Read time: 5 min.

Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday of mine, but I’ve celebrated it differently since I was a kid. These days, elaborate feasts with extended family have given way to more intimate gatherings. In contrast to previous years, I’ve got little on my plate today. That makes it perfect for a new edition of Railcar Spotting^TM.

This is my fourth installment of Railcar Spotting, and the gist is simple: I take photos of graffiti adorning the covered hopper cars my factory receives. The yard at work features three spurs extending off the old Big Four Michigan Branch that runs from Louisville to Goshen. If everything’s in place, we get new cars twice a week.

I walk past the first row of railcars on the way to my office. Sometimes, the art is striking! Unfortunately, the closest cars are partially obscured by a fence. I only took photos of those easy ones at first, but I’ve ventured out to our other two tracks over the past few months. I’ve run across some gems.

I’ve taken photos of fifty-some railcars since May. I’ve featured thirty-three of them here, all glyphs I consider to be the best of the best. After all, I think graffiti exists on a spectrum that ranges from pure vandalism to highly-artistic work. I lack the education to judge the pieces I’ve featured from an academic perspective, but I’m certainly qualified to enjoy it.

I’ve appreciated it in several ways: there’s the aesthetic component, for sure, but new art means new railcars. That means business is booming! I was grateful to join this company just over a year ago, and I’m thankful for my current role as the production planner for the company’s North American operation.

I’m also glad that our factory is the only one in my employer’s portfolio capable of receiving raw materials by rail. The regular arrival of important ingredients helps me professionally, but I’m sad to say I don’t have any way of ensuring that the cars they come in are interesting. Believe me, I’ve tried.

We still get a good variety, but the railcars we received in the first half of November didn’t feature much in the way of exciting graffiti. Thankfully, a new shipment came in on Tuesday just as I was leaving. I stuck around for a while, then ducked around the fence to take some more photos. I found the vibrant blue of the car above particularly striking.

The next car was partially hidden by our unloading equipment, but its transition from black to what I’ll call “electric purple” was mesmerizing. I wish I knew what it says. I haven’t looked into the meaning of the art I’ve featured in this series, and kind of wish I had.

On the other hand, I’m glad I haven’t. Who knows what these pieces represent! They add color to my day and fodder for this blog, but I don’t know anything about graffiti or the artists who paint it. I’ve taken pains not to share art that’s downright offensive, but I’ve got to chalk it up as an honest mistake if I missed something.

Street art has gained more acceptance in the mainstream art world in recent days. I’ve long been a fan of it, but I haven’t been able to determine which elements draw me to appreciate one display over another. Tags like the GIGA art below look simple, but they often feature elements a quick glance misses out on, like the silhouettes in the letters, the shading, and other artists’ random comments in the margins.

I’ve always preferred a “bold will hold” aesthetic as far as tattoos are concerned, and those impulses might be part of what draws me towards graffiti. From railcars to Ritz crackers, blank canvases filled in by aerosol are almost always loud and unnatural. Audacious art always stands out, and that’s what captures my interest. So far, the $20,000 dollar work below wins the trophy for most acreage covered. It’s the biggest and boldest piece I’ve seen at work so far!

I predicted a dearth of railcars for the past couple months, but I’m grateful for these new arrivals this Thanksgiving. I expect our flow of cars to slow down in December, but I’ll keep an eye on the yard. I can’t wait to see what comes in as we round out the year.