Locomotive on Mexican-Vera Cruz Ry” by C. B. Waite is part of the Mexico- Photographs, Manuscripts, and Imprints and portrays a sense of achievement and moving forward with the introduction of the railroad. The photograph’s main focus point is the locomotive but it seems as if in reality it is the three men that are standing in the center proudly showing the possibly completion of the railroad. So, even though the name states “Mountain Locomotive” the actual mountains in the background are very hard to see, also the photograph was taken possibly from a short distance making the machine look bigger and more prominent, thus reducing the appearance of the mountains. This photograph was taken in 1904, possibly explaining why the locomotive is not very luxurious, if at all. The three men standing in the middle attract a lot of attention towards the center and their poses seem to be as if they are proud of what they are doing. There does not seem to be much movement going on in the picture, making it look as if it was the end of the day and work was over. What deductions could be made from looking at the picture? One might be that the railroads were introduced not too long ago from the time the photograph was taken. Another deduction that could be made is that the three men photographed seem to have an important role in what goes on with the decisions of the railroad because it seems as if it is the driver that is on top and two well-dressed men are on the ground. On the other hand, questions that might arise are: were the mountains on the background purposefully blurred so that the locomotive could look more impressive and not be overshadowed by them? Also, what type of cargo did the railroad transported, was it mainly for transporting goods, passengers or both?

http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/mex/id/679/rec/ “Mountain