H. Reid
Encyclopedia
Harold A. Reid (1925–1992) was an American writer
, photographer, and historian
. Reid is best known for his lifelong love of railroading and related photography
and published work. An avid fan of steam locomotive
s, he helped capture the last days of steam motive power on America's Class I railroad
s, notably on the Virginian Railway
, and ending with the Norfolk and Western in 1960, the last major U.S. railroad to convert from steam.
H. Reid helped establish rail photography as a hobby. In The Virginian Railway, published in 1961, he combined photography with a storytelling style and depth of facts which have helped the "Richest Little Railroad in the World" live on the hearts of its former employees, railfan
s, and new generations of children who had yet to be born when it became a fallen flag
in a 1959 merger.
was adjacent to the massive Lamberts Point facilities with general merchandise and coal pier
s of the Norfolk and Western Railway
(N&W). Author Lloyd D. Lewis who himself was a child when he first met Reid, relates that "H" (as he preferred to be called) printed a small newspaper
for his neighbors as child. He attended Elon College (now Elon University
) in Elon, North Carolina
and graduated from the College of William and Mary
of Williamsburg, Virginia
. He and his wife Virginia (née Ewell) Reid lived in Norfolk near the Virginian Railway
(VGN) tracks leading to Sewell's Point
.
man by trade and worked a brief time in public relations
for the local Norfolk County Public Schools
in what is now the City of Chesapeake
. He began honing his art with black and white photography
with a Brownie box camera when he was a child in the 1930s. Black and white remained his favored medium even as color photography became popular in the 1950s. He contributed articles and photographs to Trains magazine, published by Kalbach,and his work was noted by its longtime editor David P. Morgan.
Following a long friendship with the Assistant to the General Manager of the coal-hauling Virginian Railway
, after that company's merger into the N&W in 1959, he wrote his epoch work, The Virginian Railway, which was published by Kalmbach in 1961. In that book, Reid combined his some of the best of his photography with a storytelling style and depth of facts which have helped the "Richest Little Railroad in the World" live on the hearts of its former employees, railfans, and new generations of children who had yet to be born when it became a fallen flag
through merger in 1959. Reprinted three times, first and second editions of The Virginian Railway have become valued as collectible items.
Reid's other published work include many contributions to Trains Magazine, two other books, Extra South, (1964), published by Starucca Valley Publishing, and Rails Through Dixie written with Johnny Krause (1965), published by Golden West Books
. His photography work has been featured in many other publications, notably several by Lloyd D. Lewis which include The Virginian Era (1992), Virginian Railway Locomotives (1993), and Norfolk and Western and Virginian Railways in Color by H. Reid (1994), all published by TLC Publishing of Lynchburg, Virginia
. His photographs have been published in many other books.
's 1964 book The Machine in the Garden
. Reid's photographs inspired such terms as "nostalgic" and "moody."
The travels of Reid and his friends in search of rail subjects took him to sites as far from Hampton Roads as Louisiana
, New England
, and the Hudson River
Valley in New York
. H. Reid was fortunate in many ways, among them, that steam railroading was still occurring in his lifetime, and that restrictions to photographic locations for safety and security reasons were more open than in modern times. That does not mean his work was easy. In those days, the hobby of rail photography was still emerging, and railfans such as Reid occasionally slept in logging camps and rose with the sun to catch the work of steam locomotives on the short line railroads which were the last bastion of steam in the United States. Even in more populated areas, there are many tales told of H. Reid climbing embankments and standing precariously on signaling equipment to capture an unusual angle. To quote from a railway enthusiasts website, "Lest these tales of H. Reid be considered unbelievable, naysayers are directed to the photographic evidence."
also captured sound recording and is perhaps better known for his black and white and exceptional night photography, H. Reid joins him in the ranks of rail photographers who captured and preserved photographic memories of America's age of steam railroading. Reid accomplished those goals and more as a writer and historian as well. As stated in the dedication of The Virginian Railway Handbook written by Aubrey Wiley and Conley Wallace and published in 1985, "Because of the interest and love of H. Reid for the Virginian Railway, the memory and lore of that railroad have continued to live, even though many years have passed since...the identity of that road was lost in a merger." Readers of The Virginian Railway and members of its active Internet enthusiasts group of over 625 members would surely agree in acknowledging the role of H. Reid, who helped define rail photography as a hobby.
After a period of declining health, H. Reid died at his home in Norfolk on October 19, 1992.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, photographer, and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
. Reid is best known for his lifelong love of railroading and related photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and published work. An avid fan of steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s, he helped capture the last days of steam motive power on America's Class I railroad
Class I railroad
A Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...
s, notably on the Virginian Railway
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
, and ending with the Norfolk and Western in 1960, the last major U.S. railroad to convert from steam.
