JJYoung,Jr

John J. Young, Jr.
(formerly of Binghamton)
of Charleston, West Virginia

JJ Young, Jr. passed away quietly at his home in Charleston, West Virginia, on Saturday, November 27th, 2004, at the age of 75. Born in Wheeling, W.Va., May 23, 1929, he worked for Wheeling Mold & Foundry and the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad. He moved to Binghamton in 1959 and worked for Stickley Sivers Photo, he later took a job at Broome Technical Community College in the audio-visual department. He had a knack with the students and was the student advisor for the BCC Student Government. He also started a camera club on campus to teach students the finer qualities of photography; this later lead to the creation of the photography classes he became an instructor for, and are now part of Broome Community College's Communications Curriculum. He retired from the College in 1995 and returned to West Virginia to enjoy retirement. His parents, John and Margurite Young predeceased him; his wife, Elizabeth, survives him. He has also left behind his five children and their spouses, John and Susan Young, Cheryl and Curt Miller, Tom Young and their mother, Doris, Paul Davis and Diane Davis; as well as his grandchildren, Christina Martinkovic, Kyle and Alexis Miller, Tommy and Charise Young, Kyle Davis and Gaibrial Doamekpor; as well as several great-grandchildren. One brother and his wife, Ed and Virginia Young; two sisters and their husbands, Mary and Pat Pizolla and Elizabeth and Lawrence Megan, also survive him; as well as several nieces and nephews. His many friends around the world that he has met throughout his travels will sorely miss him. He was a thespian and was well know for his portrayal as the prospector for WBNG-TV's gold rush commercial in the Binghamton area; also enjoying the role of "Teddy Roosevelt" in Arsenic and Old Lace for BCC Theater; as well as other many other characters through out his years at BCC. The greatest loss is to not only the rail fan community but the industry too. He was considered to be one of the world's greatest rail photographers, with many of his photos being published in books and magazines around the world. His ability to capture and bring life to a still black and white photograph had many people asking questions, by which he was always willing to teach others technique and composition. He was a great storyteller and had a way to hold one's attention. His memory was unsurpassed by anyone today, he remembered every story and photo he had ever taken and because of this he has been recognized for his assistance in recreating history in both photo and facts. He was honored by the former Governor Underwood of West Virginia as to being a state hero for his documentation of West Virginia's railroad history in and around the Wheeling area, his photos and stories are on permanent display at the old B&O station in Wheeling, which is now part of W. Va. Northern Community College. His caring and understanding of others made him who he was. He will be remembered for all of his contributions - not only to the rail community and museums, but the people's lives he touched through his short stay with us. Visitation will be held Wednesday, from 3 to 6 p.m. at Barlow-Bonsall Funeral Home, 1118 Virginia Street, East, Charleston, W. Va., the prayer service will follow at 5:45 p.m. As per his wishes, his ashes will be spread along the wye at St. Albans. Cards of sympathy may be sent to the family in care of the funeral home. Barlow-Bonsall Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Railroad Photographer J.J. Young Capturing Steam
By Bob Withers Photograph by J.J. Young

Down 14th Street, up Eoff Street, through the Yellow Cab lot to Chapline Street, past the post office, over 10th Street, and across Main Street. Pedestrians, stand aside! A young man is tearing through downtown Wheeling, camera dangling from his neck, swinging wildly from side to side. What could provoke this mad dash through midday traffic? This risk to life and limb?

A Baltimore & Ohio locomotive steams through McMechan, Marshall County, in the summer of 1957. Why, a train whistle, of course. And not just any train whistle. A "hooter" - a low, mournful tone unique to the grandest Baltimore & Ohio steam locomotive of them all, the mighty EM-1. These articulateds - massive, roller-bearing war babies - were among the largest railroad engines ever made.

A long, heavy coal train - in local parlance, a "humper" - has just departed B&O's nearby Benwood yard for a Lake Erie dock, and the "one long and three shorts" has notified the man with the camera that the engineer has "whistled out the flag" so that he can take water at Bridgeport, just across the river in Ohio. That provides the man with a chance to do a little humping of his own, catch up with the train, and take a picture of it.

Listen. Another blast. Two longs, a short, and a long. He's whistling for Lincoln Avenue. The engine crew has slaked the iron horse's ravenous thirst and is ready to get back on their train.

