CUNY- SPORRS- I try and collect as much information on Stampede Pass as possible, and try and disseminate that which might amuse, enlighten, or otherwise titillate the general on-line populace. Today I picked up RailNews for October 1997. Pages 55 to 61 of this issue contain an article entitled ''Stampede! A Northwest Classic Is Reborn,'' story and photography by Ben Bachman. I don't know Mr. Bachman, and none of his previous work, plentiful though it might be, comes to mind. RailNews doesn't see fit to include a short biography or bibliography for Mr. Bachman, something that might have otherwise clued me in (my greatest faux pas--shaking hands with Kyle Brehm, telling him how much I enjoyed a recent article of his on MRL, then mentioning a competing magazine in which the article was not printed. Kyle, nice guy that he is, still talks to me). Fortuantely, my long string of blunders is not what I'm here to discuss. What I would like to address is why RailNews ran this particular Stampede article. It starts out with Mr. Bachman's personal views on Stampede and the hoopla which has surrounded its reopening. Fine and dandy, but that being the case, why not run it as a letter to the editor, where such material is usually placed? The second distinguishable section of the article covers railfanning Stampede Pass. Also fine and dandy, but if that's the gist of the article, it's not particularly well done. There are no road maps that might show fans how to get to the better photo locations (even the interstate highway system is strangely missing from the thumbnail map), little discussion of where these locations might be, no list of trains which might run over the line, and the final hallmark of what fanning articles should contain, scanner frequencies. So what's left? Not much. I for one, didn't learn anything new from the article, either about Stampede's history or Stampede's present (usually you can learn at least one new thing in six pages can't you?). The information conveyed is a bare step above what the Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce is capable of producing on a good day (and maybe less, as the C of C is at least likely to include a competent map). It makes me wonder if the inspiration for publishing this piece wasn't that the editor of RailNews had some strong photographs he or she wanted to run (I'm fairly sure this is the reason). Personally, I don't think that is a good enough reason to take up space across six pages of four color printing and call it an article. If editors feel such a strong desire to run photographs, why not simply run the pictures alone as 'Recent Views from Stampede Pass.' That way, reader's time won't be wasted, and the more serious readers won't feel patronized. Ben Bachman starts to close his article by stating ''Fall is the most appearling time for photographers in the canyon, with windblown, heartsick blue skies and cottonwoods that turn a breathtaking shade of gold. It's awesome.'' Heartsick blue skies aside, I think this Stampede article is poorly conceived and very misplaced. It seems strange to once again find that in the Information Age we have editors who are willing to spend a lot of money to create something which is image rich and information poor.
For your consideration John Phillips -- Tell Tale News | http://pw2.netcom.com/~whstlpnk/telltale.html Northern Pacific | http://pw2.netcom.com/~whstlpnk/np.html Historical Assoc. | http://www.employees.org/~davison/nprha/nprha.html --> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects --> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects
