Inventory of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Fred Jukes Photographs MS 883
California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
2021
Contributing Institution:
California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
Title: The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Fred Jukes Photographs
Creator:
Jukes, Fred
Identifier/Call Number: MS 883
Physical Description:
557 Sheets
Date (inclusive): 1900-2000
Abstract: The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Fred Jukes Photograph Collection consists of 557 photographs fixed to ridgid
cardboard frames. The subject matter of the collection is largely focused on North American railroads and steam locomotives,
there is also a sizable collection of railroads and locomotives from Central and Southern America.
Physical Location: Statewide Museum Collections Center
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research by appointment. Contact Library staff for details.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Part of a long term loan to the California State Railroad Museum by the National Chapter of the Raiway & Locomotive Historical
Society. Circa 2000
Arranged by subject.
1. Foreign Railroads
2. North American Railroads
¶ Mark Frederick "Fred" Jukes (1877-1971) was a prominent rail photographer, known most famously for his action shots of locomotives
on narrow gauge railroads in Colorado. Born in Emerson, Manitoba, Canada, in 1877, Jukes and his family moved to Virginia
City, Nevada in 1892. It was in Virginia City that Jukes first became facinated with the railroad, when he began studying
mechanical drawings from the Colliery Engineer Company. The same year, he purchased his first camera for five dollars and
produced his first known photograph (of a Colorado & Truckee 4-4-0). In 1894 Jukes and his family moved to Bellingham, Washington,
where his interest in railroading continued to grow. Jukes parlayed this interest into a career first with the Canadian Pacific
as an engine wiper, and later in the shops of the Colorado Midland Railway. Poor eyesight prevented Jukes from gaining a position
as a locomotive engineer, and he turned to photography as a full-time job by 1900, although he briefly returned to railroading
in 1902 after selling his gallery in Laramie, Wyoming.¶
¶ In 1903 Jukes moved to Rawlins, Wyoming, and entered into a partnership with photographer Greeley Barber to form Ferris
Studios. He and Barber would separate as partners in 1907 due to Barber's failing health, however they reunited several times
to work together until Barber's death in 1934. While remaining in Rawlins, Jukes was able to travel across the western United
States on various assignments before finally settling in Bellingham, Washington where he opened a studio. Over the course
of his professional career, Jukes photographed a multitude of subjects however he continued to focus primarily on locomotives
and railroads and contributed photographs and articles to railroad magazines, including Railway and Locomotive Engineering.
Jukes was best known for his preference of spontaneous action views of locomotives (specifically steam locomotives) in motion,
which set him apart from his contemporaries, who focused instead posed locomotives in carefully planned environments. Jukes
officially retired in 1942 after selling his studio in Bellingham, although he maintained close ties with other railroad photographers,
including Otto Perry and Richard Kindig. Fred Jukes died in Bellingham, Washington on January 2, 1971 at the age of 93.¶
¶ The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Fred Jukes Photograph Collection consists of 557 photographs fixed to ridgid
cardboard frames. The subject matter of the collection is largely focused on North American railroads and steam locomotives,
there is also a sizable collection of photographs of railroads and locomotives from Central and Southern America.¶
¶ Arranged alphabetically by railroad company name, the collection begins with foreign railroads from Argentina to Uraguay.
TThe contents of the photographs are almost exclusively side and head on shots of locomotives sitting still, however there
are several photos of landscapes and action shots of locomotives in the snow.¶
Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from
manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Library &; Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of
the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Railroads--History
Photography of railroads