Frederick Hammersley Foundation... New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund at the Albuquerque Community Foundation ...and Viewers Like You.

THIS TIME, ON COLORES!

BUILT IN 1944, THE 2926 LOCOMOTIVE RAN A MILLION MILES BEFORE RETIRING IN 1953.

LOVINGLY RESTORED BY THE NEW MEXICO STEAM LOCOMOTIVE AND RAILROAD HISTORICAL SOCIETY, HER WHISTLE NOW BLOWS AGAIN.

FROM STEAM TO DIESEL, A HISTORY FROM RAILROAD ENTHUSIASTS.

ONCE KNOWN AS THE "RUBBER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD" AKRON, OHIO COMMEMORATES A STATUE TO HONOR THE THOUSANDS OF WORKERS.

"THE NEIGHBORS: SLIDE SHOWS FOR AMERICA".

IT'S ALL AHEAD ON COLORES!

BACK ON THE TRACKS.

[Rail yard sounds] >>John Taylor: This locomotive is an icon of New Mexico history.

It was built in 1944 in Eddystone, Pennsylvania.

It ran a million miles for the Santa Fe, carrying passengers, troop trains, and freight.

Weighs a million pounds and was rated at 100 miles an hour.

[Train Whistle] It was probably the pinnacle of the steam designer's art, built with slide rule technologies, long before computers were used to design this sort of thing.

>>John Taylor: Our restoration actually began in 1997, when the organization was founded.

We pulled the locomotive out of Coronado Park, where she had sat for 44 years, slowly rusting away She was just a derelict.

She was destined, as all of the other 2900s were, for the razor blade factory.

So we began our restoration lovingly taking each piece, pipes, valves, components, overhauling them, replacing them, and then putting them back on the locomotive to restore her to her former glory.

Part of the restoration involved removing almost three miles of boiler piping and completely replacing it.

We had to completely replace the lagging on the on the boiler because asbestos is no longer permitted.

We replaced or restored almost a thousand of these stay bolts that hold the firebox in the boiler.

[Steam venting] The 2926 is an extremely complex piece of machinery and the wheels are actually pushed by 700 degree superheated steam, so this is a powerful locomotive.

It produces almost 5 000 horsepower.

[Bell tolling] These wheels are amazing.

They're 80 inches in diameter.

The thing was built for speed.

A hundred miles an hour was the rated speed.

The bearings, this bearing weighs 370 pounds.

[bell tolling, pistons pumping] Controlling this locomotive, a million pounds at a hundred miles an hour, requires a real finesse by the engineer, who's sitting here, and the fireman, who sits over there.

The tender alone holds twenty four thousand five hundred gallons of water.

The boiler holds six thousand gallons of water.

So this thing has to be controlled very carefully.

Requires a lot of finesse between the engineer and the fireman, who provides the steam and the air.

This is where the fireman sits.

The fireman controls the fuel and the air and steam from these various manifolds to help the engineer operate the locomotive.

He maintains a fire in the firebox between 1800 and 2700 degrees Fahrenheit, which means he has to be very careful about keeping water over the firebox so that it doesn't melt.

These gauges all help him do that.

There are gauges for flow, for water.

There are gauges for pressure and level in the boiler.

These are real important and the fireman is not really a secondary person.

He's just as important as the engineer.

One of the most important aspects of a steam locomotive is maintaining the water supply.

This tender is huge.

It holds 24,500 gallons of water, like a modern swimming That water is critical to maintaining steam of course, but also keeping the firebox covered.

It evaporates a hundred gallons a minute of water at sixty miles an hour.

[Locomotive sounds] >>John Taylor: One of the remarkable things about this restoration is how the community, both the community of Albuquerque and the railroad community across the country, have come together to support this.

We've got about two hundred thousand volunteer man hours bringing engineers out of retirement who had worked on [Train bell ringing] >>John Taylor: When we ran it in July, just back and forth here, people were so excited.

People were crying because it was the first time in 66 years this gal had run on her own steam.

And the engineer said he didn't like moving it back and forth here.

He said it was like driving a Corvette in a parking garage.

This locomotive wants to be back on the main line pulling From a personal point of view, I really feel a relationship.

It's almost like she's got a personality.

When I come down and see this locomotive, it just makes me happy.

It's something that's an icon of engineering.

It reflects the history of how we made this nation great.

And railroads are so important to the history of New Mexico.

They essentially opened New Mexico This locomotive is very special, not only to the people who work on it every week and have been doing it for 20 years, but to the people of New Mexico, because it represents a critical aspect of our history, and we here at the 2926 are so proud of her.

And not only that, but it's a heck of a lot of fun.

A TRACKSIDE HISTORY.

Berea's connection to trains dates back almost to a time when it was home to one of the largest producers of sandstone in the world.

Key to its success was the establishment of rail service in 1876 and the opening of the Berea Union Depot that connected the city to the world.

- It all started with the quarries and then they started shipping it out by rail.

The original Berea station was about a quarter mile west of where we are today and it was a dilapidated old wooden building.

The citizens of Berea voted to have a nice station built using the sandstone from the quarry.

And that was around 1880, '80s.

The development of new better building materials chipped away at the use of sandstone.

Coupled with the decrease in passenger rail service and new ways of moving freight in 1958 the depot closed and rail service to Berea stopped.

Across the country rail service slowed and companies merged or went bankrupt.

- With the start of the interstate system passengers declined because people now had vehicles, airplanes.

There was no need to travel by rail when you get to Chicago, instead of eight hours, one hour.

So that's basically why that happened.

In 1974 to save the rail industry the US government enacted the Regional Rail Organization Act, the first and a series of laws designed to consolidate bankrupt lines under a single brand, operating under the name Conrail.

- Well, it was Consolidated Rail Corporation.

The government started to eliminate routes or abandoned certain sections that weren't profitable.

If they're both going to the same place, there's no point in doing that.

And all the eastern roads were Conrail.

[Whirl for the railroad] In 1997 two rail operators purchase Conrail from the Just feet from where the Berea Union Depot once stood rail lines from two companies come within yards of one another, creating one of the busiest crossing points in the country.

- Norfolk Southern and CSX went in and got everything and then divided it up.

Prime example is right here at the Berea Union Depot.

The original train was all New York Central, original tracks were all New York Central.

And then CSX took this half of the tracks, which bypasses the lakefront on the other side of the tracks it goes downtown, which would have been into the terminal.

So they divided up the, what they, you know, the pie, so to speak.

Today trains run nonstop through Berea.

- Generally speaking somewhere between 100 and 160 trains, both on the CSX and on the Norfolk Southern.

It's a relatively cheap, generally speaking, way of transporting things, automobile carriers, and the covered box cars that transport cars all Again, you could never move that many vehicles without the use of a hundred million more vehicles.

And then of course you've got your road ware, your gasoline consumption, and a diesel runs very efficient.

[Train Horn Bellowing] Train watching isn't an expensive hobby.

Some simply sit and watch while others invest in binoculars, cameras, notepads, and scanners.

- Basically it's up close and personal without any grief.

You pull into a parking lot and you're 10 feet away from the trains.

And again, there's so many trains that go through here, so many different movements, that it's an easy spot for people.

Some people I actually jot down the engine numbers, you'll see large flat cars with farm equipment, they come through here a lot.

There's also gravel trains.

You have, of course, your fuel, oil, gas, mainly oil.

You also have grain cars, cement.

Every once in a while you'll see something from my far out west, Burlington Northern, Santa Fe, Union Pacific, even.

And that's just, it's wow, you know?

Just saw a new car.

[Train zooming by] Railfans take pictures of trains, note their time, direction, and often take video as a way of documenting the legacy of this important mode of transportation.

- To me, railroads are fascinating.

The locomotives, the size, just the sheer power that's pulling all this stuff.

The diesel engines are very powerful nowadays.

And then they like to photograph stuff because 20 years from now, what you're seeing today will be gone, like steam engines.

And it's just a fascinating thing to watch, similar to if somebody likes airplanes or jets, you know.

A SOCIAL HISTORY OF RUBBER MANUFACTURING.

At the turn of the 20th century, Akron became the fastest-growing city in the country.

Fueled by the rubber industry, it doubled its population, with tire companies like Goodyear, Firestone, and General establishing their headquarters in town.

To honor the contribution of the men and women, who worked in the factories, the city of Akron and the Akron Stories Initiative are installing a statue celebrating their heritage.

It started in 1876, when a group of local Akron business leaders enticed the B.F. Goodrich Company to establish itself in Akron, wooing to get them here because carriage tires were coming in demand.

And it wasn't long after that, that Goodyear and Firestone, right around the turn of the 20th century, followed suit.

And then in the early 20th century, General Tire joined them to become sort of the big four of the American rubber and tire industry.

>>David B.: The so-called big four produced a variety of products.

Tires were the main product, with the explosion of the automobile, but they also made other parts for cars, belts and hoses.

During the war, the rubber companies were huge part of the war effort, they made rubber rafts, they made blimps, which were observation balloons, they made life vests.

Goodrich expanded into other products.

So Goodrich was making golf balls, and shoes, and all of these other rubber products.

And so, if it was made of rubber it was made in Akron pretty much.

The boom led to spinoffs of other local businesses.

There were businesses that supplied the carbon black that makes tires black.

There were businesses that supplied the chemical that makes the lettering on the sides of the tires.

There were businesses tire building machines.

All manner of support, to the manufacturing part of the industry, was taking place here.

At its height, more than 130 different rubber manufacturers operated in the Akron area, employing 85,000 workers.

Two-thirds of all tires produced in the US came from Akron.

The city became known as the rubber capital of the world.

My mom worked at Mohawk Rubber for a little while in the '50s as a single mom.

And so I would say that the rubber companies were so instrumental in providing well-paying jobs for families so that they could then lift their families up.

The tire factories employed people in every aspect of the manufacturing process.

From the beginning of the process where the chemicals were mixed in a hot filthy room, really terrible jobs, but those led all the way up through a hierarchy that ended with the tire builders themselves, who were known as kind of the kings of the rubber industry.

They were treated like royalty.

