Richard Steinheimer

Richard Virgil Dean Steinheimer (August 23, 1929 – May 4, 2011) was an American railroad photographer, often called the "Ansel Adams of railroad photography." His work has been published in Trains Magazine, Railfan, Locomotive and Railway Preservation, and Vintage Rail, and more than seventy books. He lived in Sacramento, California. A pioneer in railroad photography, Steinheimer lived through and documented the railroads' heyday and their transition to diesel motive power from steam. He is one of very few photographers who appreciated the aesthetics of all locomotives, from steam engines to the latest diesel-powered behemoths. He had a particular fondness for the landscape of the American West, and many of his images situate trains in the larger geography and culture of the time. Known for taking pictures at night, in bad weather, and from risky perches on top of moving trains, Steinheimer had an enormous creativity and productivity. His photograph, "Southern Pacific steam helper at Saugus, California, 1947," was included in the Center for Railroad Photography and Art's 20 Memorable Railroad Photographs of the 20th Century.