect material I didn't want to file but wasn't willing to trash. Over the next 42 years that box grew to become quite a large corrugated cardboard box which I moved several times. In 2009 I purchased a Nikon scanner and began the process of digitizing my collection of media. On occasion I would pull a few slides / negatives from the big box and either scan or dump {at age 69, I didn't want to bequeath this material to some unlucky person}. Almost exactly fifty years after I took this photo, I came across this negative nearly at the bottom of the box, and I had a new appreciation for this image that I hadn't seen in fifty years.

[Kerrowdown]

Imagery with history... I aways like that type of thing.

What's even better news is... your older than me too.

[reh321]

Imagery with history... I aways like that type of thing.

I do too .... which is why I posted it here.
I forgot to mention that a digital copy of this was accepted by the local museum

What's even better news is... you're older than me too.

Good news for one of us you

[RobA_Oz]

Nice story, and your pic shows a good sense of composition, I think. Love the Instamatic CA on the right side, too, or are those just suntans?

Today, a student in that situation would likely hop on their $20,000 pushbike and cycle there, to take a phone photo that would be soon irrevocably lost to posterity.

[PJ1]

a digital copy of this was accepted by the local museum

I am not surprised. It is a well composed shot.

at age 69, I didn't want to bequeath this material to some unlucky person

I am not far behind (months,not years) and starting that process myself.

What's even better news is... your older than me too.

But the young people of today show no respect.

[reh321]

Nice story, and your pic shows a good sense of composition, I think. Love the Instamatic CA on the right side, too, or are those just suntans?

Today, a student in that situation would likely hop on their $20,000 pushbike and cycle there, to take a phone photo that would be soon irrevocably lost to posterity.

I'm guessing that is Instamatic CA - it did have a cheap plastic lens afterall - but obviously I have long forgotten exactly what the original scene looked like.

In theory cell phone photos are in the Internet forever, but I'm not sure who is actually keeping track of whatever. In this case, I actually lugged the negative and print around with me for the entire 50 years.

[reh321]

I am not surprised. It is a well composed shot.

Thank you. I'm not sure what I was thinking, and whether I get credit, or whether this was "accidental".

I am not far behind (months,not years) and starting that process myself.

My mother died in slow motion over the past year, bringing to my attention that this is "now or never" time

But the young people of today show no respect.

I'm responsible for me. I will do the best I can, and then hope we raised them "properly" - that they will be proper when it is their responsibility - but at that point I will no longer be responsible for earthly affairs.

[reh321]

I am not surprised. It is a well composed shot.

In looking at this photo again, I suddenly realized that the people on the platform were looking into the sun. Especially in those days, but even today, I worked very carefully to put the sun towards my back; in this particular case, if I wanted to catch the front of the train, that would actually put the sun at about 90 degrees to my left, and putting me on the other side of the tracks from all the people, so once I got both part of the front of the train and some of the people in my photo, good composition was virtually a certainty.

[Schraubstock]

Almost exactly fifty years after I took this photo, I came across this negative nearly at the bottom of the box, and I had a new appreciation for this image that I hadn't seen in fifty years.

Thanks for letting us partake in this newly found appreciation of yours.

I have to tell you though, in some cases I don't need to wait for a great number of years to re-discover photographs I previously had dismissed as not optimal. Another look and applying knowledge gained during a few more years and I hear myself mutter under my breath; holy cow why didn't I see this before.

Now with modern PP apps it is possible to “make a silk purse out of a sow's ear” after all. (Well sometimes)

Thanks for posting
Cheers

[RobA_Oz]

I'm guessing that is Instamatic CA - it did have a cheap plastic lens afterall - but obviously I have long forgotten exactly what the original scene looked like.

In theory cell phone photos are in the Internet forever, but I'm not sure who is actually keeping track of whatever. In this case, I actually lugged the negative and print around with me for the entire 50 years.

We're in the same boat, but my efforts of the time are all 120 or 35mm B&W.

With the billions of photos scattered around the Internet, nothing is likely to be intentionally retrieved, unless it's in a known location. The Vivian Maiers of this generation will probably never be known.

[PJ1]

But the young people of today show no respect. I'm responsible for me

That was meant for Kerrowdown.

[PenPusher]

My mother died in slow motion over the past year, bringing to my attention that this is "now or never" time

Mine died some years ago and with her went a great deal of knowledge of the past, and I keep thinking why didn't I ask her about that.

Over the years I have compiled a family tree which has thrown up many questions, fortunately and I don't know why now, about the time you started university I had several conversations with a Grand Aunt who filled me on the outline of the families history, looking back I should have asked a lot more and kept better notes.

On the right side of your photo are a man and woman dressed just like people were in the movies of the time which, like pottery in an archeological excavation, places a date stamp on the photo.

---------- Post added 07-16-2018 at 09:42 AM ----------

Just realised most of us have one foot in the grave, its going to leave a fairly big hole in the Forumns subscriptions when we kick it.

[reh321]

Now with modern PP apps it is possible to “make a silk purse out of a sow's ear” after all. (Well sometimes)

I basically did that with this, because the negative has a number of scratches by now. When I scan a slide or negative, I inspect it at 200% using gimp, and then repair all the issues I find. With this one, I found a lot of issues, but I decided that fixing it was well worth the trouble. With this type of photo, I wouldn't do anything else, because I don't want to be responsible for re-writing history; I want my image to show how it really was.

[reh321]

Mine died some years ago and with her went a great deal of knowledge of the past, and I keep thinking why didn't I ask her about that.

Over the years I have compiled a family tree which has thrown up many questions, fortunately and I don't know why now, about the time you started university I had several conversations with a Grand Aunt who filled me on the outline of the families history, looking back I should have asked a lot more and kept better notes.

On the right side of your photo are a man and woman dressed just like people were in the movies of the time which, like pottery in an archeological excavation, places a date stamp on the photo

My Mother was the last of her generation. My cousin, like his father before him, is working on family history, so during my Mother's memorial service, beginning of last month, we sat and exchanged stories. He also asked what my Dad had said about certain things.,

Just realised most of us have one foot in the grave, its going to leave a fairly big hole in the Forumns subscriptions when we kick it.

My Dad lived to be 93 years 10 months old; my Mother, who took lousy care of herself after he died, lived to be 93 years 1 month old. I hope to last a few more years.

[reh321]

We're in the same boat, but my efforts of the time are all 120 or 35mm B&W.

With B&W, you at least don't have to worry about color drift.