ClassicTrainsMag.com 13during our numerous trips throughout
the 1970s and well into the 1980s. Rather,
John was very quick to absorb certain
things I did, particularly in terms of com-
position. When I began to see more and
more of the results of his ef-
forts, I was amazed by his
achievements, to the point
where it became turnabout —
I began learning from John.”
Another companion was
ace photographer Jeff Mast,
who lives in the Detroit area,
not far from Bjorklund. To-
gether they combed the upper
Midwest, making a point of
chasing down the last remnants of classic
railroading wherever they could.
“John possessed a memory second to
none,” recalls Jeff. “He would astound us
at recalling details, dates, and locations.
When we got started in the late ’60s into
the ’70s there were still a considerable
number of towers and stations in use, and
John would use them in his photos.”
I’m happy to say I can join Schafer and
Mast in claiming Bjorklund as a friend,
but for reasons that have little to do with
photography. I met John in 1972, when I
was a student at Michigan State, working
Before the
big meeting,
only John’s
calming influ-
ence kept my
knees from
knocking.on the campus steam locomotive, Pere
Marquette 2-8-4 No. 1225.
In those days, the members of the MSU
Railroad Club would open the 1225 work
site to visitors on weekends. Most were
polite, but there were some who
could barely conceal their skep-
ticism over the idea that a bunch
of college kids could get a Lima
Berkshire running. The more
knowledgeable the railfan, frank-
ly, the more negative the vibe.
That wasn’t Bjorklund. John
was well into a successful career
at Ford and had been around
long enough to know Project
1225 was a long shot. But he never let on.
In fact, he became a sort of public relations
mentor for us, taking up our cause among
local fans and twice inviting us to make a
pitch to the Michigan Railroad Club.
I remember the first time a few of us
crammed into a car and drove down to
appear before the MRC. In those days the
club met in a ballroom of the old Fort
Shelby Hotel, a faded monument built in
1917 during downtown Detroit’s heyday.
I remember being nervous in the elevator
as we headed up to make our presenta-
tion. It was only John’s calming influencethat kept my knees from knocking.
There was nothing in it for John Bjork-
lund to support us this way. He wasn’t in-
volved in either railroad preservation or
mainline steam, as far as I know. But he
saw something appealing in our naïve
dedication to the 1225. Maybe he saw
something of himself in a bunch of col-
lege students. At any rate, our appearanc-
es in Detroit netted us more than a few
associate members, the dues from whom
helped us stay alive in our early months.
People like John Bjorklund shouldn’t
be forgotten. He made sure that wouldn’t
happen by creating a lasting body of pho-
tography, one that will be available for
generations to come. As the images in this
issue show, John was a perceptive observ-
er of railroads. His love of trains and the
people that made them go is palpable.KEVIN P. KEEFE joined
the Trains staff in 1987,
became editor in 1992,
and retired in 2016 as
Kalmbach Publishing
Co.’s vice president,
editorial. His weekly
blog “Mileposts” is at
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