Rolling Dreams: Portraits of the Northwest's Railroad Heritage

Rolling Dreams is more poetry than documentary. Although its subject is railroads, its techniques represent photography and (in the sense of texture and composition)painting. Rolling Dreams captures the beauty and details of railroading and the Northwest rail environment.

It captures the many moods of the weather as well as the tremendous range of railroading from large and small.

If you want a "railroad book that's more than a railroad book," add Rolling Dreams to your collection...and keep it at close to your bedside table.


Burkhardt knows the heart and soul of railroads.   December 13, 1998
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

For some of us, trains and railroads have an uncanny and mysterious power. The author seems to understand this, and many of his photos capture the essence of this power. Worth owning.


A fine photographic homage to Northwest railroads!   September 30, 1998
"Rolling Dreams: Portraits of the Northwest's Railroad Heritage" is a laudable homage to the Pacific Northwest's rail transportation network.

D.C. Jesse Burkhardt's 78 color images (and 12 b&w ones) are sharp, varied, and celebratory.

His grand and dynamic pictures (e.g., "Sherars Crossing," where a southbound container train crosses a trestle over Oregon's Deschutes River) are nicely matched by quiet--and even somber--photos (e.g., "Forgotten Rails," where wildflowers and fog hover above the abandoned Astoria line of the Burlington Northern).

A few of Burkhart's pictures--such as the hushed Oregon snow scene of a stretch of the Southern Pacific railway--would have been far more effective had they been larger.

And a couple of photos are a shade too dark.

But Burkehardt is a talented photographer and writer, and he has produced a fine work.


This book has some great photos!   January 7, 1998
The photo work is exceptional, with nice, very detailed captions. Even though the Columbia Gorge is just a few miles away from here, it has been little appreciated for its beauty from the point of view of rail traffic. Also, the text is concise and informative.