'Forgotten Photographs of the Union Pacific Railroad' on Exhibit at USU
University Libraries at Utah State University has created a new exhibit shown at the university’s Merrill-Cazier Library, “Forgotten Photographs of the Union Pacific Railroad.”
The exhibit, assembled by Special Collections and Archives Photograph Curator Daniel Davis, can be seen in the Merrill-Cazier Library atrium Jan. 17 through Feb. 17. A reception for the exhibit is planned Feb. 15 in conjunction with a lecture by Davis for the Friends of Merrill-Cazier Library.
“The Forgotten Photographs of the Union Pacific Railroad” explores the history of the Union Pacific Railroad through photographs and the work of A. J. Russell. The exhibition presents several of the well-known and idealized scenes of the railroad’s construction (1868-69) as photographed by Russell while under the commission of the Union Pacific Railroad. In addition to the well-known images, the exhibit presents examples of stereoviews taken by Russell and other photographers that offer a more complete and less sanitized version of the railroad’s history. The stereoviews selected for the exhibit were produced more for the general public rather than the Union Pacific Railroad company.
Stereoviews were the 3-D item of the day in the late 1860s. Viewed through a stereo-viewer, the dual images appeared as a three-dimensional image and were as popular then as today’s 3-D movies.
During the time Russell was working for Union Pacific, the East Coast public was hungry for images of the West, Davis said. It was this audience that saw the multiple series of stereo-views that were mass produced.
Davis said the 900-plus stereoviews produced by Russell give a more complete picture of the railroad.
“Russell’s large-format views, for instance, tend to mythologize the building of the railroad and the men who did it,” Davis said. “His stereoviews, however, fill in the details of what was a very messy, ugly business.”
The majority of the images in the USU exhibit are drawn from the university’s collection at Special Collections and Archives. As photo curator, Davis has collected stereoviews for 10 years. Visitors to the exhibit will have the chance to view eight stereoview reproductions through a stereo-viewer. Along the walls of the exhibit, larger versions of the stereoview can be seen, bringing the images detail to life.
The exhibit presents a larger view of the time, Davis said.
“Who were the surveyors, graders, spikers and engineers who lived and died to get the thing done,” Davis asks. “Where did they come from and where did they go after the railroad was built?
“Today, much has been produced about the political corruption, corporate shenanigans and the violent ‘Hell on Wheels’ towns. On the other side there are enthusiasts who know every minute detail for how a railroad mechanically functions. The in-between history of the Union Pacific is still mostly unknown.”
During a 2010 sabbatical, Davis traveled from Omaha, Neb., to Promontory, Utah, re-photographing the landscapes and structures originally captured by Russell. He is currently writing a biography of Russell that will include a catalog of the stereoviews.
Davis will be featured in the spring Friends of Merrill-Cazier Library lecture, discussing the exhibit and his work, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 7 p.m. at the library. The lecture is free and all are invited.
Related links:
USU Special Collections and Marketing
Writer: Kristin Heal, 435-797-2659, Kristin.heal@usu.edu
Writer: Patrick Williams, 435-797-1354, patrick.williams@usu.edu
Contact: Daniel Davis, 435-797-0890, Daniel.davis@usu.edu
"Bear River Bridge, Corinne, Stereo-view No. 507, 1869," from the “Forgotten Photographs of the Union Pacific Railroad” exhibit at Utah State University's Merrill-Cazier Library. It can be seen at the library through Feb. 17.
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