H. Reid helped establish rail photography as a hobby. In The Virginian Railway, published in 1961, he combined photography with a storytelling style and depth of facts which have helped the "Richest Little Railroad in the World" live on the hearts of its former employees, railfan
Railfan
A railfan or rail buff , railway enthusiast or railway buff , or trainspotter , is a person interested in a recreational capacity in rail transport...
s, and new generations of children who had yet to be born when it became a fallen flag
Fallen flag
A fallen flag is a North American railroader and railfan term referring to railroad company no longer in existence due to bankruptcy or merger.-Background:...
in a 1959 merger.
Childhood, education, marriage
H. Reid grew up with the railroad. His childhood home in Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
was adjacent to the massive Lamberts Point facilities with general merchandise and coal pier
Coal pier
A coal pier is a transloading facility designed for the transfer of coal between rail and ship.The typical facility for loading ships consists of a holding area and a system of conveyors for transferring the coal to dockside and loading it into the ship's cargo holds...
s of the Norfolk and Western Railway
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
(N&W). Author Lloyd D. Lewis who himself was a child when he first met Reid, relates that "H" (as he preferred to be called) printed a small newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
for his neighbors as child. He attended Elon College (now Elon University
Elon University
Elon University is a private liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Formerly known as Elon College, it became Elon University on June 1, 2001. The campus is a botanical garden and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains, and lakes...
) in Elon, North Carolina
Elon, North Carolina
Elon is a town in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The current population estimate is 7,060. The town of Elon is home to Elon University. The town was called "Elon College" until the college known as Elon...
and graduated from the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
of Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
. He and his wife Virginia (née Ewell) Reid lived in Norfolk near the Virginian Railway
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
(VGN) tracks leading to Sewell's Point
Sewell's Point
Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to the north, Hampton Roads to the west, and the Lafayette...
.
Newspaperman, author, railfan
Reid was a newspaperNewspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
man by trade and worked a brief time in public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
for the local Norfolk County Public Schools
Norfolk County, Virginia
Norfolk County was a county of the South Hampton Roads in eastern Virginia in the United States that was created in 1691. After the American Civil War, for a period of about 100 years, portions of Norfolk County were lost and the territory of the county reduced as they became parts of the separate...
in what is now the City of Chesapeake
Chesapeake, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 199,184 people, 69,900 households, and 54,172 families residing in the city. The population density was 584.6 people per square mile . There were 72,672 housing units at an average density of 213.3 per square mile...
. He began honing his art with black and white photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
with a Brownie box camera when he was a child in the 1930s. Black and white remained his favored medium even as color photography became popular in the 1950s. He contributed articles and photographs to Trains magazine, published by Kalbach,and his work was noted by its longtime editor David P. Morgan.
Following a long friendship with the Assistant to the General Manager of the coal-hauling Virginian Railway
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
, after that company's merger into the N&W in 1959, he wrote his epoch work, The Virginian Railway, which was published by Kalmbach in 1961. In that book, Reid combined his some of the best of his photography with a storytelling style and depth of facts which have helped the "Richest Little Railroad in the World" live on the hearts of its former employees, railfans, and new generations of children who had yet to be born when it became a fallen flag
Fallen flag
A fallen flag is a North American railroader and railfan term referring to railroad company no longer in existence due to bankruptcy or merger.-Background:...
through merger in 1959. Reprinted three times, first and second editions of The Virginian Railway have become valued as collectible items.
Reid's other published work include many contributions to Trains Magazine, two other books, Extra South, (1964), published by Starucca Valley Publishing, and Rails Through Dixie written with Johnny Krause (1965), published by Golden West Books
Golden West Books
Golden West Books is a privately owned American publishing company specializing in American Railroads. Donald Duke founded the company in 1960, and wrote some of its titles. Its headquarters are in San Marino, California...
. His photography work has been featured in many other publications, notably several by Lloyd D. Lewis which include The Virginian Era (1992), Virginian Railway Locomotives (1993), and Norfolk and Western and Virginian Railways in Color by H. Reid (1994), all published by TLC Publishing of Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg, Virginia
Lynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
. His photographs have been published in many other books.
Photography
Author Lewis describes Reid as a "consummate artist of the black & white image." At a time when many rail photographers concentrated on still photos taken from front and side profiles, Reid created unusual shots. Taken from above and below, Reid's photographs often included scenery or surrounding features in the genre described in depth in author Leo MarxLeo Marx
Leo Marx is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an author known for his works in the field of American studies. Marx's work in American studies examines the relationship between technology and culture in 19th and 20th century America. He graduated from Harvard University...
