Awful Shtuff

Okay, yeah, well, it's been a little bit, hasn't it? You see, the camera I use to take these photos kinda went on a punk rock tour to the east coast and back again. While it was gone, I took some cellphone pictures of some stuff, but I figured they just weren't good enough to upload. Maybe they'll see the light of day sometime, as I took some pictures of some good shtuff, but, now that the normal camera I use is back, here's some shots:



Old Boy. I think maybe this is supposed to be an old guy's face? Head?


Fuck the mistakes. I accidently saved this picture lo-res. Deal with it.


Don A on the side of a gondola. 1991.


Tha Gator, carved into the side of a boxcar.


Mo Belly, beaver ark home of the etc. etc.


Bunker, as well as the last shot I took this day.


Well, there's a lot of shit going on in this picture. Pick your poison.


Two little lightning bolts hanging out.


And here we have Juicy Stu... Stoned out of his mind, it seems. 2009.


Okay, I actually am posting this after getting back from another rail yard adventure, so expect pic from that in the next few days. Before the 15th. Hopefully, I'm hoping. Wah wah wah.

See ya.

Decrepit Americana #2

Finally the second edition of my Decrepit Americana zine is finished. 48 more black and white pages full of fading and nasty monikers and weirdo rail relics that I've stumbled upon here and there. All the photos are taken by me unless otherwise noted.




If you'd like to get your hands on a copy, get in touch with me! eatapes@gmail.com, send me an e-mail. I do trades, so if you have something that you've made that you'd like to trade for a copy of my zine, let me know. I love reading other people's zines, so get in touch. If you've got nothing to trade, I'm charging $3 shipped for the zine in the United States. If you're from out of the country, let me know!

Enjoy!

MoPac Ghosts

There was an old MoPac car sitting in the layup to the south of the yard today. Here's the old stuff that was on it as well as some more old stuff:


Admiral Benbow. This is my first conscious shot of the Admiral. I have gone back through a bunch of my old pictures and have found a shot of him I didn't know I had, but that picture is too blurry to post. Here he is for the first time on here, "fading era town".


A very, very old Colossus of Roads, rising from the mists.


The HARE, December 1988.


Don A, 1991. Those graffiti writers were kind enough to paint around him, keep up the good work.


Michael Jr making another appearance. 1991.


One more old Colossus of Roads. In cursive. Check the build date on this boxcar.


That's that.
Decrepit Americana 2 release imminent.

American Tropes

Here's a few pictures taken a few days over a week ago in 70 degree weather. It's now hovering around 40 outside right now. Who do I have to pray to to get some warm weather around here?

Boxcars, grainers, tankers, same old, same old:



Cross Roads and N.S. Red, 2010


The Lurker and an old and covered up "Water Bed" Lou, May 1999 and November 22nd, 1986.


Boxcar Billy sucks, March 2010.


Chasman, 2010.


Big Mistake, definitely my favorite fake.


These colors just don't run.


Decrepit Americana 2 soon.

Pre-Indian Leftovers

Here are a few photos from a day or two before I left for India. It was a slushy, weirdly warm day from what I can remember. These cars were sitting pretty on the spur rail that runs down to Hills, IA:


D.Rail from August, 2010.


The Imposter. Spy Vs. Spy.


It's hard to see and I have no clue, but I see it frequently. Maybe it's just a carman's mark or something. I like the colors in the picture, though.


Tic tac toe. I've never seen a complete game ever played out. Theory always seems to participate. July, 2006.


The other end of this beautiful car. I don't know who, same date.


This one almost slipped by me. Baby Snake, extremely faded so some photo editing trickery had to go on to get this image to pop out. It was very tiny, too...


RIP Southern Pacific Cotten Belt, a rather famous line running through Arkansas that was in service from 1891 until 1992. The picture is a tad blurry, sorry.


If anyone needs a copy of the first Decrepit Americana, get at me. I'll be printing a few more copies off in the coming week before buckling down and finishing the second one!

Peace mon.

Iowa Blackie Caught the Westbound

RICHARD "IOWA BLACKIE" GAGE
CAUGHT THE WESTBOUND
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24TH, 2011
AT THE AGE OF 62.




I had just received a letter from him a few months ago, and a few before that I was chatting with him over dinner here in Iowa City. It's so strange that someone can be gone so quickly, but that's how he lived his life.

Live Free.
RIP.

Early Morning Gold Mine

I've been back in Iowa City for 6 days now. India was great, but it's good to be home. Today was the first day I got to hit the yard with a camera. There were some really cool flatbeds hanging around, and it just seemed like a very busy day in general. Actually, maybe all the activity is normal for the time I went. I've been getting up earlier, 8AM, ever since getting back from India, and I've never really been around the yard much this early. It's a habit I'm hoping to keep. Anyway, here's the pics:



Texican Gothic peeking out from between two IAIS scrap metal gondolas.


Michael Jr. on a flatbed car. I love the hints of rust forming around the remnants of the letters. May, 1987.


The Brad B. CARMASTER LivinLarge Tour. Looks like he played some awesome venues. Wish I coulda made it to that after show. June, 2008.


Job? August 23rd, 1984.


That owl and Lick Ems from 1993, 2001, and 2002. There's also an older Lick Em, brown and faded, in the middle, from some Canyon somewhere.


CDD through the ages.


Zero from 1994.


Retribalize. Preserving what culture?


Stonewall Jim in Canada, January 3rd, 2009.


Eye imposter with the weather report.


I don't know what this image/symbol is, all I know is that I've seen it before.


These next two pictures I wasn't going to post since, well, I couldn't really get good pictures or the image to pop without it looking too washed out or whatever, but I figured whatever, I'll put them up anyway.


Jesus Saves in the belly of a IAIS grainer. I've been trying to get a good picture of this for a long time now, but this will have to do until the light is right.


An old Bo Bird that almost escaped me. Very faded and poking out from behind some aerosol graffiti along the side of the car.


I guess those two don't look that bad.
I have a few photo sessions left over from right before I went to India that I might pic through soon. Might not. We'll see.

Bye.