Guest Post - Dufour's Memories

In May 1863, Mr.  Jules Ignace Mantel Dufour, an executive from the B&M Railroad visited the Aquia Line. He was on a weeks long tour of railroads on the east coast to see how the war was affecting them. It is curious that an executive from the B&M would visit Herman Haupt's railroad, as Haupt was currently engaged in a legal and financial fight with the B&M over the Hoosac Tunnel (It was actually the B&A, but work with me on this.)  Nonetheless, the visit was cordial and Mr J.I.M. Dufour actually picked up the tab for the dining out.  Mr Dufour brought a photographer with him, who took several wet plate images of the USMRR railroad. Alas the images were presumed lost.

Last month,  Jim Dufour, a descendant of J.I.M. Dufour, found the wet plate negatives in a chest in the family's barn. It's no coincidence that Jim Dufour is a B&M Modeler and also did a tour of east coast model railroads in 2019, including the Aquia Line. So Jim sent me copies of the images he found, after he expertly colorized them.

These rare images show the section of the Aquia Line that is currently under re-construction. They are photographic artifacts of what is now "history."

Jim also sent a copy of a video clip that he made of his own layout. The cinematography section of the USMRR Construction Corps did a little image enhancement work on the video as a proof of principle. You can see the before and after video below.