The estate of noted western rail photographer Ronald C. Hill has made a financial contribution totaling a little more than $1 million to the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, which is based in Madison, Wis. The gift is directed to the CRP&A Endowment Fund.
“We’re over the moon and feeling tremendously grateful and humbled by Ron’s generosity,” says Scott Lothes, CRP&A president and executive director. “As one of the West’s premiere railroad photographers, Ron had already made a lasting impact when he donated his collection to us. Words can’t fully express how grateful we are for Ron’s great confidence and trust in the Center.”
The Hill gift increases the value of the CRP&A’s endowment by nearly 50%. The center will now be able to support an increased portion of it annual operating budget with larger distributions from the endowment.
Hill, who called Denver, Colo., home, died on Jan. 23, 2023, at age 85. He was a prolific and accomplished railroad photographer, particularly of the Intermountain West. His talents were exhibited through his many books and calendars. Most of his collection — more than 25,000 color slides and 2,000 black and white prints and negatives — was previously donated to CRP&A. More than 3,000 of the color slides, as well as a number of his negatives and prints, have been digitized by the center.
Beyond photography, Hill was an accomplished author, with a dozen railroad books to his credit, many completed with a group of co-authors that included such notable photographers as Bill Botkin, Jeff Brouws, Al Chione, Victor Hand, R.H. Kindig, and Dave Stanley. His first book, Railroading West: A Contemporary Glimpse, was published in 1975. It sold out within two editions. Hill also had a strong interest in railroad art — with Chione, he co-authored The Railroad Artistry of Howard Fogg (Cedco, 1999), a study of this renowned artist.
Born in Fox Lake, Ill., on May 13, 1937, Hill moved to Denver in the late 1940s when his father took a teaching position at the University of Denver. Growing up, he was deeply influenced by both the Chicago railroad scene and the Santa Fe Railway, the latter of which he frequently witnessed during visits with his maternal grandparents in Lawrence, Kan.
Throughout his life, Hill was devoted to photography, primarily using Leica and Hasselblad cameras.
“While trains and railroads were his primary subjects, he also photographed airplanes extensively as well as other modes of transportation, infrastructure, and landscapes from the 1950s through the 2010s,” says Lothes. “He frequently sought locations that conveyed the geographic features and other characteristics of Western railroads, and he liked to return to the same locations over the years to record their seasonal variety and changes through time.”
As a Denver-based attorney, for many years Hill was a key figure in the development of the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colo., He served as museum president 1981-1994, along with serving on the museum’s board for more than 40 years.
What a stunning picture. BEAUTIFUL!