J. Parker Lamb, a masterful black & white image maker long considered “one of the deans of post-World War II railroad photography,” died at his home in Austin, Texas, on Friday. He was 91 years old.
Lamb was a son of the South, and he captured its railroads like few others before or after. Born in Boligee, Alabama, in 1933, Lamb moved with his family to Meridian, Mississippi, in 1938 when he was four years old. In Meridian, he found his passion for railroading, watching trains on the city’s three Class I railroads (plus a short line). A friendly operator took Lamb under his wing and taught him how railroads worked. Lamb used that knowledge to start taking photos in 1949 when he was in the 11th grade.
While attending Auburn University in the early 1950s, he began submitting photos to Trains Magazine and other publications. After two years in the military, he earned a graduate degree from the University of Illinois before starting a teaching career. Eventually, he landed in Austin.
In 1991, he received the Fred A. and Jane R. Stindt Photography Award from the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. In nominating Lamb, the organization wrote that, “While other well-known photographers provided most of the imagery of the passing of steam, it was Parker who provided the best contextual images of the conquering diesels.” A portfolio of his work was published by Boston Mills Press in 2001, titled “Steel Wheels Rolling.” Lamb also wrote a handful of features for Railfan & Railroad, including “Remembering the Katy” in July 1989 and “Streaking Across Texas” in December 1992. In 2015, Lamb donated a curated selection of his photo collection to the Center for Railroad Photography & Art. —Justin Franz
A friendly diesel maintainer in the Southern Railway’s yard at Meridian, Mississippi, invited the photographer to take a portrait and send him a copy in August 1954. Photo by J. Parker Lamb, Collection of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art.
A northbound Kansas City Southern Railway freight train heads downgrade on the west side of the Mississippi River bridge on a foggy morning in April 1969. Photo by J. Parker Lamb, Collection of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art.
An Illinois Central Railroad southbound freight train passing the tower at Tuscola, Illinois, on May 23, 1958. The IC crosses the Baltimore & Ohio and the Chicago & Eastern Illinois here. Photo by J. Parker Lamb, Collection of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art.
