Ernest
H. Robl
Newsletter
End of 2006
Copyright © 2006
Ernest H. Robl
A
newsletter for picture editors and researchers
and magazine and book editors, too
Newsletter status
I have
discontinued distribution of paper copies of my newsletter. I
will continue to provide updates here as time permits,
perhaps on a more frequent basis. This is a preliminary
version of this newsletter and will be updated around the end
of the year.
2006: Magazines added
to publication credits; N.C. stock coverage updated
I added several new magazines to my list of
publication credits in 2006, including Executive Traveler
and German Life, and Mass Transit. A look at specific
publication credits is provided at the end of this newsletter. I also provided several contributions to Gemütlichkeit,
a travel newsletter, that, like German Life, covers
travel and culture in Europe's German-speaking countries
(Austria, Germany, and Switzerland).
Switching to a purely online form for my
newsletters not only bypasses the space limitations of a paper
format, but also lets me both include color illustrations and
provide links to material elsewhere on my site. The newsletter
also has internal links that let you quickly jump to a section of
interest.
I also encourage you to check my Recent
images page from time to
time to see what's been added to my photo coverage in recent
months.
This newsletter contains the following
major topics:
Charlotte
prepares to open light rail transit system
060714 Charlotte light
rail vehicle. |
Triangle
rail transit plans stalled The Charlotte, N.C., metropolitan area
(which extends into northern South Carolina) is moving
ahead on multiple fronts to improve local transit,
including building the first light rail transit line in
the Carolinas. The South Corridor line, running between
the center of the city and Pineville to the south, is
scheduled to open in late 2007.
Major construction is in progress
all along the route and the first articulated light rail
cars have arrived in the city. (Image at left.)
|
Meanwhile, a project for rail transit in
the Raleigh-Durham area planned by the Triangle Transit Authority
(TTA) has stagnated after it failed to qualify for matching
federal funds. Area leaders were looking for other finance
options at the end of the year.
I've been following both the Charlotte and
TTA projects for several years. I have photos of community input
meetings held as part of the TTA planning process.
I've set up a separate page
for the Charlotte Lynx light rail system to which I'll add new images as the project nears
completion.
Private
railcar travel documented
Among the more interesting
projects for 2006 was a feature on private railcar travel for Executive
Traveler magazine. Research for the article included not
only interviews with private railcar owners and operators in
multiple locations but also a visit to at South Carolina railroad
that both leases out and refurbishes private railcars. In
addition, I was able to make a short trip on one of these cars.
The project added a range of
private railcar images to my stock file, including interiors and
exteriors of several different types of cars and even images of a
passenger car in the process of being gutted to turn it into a
luxurious private railcar.
New
stock coverage for various N.C. Cities and regions
Here's a city-by-city overview of selected
new images:
Charlotte, N.C.:
Images of continued progress on Charlotte's planned light
rail system, including photos of one of the first of the
vehicles to be used on the South Corridor line scheduled to
open in late 2007. This coverage adds to images of the
Charlotte Trolley operation, with the new replica trolleys
that have enabled the system to increase operating
frequencies. (Trolleys will share part of the line with the
light rail operation during off-peak hours. The trolley
operation was suspended in 2006 due to track construction
work.)
Fayetteville, N.C,: Dedication
of the new Transportation Museum; Amtrak trains; new 9/11
memorial at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum;
paratrooper training at Fort Bragg.
New Bern, N.C.: New
images from the waterfront, historic buildings (including
Tryon Palace), street scenes—and, yes, railroad
operations in the area.
Wilmington, N.C., and
nearby coastal area: In addition to more coverage of
the N.C. state port at Wilmington, 2006 also saw addition of
photos from the beaches at nearby Topsail Island and the
state aquarium at Pine Knoll shores.
060588 Shorebird in surf at
sunrise, Topsail Island
Recent
publication credits (2006)
Selected feature and
photo credits
In early 2006, I became the
railroad columnist for Monitoring Times,
a magazine for enthusiasts interested in radio short-wave
communications. I am contributing four illustrated columns a
year to the magazine.
"Flights of
fancy." — Home & Away,
March/April 2006. Stock photos of N.C. Outer Banks to
illustrate text by another contributor.
"Trying to hit a
moving target: Changing rules can hamper agencies' quest for
federal funds." — Trains,
May 2006. Article (text only) examining the problems of
funding new rail transit systems.
"Five great
Southern train trips." — Southern Arts
Journal, Spring 2006
"Rail
modernization: It's your father's rail vehicle." —
Mass Transit, June 2006. Feature (text
only)examining technological changes in rail transit
vehicles.
"Smarter
detectors, less talking." — Trains,
October 2006. Article (text only) looking at new wheel impact
load detectors used by railroads to improve safety.
"Riding the rails:
Private railcars preserve a historic era of travel and offer
a new twist on luxury." — Executive
Traveler, September 2006. Illustrated article
on luxurious private railcars.
"Basic training:
Model railroads of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland."
— German Life,
October/November 2006. Illustrated feature on Americans who
collect and operate European model railroad equipment.
"Austria's
Christmas glow." — German Life,
December 2006/January 2007. Illustrated feature on
distribution of the "Light of Peace" flame, a
Christmas tradition in Austria.
"Germany's
THW." — HSToday [Homeland Security
Today], December 2006. Feature looking at Germany's
disaster response agency and why it's often seen as a model
for other countries.
Multiple stock photo
sales to textbook publishers and corporations.
Clips
page
Earlier this year, I installed a
new Clips page in the business section of this site.
For those not familiar with
the magazine business, "clips" is short for clippings of
previously published work. When a writer who is new to a
particular magazine sends in a proposal for a magazine
article, he or she is expected to provide clips with that
proposal.
When most proposals
were sent by mail, writers included actual clippings, or at
least photocopies. Today, most proposals to editors go by
e-mail, so it's useful to have "electronic" clips.
Rather than providing examples of my work in the proposal
itself, I simply include a link to my clips page.
My clips page provides text
excerpts from from a range of magazine articles. Photocopies of
the entire articles are available to editors on request. Most of
these articles were illustrated with my own photos.
Of course, if you want to
see a range of samples of my photographic work, you can go to any
of the following pages:
Or, simply go to my Pictures by category page and select the appropriate subject
or geographic category. (Many of the pages listed on my category
overview pages contain links to additional subsidiary or related
pages.
Railroad
and rail transit magazine article bibliography
Though I frequently write
about and photograph other subjects, rail transportation and
travel has long been a major specialty. I've done well over three
dozen substantial magazine articles on railroads and rail
transit, ranging from travel features to technical and analytical
pieces.
Again, to show my
background and publication experience, I've created a Railroad & rail transit article
bibliography page in the Business section of my site. This
bibliography undoubtedly skips a few items that could have been
included as I only included articles for which I could find data
without extensive research. But, it does show the range of pieces
within this subject category that I've worked on and which have
been published.
Most of these articles were
illustrated with my own photos.
Pending
projects for 2007
I'm working on illustrated profiles of two
different shortline railroads, one in North Carolina and the
other in South Carolina) for two different publications.
And, of course, I'll be following (and
photographing) rail transit developments in both Charlotte and
the Triangle area of North Carolina.
[Updated 2006/12/01]
If you
arrived directly at this page via a link from another site
and do not see the Newsletter table of contents to the left,
click here to load the frames.
Recent images
[Business] [Transportation data & commentary]
[Ernest H. Robl Home page] [Feedback / e-mail]
[Pictures by category]