"Got to keep moving," the man puffs to himself as he reaches the Suspension Bridge to Wheeling Island. The marathon already has extended for more than two miles; now it's only a couple more blocks. Finally, he reaches a friend's house. A friend with a car - an "ancient, old wreck" of a red Chevy convertible, cranked up and ready to go. These pals don't waste time with telephones; when a hooter calls, they head out. The result is always the same - a fun day of chasing trains and capturing dozens of priceless, nostalgic images.

Meet J.J. Young, Jr., a 72-year-old Wheeling native whose best friends from the start have always been steam locomotives and the trains they pulled. The race that he and fellow railfan Jack Norton ran across Wheeling back in the mid-'50's is long passed. But, since Young taught himself how to handle cameras at an early age, his thousands of stunning images resurrect for 21st century eyes the symmetrical dances of these fire-breathing, smoke-belching beasts, far beyond their fatal appointments with the scrap yard.

[You can read the rest of this article in the Summer 2001 issue of Goldenseal, available in bookstores, libraries or direct from Goldenseal. http://www.wvculture.org/goldenseal/index.html]

The following are notes and messages received from friends.
Their thoughts reflect the many friends that John had touched.

May he rest in peace.

From Carl Sterzing:

Roger-Your previous msgs indicated things were going downhill, so it comes as no surprise but it's still a jolt when you hear the other shoe drop. While I didn't know JJ Young well and never met his family, I'm familiar with his reputation as one of the classic rail photographers. Marv Davis fondly referred to him as "Flashbulb Young", as you may remember. Riding with Marv on the head end thru the B'ton area, Marv would sing out, "There's Flashbulb Young", as we passed one of his favorite photo locations. I would then get a quick glimpse and we'd exchange waves as we rolled by. I'm also aware of his rail service on the original W&LE and think I still have an article he wrote about optns in the coal fields around Pine Valley. He certainly knew railroading, even tho I guess most of his career was in higher education. If there's any memorial recipient designated by the family, would appreciate your passing along the name address. Thanks. cbs

From Jay Potter, WV:

I'm grateful that I've been included on the e-mail list that several of you have used to share their thoughts about John. Although I recognize a few of your names, many are unfamiliar to me. I presume that most of you knew John primarily from his years in Binghamton and perhaps had not seen him recently.

I wanted to let you know that, although John was very ill for an extended period of time, he remained to the end unchanged in many respects from the way he would have been when you last saw him. During the past year or so, various state agencies became increasingly aware of the historical significance of John's photography within West Virginia; and he was meeting with some of them as recently as early this month to make plans for that work to be displayed. His eyesight, like his personality, never changed. When we would sit on his front porch and I would hold one of his locomotive negatives up to the light, he could glance at the negative from six feet away and tell me the class of the locomotive. And his memory remained fresh enough that he could always describe to me the circumstances under which he took the photograph and could usually even recall the names of any railroaders shown in it.

My last visit with John was on November 24th. Liz had kept me informed about the deterioration of his health; and I was apprehensive about what his condition would be when I arrived. However when I walked into his room, he immediately commented that he liked the CSXT jacket I was wearing but might have preferred a B&O one. We talked about several matters; and, when I left, his handshake was as firm as ever.

I suspect that everyone who knew John drew something from him. What I drew was, more than anything, a sense of comfort. Constant changes make me uneasy; and we seem increasingly to live in a world of constant change. The best antidote to this change-induced uneasiness that I ever found was time with John; and this was as true last week as it had ever been.

From Bob Pastorkey, Binghamton, NY:

I received information today that JJ Young Jr. passed away at his home in Charleston, WVA after a long illness. All details are not yet fully known, but word is he had intestinal problems. Funeral arrangements are in process and JJ will rest in peace in his native WVA homeland. Please pass this information on to those you know who knew JJ. Those wishing to send Sympathy Condolences can send them to his family at: John & Sue Young Jr. III. 140 Crary Ave., Binghamton, NY 13905

second letter from Bob Pastorkey:

Hi Tom,

I saw your website for JJ and was very pleased to see a nice tribute like this for him.. JJ was a good person, well liked, a great story teller, and rated one of the top rail photographer's in the world....and he will be missed but never forgotten.

I sent out a e-mail the other day of a photo I took of JJ at our SVRHS June 1995 meeting held just a few days before he moved to WVA. The "Farewell to JJ" meeting was held at his old stomping grounds at the Lackawanna Binghamton station to honor JJ for his railroad historical contribution to the community and for being instrumental in starting our Chapter and being our Chapter's first president. In part of Farewell, the Chapter dedicated the sign he's holding for the name he so well coined for the Binghamton QD area "Malfunction Junction".

