The site is the work of Sam Botts, using the negative collection that was given to Young’s son John after his passing in 2004. To see the photos, go to www.flickr.com/photos/jjyoungjr.
Young was born in Wheeling, W.Va. on May 23, 1929. He worked for the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad before moving in 1959 to Binghamton where he taught photography. After retiring from Broome Technical Community College in Binghamton in 1995, Young relocated to Charleston, where he continued his life-long hobby of photographing trains until his death. Young never had a driver’s license, yet visited all 48 states in the continental U.S. chasing trains.
Young amassed a collection of more than 10,000 images, and bequeathed 6,328 images of trains in Wheeling and Charleston to the West Virginia State Archives. In addition to those photos, Young’s other photographs remain with his widow in Charleston and his son in upstate New York.
Seedy-NO! Seasoned–YES! The success of J.J.Young over a span of decades would speak to the Fact that he Just "Fit IN!" In the early 70's, I paid a visit to Dillonvale, Ohio with a copy of a magazine that contained a photo taken by him @ Dillonvale 20 years earlier. After passing Muster, ie being from a Railroad Family, they spoke at great lenghts of How He was just part of the scenery. Came to Work, did his job, during his lunch or break would pull out his camera, snap a photo or two, go back to work, and go Home. They told me who owned the cars sitting next to the Yard Office,[in that photo] in great detail as to the Name and type of person each one was. After spending the last 24 hours looking @ each and every photo posted—J.J. Allowed the photos to SPEAK for themselves. Circus Train, Tanks, Sperry Car, Foreign Power, BIG BOY, and the FAB-u-lous MS Snow! Mister Botts should be given a Award By Trains for his work on this endeavor! Would like to see that Dillonvale shot again! John Ellwood Burtscher–Flint, MI.
Since he was from Wheeling, WV, a significant B&O town, I hope eventually to see J.J.'s B&O photos. I'm certainly patient enough, but there are a lot of B&O fans who consider J.J. Young an icon for his B&O photography and would want to seem them ASAP!
He was in Bellaire, Ohio a few years ago [just across the river from the Benwood yard where he was allowed the run of the place as a teenager] as a guest of the OR&W convention. He told many funny stories about his early days – the one about the Thanksgiving that his Mother sent him out for salt for the turkey and he ended up hitching a cab ride to Pittsburgh was priceless!
He was seedy in appearance, and common as an old shoe. You instantly liked the man. He was of the school of photography that said that you can't take too many pictures, as you don't know which will be 'the One'.
it was a privilege to have met him!
John was a very talented photographer and it has been a real honor to have the opportunity work on his negatives. I have scanned over 4,000 of his negatives and have just as many waiting to be scanned. As they are completed, they will be added to this site.
Forget the driver's license trivia picked up by Trains and just experience this most awesome set of railroad photographs!
Amazing!! Very nice!!
For more information about the photos and a tribute to John see the Susquehanna Valley Railway Historical Society website at
http://www.trainweb.org/SVRHS/photosJJYJr.html
We have only scratched the surface of the Binghamton area collection. I have over 4,000 of his negatives already scanned and just waiting to be worked on. There are at least another 4,000 negatives on hand which have not been scanned yet. The site will be added to as I get them done.
What a treat this is for me and I'm sure many, many other rail-fans, especially of the D&H and Erie Lackawanna and L.V.
Thanks for the heads-up!!
What a treat this is for me and I'm sure many, many other rail-fans, especially of the D&H and Erie- Lackawanna and L.V.
Thanks for the heads-up!!
I will need a few days to Digest this, and all the details! Amazing!!
Wow – an amazing historical record.
The quality and detail of the photographic prints is amazing! Did he shoot large format?
Even tho he apparently didn't have a driver's license, somebody may have been driving him around…or he was very good of staying out of sight of the LEOs!
No driver's license? One must wonder what is behind this fact. This is very atypical. What else may have been atypical?