What Others Have Commissioned

On this page we will feature what others have had commissioned and a little story about what made that scene special to them. Everything is with the permission of the person commissioning the work of course

Our first commission from the site is from Tim Lake for his son Ben. It is a recreation of his memories of visiting with his "Uncle Dan" in Salisbury, North Carolina. Here is what the custom framed original looked upon completion and Tim's story of what prompted him to have this special work commissioned.

"Salisbury Memories"

I first learned of railroad Artist/Illustrator Robert West in 1985 and purchased one of his prints, "Wasatch Crossing", which is now a collector's print. Since then I have investigated commissioning other artists to do an original railroad painting for me, but I I refused to compromise a dream of someday commissioning Robert West to paint an original picture of me, as a young boy, standing beside Southern Railway's steam switch engine 1722. My association as a five year old boy with Southern Railway's Salisbury NC steam switch engine 1722 and Uncle Dan Goodson (no relation), its engineer, is most likely the reason why I pursued transportation as a lifetime career. My Grandparents, Mama and Papa Lake both worked on the second shift at the Salisbury Cotton Mill and lived in a mill house a few feet beside of the mill's switch track . They did daily day care of me while Daddy and Mother worked. Each day, after switching the mill, Uncle Dan would park his engine on a mainline passing siding to eat lunch, while awaiting a scheduled mainline passenger train to pass. Once he stopped, I would run up to the side of the engine cab, stand and look up in awe, answer his warm friendly howdy and receive an apple. If it was real cold, Uncle Dan would have his fireman come down the cab steps to meet me and lift me up into the cab to warm by the open door of the firebox. If it was raining or snowing I would stand at the house window and exchange hand waves with him as he passed on the switch track. If I did not appear at the window or beside the stopped engine, Uncle Dan would climb down from the engine, come to the house, knock on the door and ask " Where's my boy, is he sick?"

For years, to the millions of rail passengers who traveled through Southern Railway's busy Salisbury NC passenger system hub, 1722 was a Southern Railway showpiece and symbol of pride. Southern's nearby Spencer Shops customized 1722 by painting it shining black enamel with gold pin striping, silver painted firebox, smoke box and stack with silver driver tires and driving rods. They also added brass handrails and a round brass front number plate. As a passenger station switcher working along side of the larger mainline shining green and gold PS-4 passenger engines 1722 was also afforded their same distinguished red cab roof, gold cab numbers, gold "Southern Serves the South" cab side logos and the name SOUTHERN painted in gold lettering on its tender's sides, rather than the standard large white engine numerals as was on the tenders of other Southern switch engines. Uncle Dan, 1722's day shift engineer for years, personally customized 1722's front with a brass eagle, brass candle sticks and a brass Masonic emblem. Uncle Dan lived near the Southern Railway passenger station where 1722 was domiciled with its own water tank as seen in Robert's painting Salisbury's the Place, and walked to work early and spent an hour before work time each day oiling, wiping and polishing "his" engine to perfection. The Goodson and Lake families have had a long history of closeness. In the early 1900s the Goodsons and Lakes reared their families as neighbors in Salisbury NC. (Hence the name Uncle Dan as Daddy knew him) The two older Goodson sons, Reid and White, grew up with Daddy as boyhood friends and they both followed their Dad and became Southern yard engineers also. I was working as a brakeman at Spencer Yard with White, the day you were born. Having been notified by the yard office, White called me up in the cab and said "Congratulations, you have a son."

I learned of Robert West having an Internet web site and started communicating with Atlanta Internet Marketing, the web site marketing company by e-mail. As mentioned earlier, I had for years wanted an original painting , by Robert West, of my times with Uncle Dan and 1722. With the possibility of my dream finally coming true, I pondered my age and with your knowing of the stories of my Uncle Dan and 1722 experiences, I proceeded in April 2000 to commission Robert West to do this original painting, not for me but for you as a family keepsake gift, for your 2000 birthday. I gave the web site my best 65 years ago description of 1722 by e-mail. Robert West is known for his research for technical detail in his illustrations . After 65 years, where and how Robert came up with the engine's exact details is a marvel to me as no color photos exist. It is all there. You cannot imagine my feelings as I viewed his first sketches which showed the cab logo. Later when the color photo of the nearly finished painting arrived, there was the red cab roof which, after 65 years, I had forgotten also. Furthermore, Robert had added a knowledgeable Cotton Mill Hill village with a company store, water tank and smokestack. While this is not an exact facsimile of the Salisbury Cotton Mill, ( most of these villages were located on hills with these appendages and is why they were called Cotton Mill Hills ), you will notice that Robert is not only fantastic in his technical detail but also conveys a sense of emotionalism and landscape realism as well . Robert's goal of personifying a special moment in time could not have been accomplished better. I know, I was there. I early on requested that Robert do the honor of naming this painting because it was he, in his heart and soul, who created it. The name he chose, Salisbury Memories couldn't be more appropriate. Atlanta Internet Marketing, Robert West's marketing company, requested permission to advertise Salisbury Memories with personal text in a soon to be added, commissioned painting page on Atlanta Internet Marketing's Robert West www.trainpaintings.com website. Considering his request as an honor, I granted this permission I would like for you to believe that as long as you own Salisbury Memories I will be with you in spirit . I hope that you enjoy owning this original painting as much as I enjoyed being one of its original subjects and then later acquiring it for you. As Lakes, we all owe a debt of gratitude to Robert West , Atlanta Internet Marketing, the Goodsons and the Southern Railway in its day.

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