66 CLASSIC TRAINS FALL 2019
t the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, the
John F. Bjorklund Collection offers a strong exam-
ple of the “Kodachrome Era” of railroad photog-
raphy. Bjorklund (1939–2005) photographed
railroads throughout the U.S. and Canada for
most of his adult life, and he was particularly active during the
1970s and 1980s. He meticulously organized his 55,000 slides,
labeling each one and arranging them chronologically by rail-
road into 99 metal boxes. They are an incredible resource, and
we plan to share multiple selections in “Archive Treasures,”
beginning with a region that was deeply significant to the
photographer.
Bjorklund was born in Tacoma, Wash., to Walter and Bar-
bara Bjorklund. Walter was a division engineer for the North-
ern Pacific and moved frequently for his job. During John’s el-ementary school years the family lived in Billings, Mont., and
later in St. Paul, Minn. Through his father’s engineering as-
signments, John grew up immersed in the Northern Pacific
throughout the Northwest. That exposure cemented a deep
love of the region, and the NP, which John carried over to suc-
cessor Burlington Northern as well as rival Milwaukee Road.
Following college at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul
(the “real” U. of M., as he said), Bjorklund served two years in
the Army at Fort Knox. After his discharge in 1965, he re-
turned to St. Paul and went to work for the Ford Motor Co.
Ford soon transferred him to Detroit, and he would remain
there for the rest of his life. He retired in 1999, having ascend-
ed to traffic analyst. His worked included coordinating rail
transportation for auto-body parts and finished vehicles, and
in the process he gained many great friends in the rail industry.A
On the former NP main line along the Yakima River near Thorp, Wash., an F
unit leads five other diesels on a BN freight on April 27, 1975. A Michigan resi-
dent in adulthood, Bjorklund adapted well to photography in the Northwest.