I remember being "WOW'ed" by the first few Dave Stanley Winterail's I attended. Big images and big sound. Professional quality visuals like titles and maps.
The people who put many of the shows together really made an effort, by using good sound systems and a special pair of slide projectors which could project a slide image full screen on a theatre motion picture screen. Maybe I was less sophisticated a decade or so ago, but all the shows seemed to have merit, either for dramatic presentation of the subject or for sensitive portrayal of a piece of North American history. Two shows that stay in my memory are (1) "My testament" by an ATSF conductor which combined great photography with a really heartfelt commentary and appropriate music (2) Roger Puta's "Chicago" show. Vic Neves made a great show which included "Made in the San Jaquin music" to go with his survey of railroading nearby Stockton. Somehow, the energy and innovation I witnessed in the 1980's at Winterail has faded. Am I becoming older and more jaded or has the California railfan community lost some of its drive ?. I mean no criticism of the Winterail organizers. I make this post to explore ways of recapturing the spirit with which this show started up. Phil Mason Revelstoke B.C. (Attended all but one Winterails in the last 15 years) --> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects X-Mozilla-Status: 0011 Content-Length: 6992