Below is part of the e-mail that goes with the attached photo:

Looking back over the photo we took at JJ's Farewell get together, I now see there's a lot of meaning in this shot....

**the photo was taken at the station in which JJ spent many a day and night recording on film a era now gone
**the station area where JJ and his fellow rail friends always gathered before going out and chasing trains....and this is most likely where the idea came about starting the SVRHS Chapter.
**JJ's on the rear of a caboose---Erie Lackawanna - a era he lived and photographed
**Note the jacket JJ's wearing. This was his favorite
**Lastly, the sign JJ's holding tells it all about railfanning Binghamton (and the photo was taken at Malfunction Junction). This area was appropriately coined Malfunction Junction by JJ many years ago and the name still stands today.

Thanks, Bob

Sorry to hear of JJ's passing. We've lost a good friend, great photographer, and one of the more interesting individuals to grace this hobby. I will miss his stories-he did have some good ones, everything from how he missed Thanksgiving dinner because he got riding B&O trains out of Wheeling (cab ride, on steam-he knew all the engineers) and somehow wound up somewhere in the backwoods of PA, to the best tales of his beloved "Malfunction Junction". What I'll remember most about JJ was his "bat barf" hats. He usually wore these all cotton welder's hats, but he always found them in color combinations that were not known in nature, usually a mash of a half dozen colors that looked like the result of an explosion in a Sherwin Williams store. The image I have in my mind is seeing him standing along the ex Erie across from the NYSW engine house in mid August, jeans, no shirt, bat barf hat, waiting for the D&H to send an Alco powered train west: "Here, train, here, train...".

Somewhere in the great beyond, JJ is riding the cab of a 2-6-6-6, talking the engineer into letting him fire it for a while. Ride on, John!!!

From Sam Botts, Garretson, SD:

I have some very sad news to pass along, this morning I was informed railfan photographer (and friend) JJ Young, Jr. passed away at his home in Charleston, WV. JJ spent the good part of his life in the Binghamton area, and extensively documented the ever changing railroad scenes of the region. While several photographers have been recognized for their "significant" contributions to documenting railroad history photographically, JJ never received, what I felt was his just deserved recognition. I believe whole heartedly his work rivaled the BEST and most noted photographers. Maybe now he will get his deserved recognition (along side Steinheimer, Benson, Shaughnessey, Wood, etc). JJ's name was frequently in print, but those who knew him and saw the stuff that was not submitted for publishing know just the kind of photographer he was (he spent a lot of years teaching it at Broome Community College). John was a great story teller, in fact probably the best I've ever listened to. He had a way to say things, be it in person or in printed words, that few can with such effectiveness. It is truly a tragedy that these stories are now lost forever. One of my favorite pieces John wrote was on the finale to D&H's famed Penn Division, which appeared in the March 1986 Railpace. His writing style and story telling were hard to match, let alone equal. It is a truly sad day for the railfan community as we have lost a true legend and a very dear friend.

This is a very, very sad day for me. My Grandfather and I met JJ, down at the Binghamton, N.Y. D.L.& W. RR station in 1958. At that time I was only 12 years old, but Youngie and I became very close friends. He took me under his wing and became my teacher in photograph and

railroading in general. We spent thousands of hours together in and around the Chenango Street viaduct in Binghamton. When I got my first car, we would go everywhere chasing trains. I would drive and he would be the navigator. JJ, was one of a kind, never afraid to speak his mind. He did love the Malfunction Jct (Binghamton) area as he called it. But his true love and true home was always Wheeling, W.Va., or for that matter any place in W.Va. I have many fine memories and adventures with Youngie, that will live in my heart forever.

JJ, thank you for everything and may you rest in peace. If there is a heaven, then I know that there will be trains and you will be track side with your brown paper bag, camera bag and that old railroad hat on. GOD BLESS YOU JJ!!!!!!!!!!

Attached is a photo taken on one of those great trips with Youngie, in 1961on a Reading RR double-header fan trip. [LT to RT: Clarence Tharp, Dick Allen, Wade Rendle, William S. Young, & J.J. Young, Jr.]

