The Southeastern Railway Museum (SRM) in Duluth is hosting a new exhibit, Beebe and Clegg: Their Enduring Photographic Legacy, through December 31.
Through dramatic black & white images, Lucius Beebe and his life partner Charles Clegg introduced railroad photography and the world of railroading to wide popular audiences. Their pioneering efforts over a quarter century established a broad market and wide appreciation for rail photography, leading to its far-reaching appeal in print today.
With several prints never before seen by the public, the exhibition has been assembled by the Center for Railroad Photography and Art in Madison, Wisconsin.
Beebe and Clegg
At a time when railroad books were almost unknown, it took a celebrity writer of the stature of Lucius Beebe to transform the seemingly prosaic subject of railroads into books that beguiled the public. Beebe and Clegg pioneered the genre of railroad books, brought their material to mass-market audiences and established themselves as household names.
Their work built the foundation for the continuing interest in creative railroad photography and helped aggrandize shortline and narrow-gauge railroading.
Beebe and Clegg’s photography and writing demonstrated the importance of railroading in community life and contributions to America’s historical legacy. Together Beebe and Clegg created more than thirty books on railroading and Western Americana.
Their legacy has grown larger than the publications they produced, as they demonstrated that the railroad serves as an icon of the American experience.
The details
Beebe and Clegg: Their Enduring Photographic Legacy is supported by a grant from the Gwinnett Creativity Fund. The 20 images and storyboards were staged by Steve Storey and Ora Ball of the museum and can be seen in SRM’s Building One Exhibit Hall.
Fans of the photographers’ classic work can enjoy the exhibit and the museum Thursday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 3595 Buford Highway near downtown Duluth.
Museum admission also includes the remaining collection of 90-plus rail cars and locomotives, train rides and the historic Duluth railroad station.
In operation since 1970, SRM features about 90 items of rolling stock, including historic Pullman cars, classic diesel & steam locomotives, freight cars and even maintenance-of-way cars. The museum also hosts private parties and events.
SRM is operated by a community-based board as a separate 501(c)3 nonprofit organization of the Atlanta Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. The Museum receives operating funds from grants, donations, sponsors’ support and gate receipts.
For more information, including ticket prices, visit train-museum.org.
