LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — Visitors to the Allen County Museum can now explore a new exhibit celebrating the history, artistry and cultural impact of America's railroads.
"The Rail Legacy: Voices, Images, Artifacts" takes visitors on a journey through the sights, sounds and stories of the American railroad. The exhibit combines historic photographs, contemporary artwork and artifacts found along railroad tracks to highlight the enduring fascination with trains and rail travel.
"The color, the movement, the signage, the architecture, there is just all aspects that can be captured by artists. And they're making things that look like they're old, they're making photographs that look like they were taken in the 1920s even though they were taken today. The steam engines themselves are beautiful hulking things that are spewing smoke into the sky. Nothing better to get a photograph of a steam engine coming through a railyard. So, It still continues to fascinate artists," said Arnold Tunstall, co-curator of The Rail Legacy: Voices, Images, Artifacts.
The exhibit also showcases "Hobo Art" created by moniker artists who left their marks while traveling the nation's railways.
"It was kind of part of the railroad at itself. I mean, workers marking trains with, bad order or this this car needs fixed, everything like that. Kind of turned into an identity sort of thing where people would have nicknames, they'd write their nickname, wherever they were traveling. Then that was kind of adopted by travelers on the trains as well. You see a lot of carvings on outbuildings that turned into, monikers on train cars as well," said Scot Phillips, co-curator of The Rail Legacy: Voices, Images, Artifacts.
The Rail Legacy exhibit will be on display at the Allen County Museum through Nov. 15.