's 1964 book The Machine in the Garden
The Machine in the Garden
The Machine in the Garden: Technology and the Pastoral Ideal in America is a work of literary criticism written by Leo Marx, published in 1964....
. Reid's photographs inspired such terms as "nostalgic" and "moody."
The travels of Reid and his friends in search of rail subjects took him to sites as far from Hampton Roads as Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, and the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
Valley in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. H. Reid was fortunate in many ways, among them, that steam railroading was still occurring in his lifetime, and that restrictions to photographic locations for safety and security reasons were more open than in modern times. That does not mean his work was easy. In those days, the hobby of rail photography was still emerging, and railfans such as Reid occasionally slept in logging camps and rose with the sun to catch the work of steam locomotives on the short line railroads which were the last bastion of steam in the United States. Even in more populated areas, there are many tales told of H. Reid climbing embankments and standing precariously on signaling equipment to capture an unusual angle. To quote from a railway enthusiasts website, "Lest these tales of H. Reid be considered unbelievable, naysayers are directed to the photographic evidence."
Legacy
Although O. Winston LinkO. Winston Link
Ogle Winston Link , known commonly as O. Winston Link, was an American photographer. He is best known for his black-and-white photography and sound recordings of the last days of steam locomotive railroading on the Norfolk & Western in the United States in the late 1950s...
also captured sound recording and is perhaps better known for his black and white and exceptional night photography, H. Reid joins him in the ranks of rail photographers who captured and preserved photographic memories of America's age of steam railroading. Reid accomplished those goals and more as a writer and historian as well. As stated in the dedication of The Virginian Railway Handbook written by Aubrey Wiley and Conley Wallace and published in 1985, "Because of the interest and love of H. Reid for the Virginian Railway, the memory and lore of that railroad have continued to live, even though many years have passed since...the identity of that road was lost in a merger." Readers of The Virginian Railway and members of its active Internet enthusiasts group of over 625 members would surely agree in acknowledging the role of H. Reid, who helped define rail photography as a hobby.
After a period of declining health, H. Reid died at his home in Norfolk on October 19, 1992.
See also
- Building the Virginian RailwayBuilding the Virginian RailwayBuilding the Virginian Railway began as a project to create an -long short line railroad to provide access for shipping of untapped bituminous coal reserves in southern West Virginia early in the 20th century...
- Virginian RailwayVirginian RailwayThe Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
- Norfolk and Western RailwayNorfolk and Western RailwayThe Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
Books
- Lewis, Lloyd D. (1992) The Virginian Era. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc.
- Lewis, Lloyd D. (1992) Virginian Railway Locomotives. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc.
- Lewis, Lloyd D. (1994) Norfolk & Western and Virginian Railways in Color by H. Reid. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing Inc. ISBN 1-883089-09-3
- Reid, H. (1961). The Virginian Railway (1st ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Co.
- Wiley, Aubrey and Wallace, Conley (1985). The Virginian Railway Handbook. Lynchburg, Virginia: W-W Publications.
Magazines
- Reid, H. (1953) "Trains & Travel Magazine" December, 1953 "Some Fine Engines", Kalmbach Publishing Co.
External links
- Norfolk & Western Historical Society covers Virginian history
- Virginia Museum of Transportation displays 2 of only 3 extant VGN steam and electric locomotives, located in Roanoke, VA
- Virginian Railway (VGN) Enthusiasts non-profit group of preservationists, authors, photographers, historians, modelers, and railfans
- listing of Virginian Railway authors and their works
- Mullens West Virginia Caboose Museum a community project in Mullens, West VirginiaMullens, West VirginiaMullens is a city in Wyoming County, West Virginia. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 1,769.Located in a valley along the Guyandotte River within a mountainous region of southern West Virginia, the town was nearly destroyed by flash flooding in July 2001...
with photos - Johnson City, Tennessee Railroad History Includes the Cy Crumley ET&WNC Photo Collection: a favorite railway of H. Reid
- Victoria Virginia's new home for Virginian railway Caboose 342 a community project with photos
- Lynchburg Virginia's project to save the oldest extant Virginian Railway Caboose # 64 a community project with photos
- preserving the Virginian Railway Passenger Station at Roanoke Virginia a community project with photos (requires a pdf file viewer)
- Norfolk Southern Corp website
- link to site of Railfan.net forum for Virginian Railway which has Roanoke Times story and photos