2018 Autumn Leaf Presenter - Steven J. Brown (Washougal, WA) - "1977"

It was 1977. Railroads in the US were going bankrupt, the infrastructure was decrepit. First generation diesels were starting to disappear at a rapid rate. It didn’t look like railroads had a future. Fourteen year old Steven didn’t have a drivers license yet but was determined to document their last days. With only loose change in his pocket, travel with him from his home on the north side on transit to the far south side of Chicago to photograph the last E’s and F’s in Rock Island commuter service before the evil F40 shows up. Get up before dawn to trek across town to see the menagerie of Conrail power before it all turns blue. Of course, there was a lot of other neat stuff to see along the way!