Turning a Hobby Into a Lifelong Legacy: How John M. Prophet III Lived with Steam

This video was shot in September of 2021 when I was asked by the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the NRHS to give a talk about John M. Prophet's life and how he came to be one of most widely regarded "railfans" during his lifetime. John was considered an expert on the Pennsylvania Railroad, often knowing more about the equipment and operations of the railroad than their company officers and employees did.
Through his photographs, movies and sound recordings of trains from the mid 1930s until the early 1970s, we learn about the history of John, his family, and the technology he used to create his incredible collection of archives.
To hear more of John's sound recordings, please listen to the Living with Steam podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

[@scottbowman9308]

As always, thanks for sharing this treasure and for your integrity of upholding your promise to John by sharing his legacy and gift to the people of Western New York.

[@rope5853]

holy smokes, what a legend! John M. Prophet III would have been very proud. Excellent Presentation

[@thetankcommander3838]

I felt like I was going to cry by the end of this video.

[@Clavichordist]

What an amazing and fascinating story. John really was a treasure to be cherished forever. There are some people that pass by us in our lifetime and there are those that touch us in some way. It's these latter people that we cherish forever and they're far and few between. Those photos, videos and recordings of John's are an invaluable part of American railroad history and I sure hope they are preserved in an archive. It's information such as this that disappears forever once it's gone. Your interest in railroads is similar to mine. I grew up across the street from a freight yard in the Bradford section of Haverhill, MA. During that time, my dad and I would watch the small switcher shunt the boxcars as the Budd Liner (RDC) trains passed by to stop at the station and then go on to either some place up north or back to Boston. Sometimes we took the train to Boston, and we used to ride Boston's PCC trolleys and various subways and ultimately, I cherished anything that rode on rails as I still do today. When I was very young, I noticed a correlation between power lines and railroad ROW whether extant or abandoned. Where I grew up there was what was once a fairly busy branch line that got pared down shorter initially due to a washout, and then became a shorter stub as the remaining industries closed and traffic moved to the roads. We would be out riding somewhere, and I remarked when I was much older of course, that we are following an old railroad grade. My dad disagreed and said it was only power lines. In the end I was right. Sure enough, the old power lines did in fact follow an old branch and today where trees are cleared the old trestles are visible. As time went on, I noticed too the angles and placement of certain buildings that led me to further investigations. Buildings at an angle or have an octagonal curve usually means there was once a branch line or maybe a trolley line that once traveled down that street. Nine times out of ten I'm correct. Using maps and photos, I can then trace the angled building back to a path between houses, which then travels back to a junction somewhere on another line, or today one of those horrible rail trails. That was only the beginning. In my teens and early twenties, I started collecting topographic maps and orthographic maps of various areas and I used to those to find places I could either bicycle to or drive later on to observe the area on the ground. Today, this is a lot easier to do with the internet and its various maps sources such as the invaluable National Geologic Society map server. Like you I had my collection of model railroads. I started with a small N-gauge Revelle Postage Stamp set my grandfather gave me one Christmas. I still have most of the collection today, the trains are intact, but other parts disappeared over time. My dad being an artist and graphics designer made some of my buildings and put kits together for me because I was about 7 or 8 at the time and too small to put the buildings together.

[@LivingwithSteam]

This is a great story. Thanks so much for sharing.

[@king40606]

This is fantastic, I would've loved to meet the man irl but sadly I'm too young, all of the steam is way past my time. Very glad photos and videos of that time are preserved through John and others!

[@SaturnMist09]

Thank you so much for keeping the memory alive. John ranks up there with the best of the best when it came to preserving northeast railroading in those golden years.

[@electrictractiontrainsandt3063]

Just now seeing this amazing documentary! One of the best out there, I am glad that I saw this. The Buffalo area definitely was a major railroad center for sure! 👍

[@LivingwithSteam]

Thanks for your kind words. To me, it's always fascinating when I realize how John's work actually helped to convey a part of Buffalo's history. Sure, his goal was to capture nothing but railroads, but whether he knew it or now (or liked it or not), he preserved a great deal of the industrial heritage that defined Buffalo as a major transportation and shipping center.

[@berthasitumorang9982]

Nice, thank you so much

[@PRR5406]

What a great story! Thank gosh these irreplaceable recordings are in good hands today. Thank you.

[@LivingwithSteam]

My pleasure. I'm so glad you took the time to sit through the entire video since there's a lot of ground to cover. John's story is really fascinating in that it includes so many different areas of life as it was during his time. In many ways, he was on the cusp of technology for the time; always trying to get that better photograph or recording.

[@Iowaclass65]

Yet, another fantastic video! Thanks for posting this, I need to re-join the WNY-NRHS soon!

[@MikeB0001]

Makes me wonder if John ever crossed paths with my Great Grandfather who worked for NYC for 46 years until he died in 1956 at the age of 63. 40 years as an engineer and the last 8 until his death on passenger lines. He lived in Niagara Falls until 2 years before he died when he lived in Buffalo. His brother and one of his sons were also engineers for NYC.

[@zabadakxanadu]

I've just stumbled on your clip and some others. I grew in Canastota NY and was fascinated with trains as a kid. This was in the late 50's-early 60's. I can vividly recall the various tracks that ran thru town. And often successfully coaxed my Dad to take me to the Minoa train yards on a weekend to watch the freights being assembled. We could see all the trains traveling on the NY Central from our living room window.

[@LivingwithSteam]

That's a memory I wish I had.

[@vvtdeb]

Nice job on the presentation! I felt like I was there. Do you know what ever happened to his video after his passing? Was it donated to PRRT&HS or is his collection still with his Family? Interested in furthering his interest-knowledge in and of Renovo, PA. He seemed to have an affection for that Railroad Town of old and I am curious if he did additional videos , pictures or sound recordings at that location?

[@LivingwithSteam]

Yep. They have the majority of his archives. They're safe.

[@kenmunozatmmrrailroad6853]

“I took the mattress apart and slept under the layout”… and I’ve got a 2500sq ft house wondering how can I manage a layout! That’s damn dedication and what real men are made of! I’m only 5 minutes into this and I imagine I’ll be editing this comment as more profound things are discovered 😅

[@kiwitrainguy]

When I went looking for a house to buy in 1980 I looked for 2 bedroom houses - one bedroom for me and the other was to be for my model train. Now my model train is in the loft and the spare room is where I have my computers.

[@berthasitumorang9982]

1:17:19 about cameras

[@king40606]

Also in the video you're saying you have some videos on Facebook, like the history of wire recording; if you could upload more of them here that would be fantastic! I think I speak for the younger generation when I say we don't really use Facebook as much as we do Twitter & KZbin, even Instagram.

[@LivingwithSteam]

Thanks for the comment. I'm in the process of tweaking the music score for the wire-recorder video. Believe it or not, KZbin caught a 1923 recording of a Paul Whiteman tune I used and wanted me to either remove the track, or mute it. Since the song is so old, it's in public domain... but YT's algorithm must have caught it being on a CD or something similar and they wanted to make me to monetize the video... which I absolutely refuse to do. I'll post it as soon as I can the new version completed.

[@wrakca6049]

We need to have lunch sometime an talk about some pictures I have an few story’s

[@LivingwithSteam]

Please tell me more.