Meet Trevor Rost | Railroad Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Trevor Rost and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Trevor, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
Other than being with my girlfriend (I love you Kayla), I am happiest when I am out taking photos. When I’m out on the mainline, waiting for the train, I make sure to take in the scenery around me, and think about how I never would have stopped and appreciated these places normally. If I’m at a museum or tourist railroad I think about how much history is around me, and how much had to happen for this equipment to still be around today. I also often think about how fortunate I am to have the ability to do what I am passionate about, and that I’ll be able to re-live these moments over and over as I edit and look back at old pictures.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My primary subject is steam powered rail operations, though I will occasionally shoot modern passenger trains. This stemmed from watching Thomas & Friends at a young age and later on learning more about the history of railroading as I got older. I eventually learned about the Cheyenne Frontier Days Train, hauled by Union Pacific’s #844 steam locomotive. When I went to see it for myself in 2017, I immediately fell in love with railroad photography. Since then I’ve captured trains all across Colorado, and in parts of Wyoming, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Nevada too. My main goal with my work is to capture moments that invoke the feelings I have when I am around steam engines. Whether it is the calm but eager atmosphere when a locomotive is being prepped for the day, the drama as the engine sets off, or the power it exudes when it steams past with a string of cars. Every aspect is enthralling, and I hope that my photos are able to convey that, even to those unfamiliar with steam operations.

The main things that got me to where I am was time and networking. After I started sharing my work it took 4-5 years before I started to get recognized. The thing that kept me going was simply that I enjoyed doing it, and I wanted to keep improving. I never expected to gain a following, I posted my work online just so that it wasn’t collecting dust on my hard drive. I’m still surprised when another railroad photographer recognizes me, as I have looked up to many of these people for a long time, and them knowing who I am is surreal. Since people were taking notice, I realized I should take advantage of this opportunity, so I’ve tried my best to network and build relationships with other railroad photographers and people who work at railroads/museums. I’ll admit I could be better at this, I’m fairly introverted so it can be difficult to strike up conversation, but I’m happy to have built some connections despite this.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to keep it enjoyable for myself. There was a period of time where I got fixated on trying to game the algorithm and maximize my output on social media. It got to a point where posting my photos felt like a chore, and I found myself putting it off instead of looking forward to doing it. I’ve since stopped this approach, and gone back to posting at a rate that I am happy with, and without constantly trying to tweak the tags/captions to maximize reach. I am much happier doing it this way and now know that I value my own enjoyment over social media growth.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’ll keep on the railroad theme, Colorado is absolutely rich with railroading history, and there are countless places you can go to experience it. The best place to learn about it all is the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. Their collection of equipment and artifacts is extensive, and you can spend hours walking around learning and marveling at the history of Colorado’s railroads. They also have a passionate team of volunteers that are more that happy to answer your questions or have conversations with you. As well, they put on amazing events with their operational equipment, and I highly recommend going out to their Colorado Crossings steam-up in May.

If you are more interested in taking a scenic ride behind a steam locomotive, Colorado has quite the selection to choose from. If you don’t want to go super far the Georgetown Loop is perfect for you, while their engines aren’t native to the route, it still provides a great experience with nice views. If you’re willing to trek further out I cannot recommend visiting both the Durango & Silverton and the Cumbres & Toltec railroads enough. Both journeys are beautiful in their own right, and the low speeds and long ride time means you can truly take in your surroundings and be fully engrossed in the experience. On top of that much of their equipment is the same stuff that ran the line before they became solely tourist operations, making the experiences very authentic.

For those that aren’t picky about steam or diesel, and just want to see some trains in action, one of my favorite spots is near the 38th & Blake Lightrail station in Denver. It sits right outside of one of Union Pacific’s yards and is full of activity. You can watch trains being built, the A Line Lightrail come and go, at the right time of year you can see the Rocky Mountaineer depart with its luxury train to Moab, and if that’s not enough, you are not far from the Forney Museum of Transportation. This museum has its own collection of railroad equipment, as well as other vintage vehicles. It is also home to 1 of the 8 surviving Big Boy steam locomotives, which are some of the largest ever built, and truly a sight to see up close.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have a near endless list of photographers and artists I draw inspiration from. The first few people whose work I found and was inspired by were Erik Lindgren, Bryan Burton, James Attwell and Matthew Malkiewicz. Recently, I have loved looking through the Center for Railroad Photography & Art’s digital collection for inspiration, mainly the works of Jim Shaughnessy and Victor Hand.

As for support, my family has given it to me in droves. My dad bought me my first camera, and without it I may never have discovered my love for railroad photography. He frequently comes with me on some of my longer journeys as he loves road trips, and his company is always appreciated. My mom has always been so supportive of me and my work. My first visits to the Cumbres & Toltec and Durango & Silverton railroads were with her, and I’ll never forget being able to share those experiences with her. My girlfriend Kayla has also been super supportive, and always encourages me to branch out and build connections. She’s also been kind enough to come with me on some of my trips and I love having her with me when I can. I also have to thank The Colorado Railroad Museum and Charlie Giordano. The Colorado Railroad Museum has been the place I have shot at the most due to their regular steam-up events and close proximity to me. For a while I attended the events like anyone else would and would take my photos from the confines of where the public was allowed to be. I did not realize that as I posted my photos, staff/volunteers of the museum were taking notice, that was until one day when Charlie Giordano, who worked for the museum at the time, reached out to me. He liked my work and wanted to use it on their socials and for promotional material. At their next steam-up event he gave me a tour of the museum, including places typically off limits, and let me shoot from these places as well. Since then I have continued to have the privilege of shooting wherever I like, and being able to have such freedom at a place with so many photo opportunities has without a doubt given me the ability to improve my craft at a much faster rate. I seriously cannot thank Charlie and the staff/volunteers of the Colorado Railroad Museum enough for being so generous.

Website: https://www.trevorjrost.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trevorjrost/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61560536257057

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TrevorRost

Image Credits
All photos taken by me