From Charlie 'Fig' Newton:

February 2001- He was still taking photos and still feeling well. It was great to visit with John and Liz...he was happy as a clam chasing and photographing trains in those 'hollers' of West Virginia. 'Youngie' as we often called him was a real character and I always enjoyed his polite jabs such as 'I don't want to be nasty but I photographed triple headed steam engines on this curve in the 1940's'. I struggled to comprehend those moments. I remember three 'Youngisms' in particular....'You don't need a light meter'....'Railroaders are the most human of all people'.... and 'If you think you're having a bad day, I looked in the mirror this morning and it was all up hill from there'. So true John. You were not perfect, God knows, but you were my friend and I learned a thing or two from you about photography, life and people. I am sorry John you had to suffer so much the last year or so. May the Lord hold you in the palm of his hand. May God take care of Liz, Cheryl, JJY3, all the grand kids and your friends.

All of the words above are "just" words. They all knew John and he befriended all of them.
While each of us attempt to put our feelings into words, it's difficult to say what
and who John was to so many of us. I think Tom Beckett said it best -
"Ride on John"!!

I met John on a sunny day in Binghamton. I was 19 years old at the time and had a 35mm rangefinder camera in my hands. Was I a railfan? Yes and no. I didn't know another railfan in the world. I was just a young kid that liked model trains and had taken up watching real trains after reading TRAINS magazine. An eastbound came into view and pulled up to QD yard office to change crews. The train had three or four EL E8's for power. I marveled at the units and would have simply gone home after taking my "close-up", roster shot of the lead unit. But, before that train could depart, racing up that old brick road came a shiny new Pontiac Grand Prix and a couple real railfans.

These guys were pros, expensive cameras, camera bags, long lenses and more. One particular guy had this huge camera with double lens, engineer's hat, no shirt, and loud, booming voice. He was definitely the guy in charge.

The next few minutes changed my life forever as I met both John Young and Roger Pugh alongside those E-units. Immediately they became friends, asking me what I was doing next. Soon I was in the back seat of that Pontiac Grand Prix and we were on our way to Gulf Summit. I'd never been there. My first train chase; Red Rock Curve, Susquehanna Depot, F-unit pushers, STARRUCCA VIADUCT, and on over the hill to Schoolhouse Crossing and finally Gulf Summit. Railfanning was now in my blood, forever.

I have those shots somewhere. They're not the best shots I ever took but I'm still proud of them and the friends I met on that day. John knew everyone and was everyone's friend. He was the most mobile railfan I knew, even though to the best of my knowledge he never drove a car. Why drive, he had friends? He would have made a terrible driver though, while seated next to you in traffic as that train was rolling by, he could cuss and growl with the best of 'em. "They're out for a Sunday drive and had to start on Friday to get there on time." His favorite was "they're out for a walk and took their #%^& car with them". Chasing with John was not just good times, but great times.

Others have indicated he was a truly great photographer, using early cameras and films to record views that are envied in our modern day of digital images and ultra-fast film. I'm not sure anyone said what he did best. He was a Master Darkroom Technician. He could massage a perfect print from the worst and thinnest of negatives. Even today, there are few that would be his equal.

One of my best memories of John came at Broome Tech. There I was, bored in whatever class I was taking when there was a knock at the door and the instructor opened it to find JJ, camera in hand. After a few quiet words, the instructor pointed to me and said that I was needed

over at the administration building. Yeah! Right!

Gone - we were gone, cameras in hand. Eastbound with BN power. Best day ever in school.

Years later, I realized that I "knew" of John long before I ever met him. And should have found some time to have thanked him. As I said, I was a skinny kid reading TRAINS magazine and developing into a railfan without knowing others. Back in high school, reading the magazine, I found an excellent photograph of brand new EMD SD45 demonstrators passing by a Lehigh Valley Baldwin, at someplace called Sayre, PA. With just the right amount of whining I got my Dad to take us there

on a family Sunday outing. There I was, on that foot bridge, watching the Lehigh Valley, Baldwin switchers AND Lehigh Valley roadswitcher #200, my favorite locomotive of all time. That photograph of the GM units? . . by JJ Young, Jr. Thank you John, for sharing your views with us. They opened our eyes, they led us to new places, and they gave us great memories.

The views may not be as good as modern day images but my old range-finder shots of the LV remain close to my heart.

The years pass and John moved back to WV, leaving Malfunction Junction to the rest of us. He left with the mixed emotions of a boy finally going home but also leaving so many friends behind. Whenever I hear "Almost Heaven, West Virginia", I think of him and always will.

Thanks John, we'll take care of Malfunction Junction for you, always. As Tom Beckett said, "Ride on, John".