They were the highest-paid jobs.

They were the most desirable jobs.

However, it wasn't a glamorous way to make a living.

The hours were long and the work was hard and dangerous.

People had to scrub their houses because of the smoke.

You know, the stench was terrible, kind of like the first responders.

Now they had to go in their basements and wash down before they even come in the house because of the lamp black that they use as the basis for the tires, the so in their you know, in their skin and in there, just it stuck to everything In the sixties.

The rubber industry declined of the big four tire companies.

Goodyear is the only one still headquartered in town.

Today Vestiges of the industry remain, but recognition of the factory worker has gone overlooked until now We have statute two rubber people that started the companies.

Of course we have Stan Hewitt.

We have a lot of things that draw attention to those that actually were heads and started all the businesses There's a Charles Goodyear monument downtown.

And there are other kinds of monuments to the founders of the companies to the people who made the money, the big money but there isn't really a representation of the common person who really represented what tire building was to Akron.

I think this just such an appropriate and long needed contribution to the city and recognition and the lives that were kind of devoted to that industry To pay tribute to the people who kept those factories humming, the Akron stories initiative was created.

The group's mission is to collect document and archive Akron's past.

Together with the city of Akron they spearheaded an effort to erect a statue honoring the rubber industry workers.

I think it's entirely appropriate.

It's kind of like it reflects the craft of the worker.

And I, I think it's a great monument to an important part of Akron's life.

>> David B.: The artist's tasked with sculpting the statue is Alan Cottrill.

His challenge was to create a sculpture that represents every We don't know who this worker was.

It's sort of like the quintessential image of that person represents scores countless tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people whose lives were devoted to that kind of work.

Stories from Akron rubber workers are also being collected and shared on a kiosk by the University of Akron.

An announcement of the installation date in downtown Akron at South Main and Mill Streets is expected soon.

PICTURING A COMMUNITY.

[Slides exchanging in a projector] Well, the exhibition is called, "The Neighbors Slideshows for America" It's five commissioned photographic slide shows or photographic portfolios, from five artists who lived and work in America.

We invited these five artists to give us a look at their community.

The idea really is to sort of get a composite view of America at a time when that composite view is being contested seriously, contested both in our electoral process but also in the culture.

So what we wanted to do is to basically hand off the idea of coming up with that composite view.

To five brilliant photographers.

So each of them gave us they were digital.

So we put these into slide format.

So believe it or not there's still places that will make slides for you.

So you get the idea of being in a darkened room with the sound of the slide projectors changing.

So what sort of brings up that whole nostalgic aura of being in a community, watching slides together in a darkened room.

[Slide Changing] So what we wanted to do at the museum with this show was really to appeal to some of that too, to appeal to that community, maybe lost community or community in construction.

You know, this is a very interesting, shall we say time for our country?

There's a lot of division.

There's a lot of mistrust.

And I think this is a really good time to remind ourselves of who we are and what makes us strong.

And that's really our diversity.

There is a, a great photo by Kathya Maria Landeros of probably the daughter of a farm worker and remember farm worker Latino holding a sparkler during the 4th of July.

There is a beautiful picture of a young boy dressed in hasidic clothing, overlooking the Brooklyn Queens expressway in Williamsburg America's city.

There is a picture by Kurt Hammelburgof men taking down a flag, and it seems to be draped all over his head with cornfields behind him.

And then there's a lot of photographs of a family.

Even though I do photograph in my family and in communities that I know, it just feels like peopl very vulnerable right now.

Think I'm just becoming more resourceful and finding ways to continue creating the work that I need to make.

But in a way that truly, you know, feels safe to me right now.

We have each one of the projections taped, videotaped and available on the website, which is the way viewers will be able to experience the show essentially until we hit phase three and we can allow a limited number of people to walk through.

But we kind of wanted to hedge our bets, not knowing what's gonna happen.

Could we make it both real and virtual?

The challenges are, it's never going to be the same as walking into a gallery and seeing work firsthand.

And having the experience of being able to actually be in that space.

And you can converse with the works.

You can see one work next to another work and see how the curator has placed them in conversation.

And so it's never gonna be the same as that real life kind of acquaintanceship with the works.

On the other hand, it's always there when you want it.

And the other hand, it makes the work available to them, really broad range of people.

And, you know, an almost unlimited number of viewers.

We are in apart together mode.

And I think this is one way in which we can arrive at some more of that togetherness and I think that's fundamental.

Right now what else can you do?

[Laughing] We are planning on always having some kind of virtual element tour exhibitions, even when we're gonna be completely open.

And so I don't think that's ever going to go away.

I think we're just, I think we artists and curator, et cetera.

I think we're just on the threshold of what virtual exhibitions can eventually be.

So it's kind of exciting to think of the landscape that's out there that we can explore.

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"UNTIL NEXT WEEK, THANK YOU FOR WATCHING."

Funding for COLORES was provided in part by: Frederick Hammersley Foundation... New Mexico PBS Great Southwestern Arts & Education Endowment Fund at the Albuquerque Community Foundation ...and Viewers Like You.

[Closed Captioning by KNME-TV]