 |
 |
| Sandcastle Arts is pleased to offer the following original Mike Danneman artwork through special arrangement with the artist. Each original piece is described below. A brief biography of Mike Danneman appears at the bottom of this page. Please note that the borders on the images below are computer generated to enhance website display. |
B&O's Metropolitan
| The Christmas season has settled on the Baltimore and Ohio's Cumberland, Maryland to Huntington, West Virginia mainline. In a view from the fireman's seat of the cab of an eastbound freight, the westbound Metropolitan cruises into view through the fresh snow. The mail-heavy holiday season train is led by two E8s, and helped up front by an A-B-A set of blue F-units. The train may be made up of a hodgepodge of equipment, but it certainly would be fun to go back to the B&O during Christmas 1966.
Mike Danneman |
Rush Hour at Englewood
| It's dusk on a cold, raw winter day on the south side of Chicago at Englewood, as Pennsylvania and New York Central trains fill the air with action. The Broadway Limited and the 20th Century Limited are blasting eastward in the distance, bracketed by a westbound Pennsy freight and an inbound NYC passenger run from Michigan. A cold wind off of Lake Michigan this eve proceeds evening snow squalls, and the railroad action will soon never be like this in the future.
Mike Danneman |
Twilight on the Wisconsin Central
| On a crisp winter night in January 1996, a Wisconsin Central freight charges through the snow, after picking up some additional cars at Duplainville, Wisconsin. The northbound train is led by the 6005, a former Algoma Central locomotive, and will soon have the train up to track speed through the sleeping central Wisconsin countryside. I'm sure the crew will be happy to get home to North Fond du Lac after many cold hours on the road.
Mike Danneman |
Semaphores at Sunset
| Across the colorful Arizona desert, the Southern Pacific mainline was signaled with these unique lower quadrant semaphores. Sunset settles over the landscape as an eastbound freight crests the rails in the distance. In a few minutes the glowing headlight and steam plume will emerge as a powerful steam locomotive pulling a mile long freight destined for eastern markets.
Mike Danneman |
Skirting the Storm
| On the high desert east of Portola, train 18, the California Zephyr, highballs eastward on the Western Pacific. A late afternoon thunderstorm livens up the evening sunset. Soon, nightfall will be settling on the train, and the passengers will soon have their beds turned down for the nocturnal crossing of Nevada. A bright new day of crossing the Rocky Mountains will greet them at dawn.
Mike Danneman |
1947 Empire Builder
| In 1929, the Great Northern Railway inaugurated its Empire Builder on a 63-hour schedule between Chicago and Seattle. In 1947, it upgraded the train with new diesels and streamlined cars on a 45-hour schedule. In this painting, westbound No. 1 is descending the railway's easy passage over the 5,213-foot Continental Divide summit in the southern edge of Glacier Park in the Montana Rockies. At that time the country was just coming out of World War II. The colorful streamliner was in full stride and GN's Empire Builder was one of the leaders of the pack.
Mike Danneman |
Train Time
| This painting was something a little different for me. Based on a Union Switch and Signal publicity photo, it is a looser, less detailed style and doesn't really show much "train". It is done on stretched canvas and features liberal use of a palette knife in addition to the brush strokes. The Denver Zephyr patiently waits in the background as the train crew directs passengers to the train at Denver Union Station in 1937.
Mike Danneman |
Yampa Valley Mail at Tunnel 29
| The daily local train on the Rio Grande between Denver and Craig, Colorado was affectionately known as the Yampa Valley Mail, even after the train lost the mail contract in 1963. The train was one of the last haunts for the elegant Alco PA's that began life hauling premiere name trains like the Exposition Flyer and the California Zephyr. A PA, a baggage and a coach was all that made up the train on most days. Nonetheless, train 9 and 10, served an important service to northwest Colorado until the train's demise on April 7, 1968.
Mike Danneman |
| Contact Information | www.railroademporium.com |
|
Railroad Emporium PO Box 72068 Roselle, IL 60172-0068 630-295-9140 (Phone) 630-295-9141 (Fax) |
| About the Artist | ||
|
Mike Danneman has had a lifelong interest in trains. His dad nurtured the interest in railroading, while his mom showed him how much fun art can be. Growing up with these influences definitely had something to do with painting trains when he got older.
He began his career at Kalmbach Publishing Co. in the art department in 1984. He was named TRAINS magazine's Assistant Art Director in 1988 and Art Director in 1990. Mike is currently painting full time and also freelancing railroad photography. He has authored or co-authored four books:
|
Traveling is a big part of Mike's life. He has traveled extensively around the United States and Canada in pursuit of railroad photos. Many of these photos later become sources for inspiration when seated in front of the easel. Getting out and actually seeing the railroad, or at least seeing the country it used to run through, is very useful for the painting's accuracy and detail.
Other hobbies include collecting 1/43 scale automobiles and also a restored 1967 Mustang convertible. He also enjoys model railroading, some sports, and the outdoors in general. Mike and his wife Katie, another artist, live in Arvada, Colorado. | |