I swung by the rail yard about halfway through the month to check out what new art had shown up on the cars we received. I never know what I’ll find! Sometimes it’s just quick tags, while other days feature full-blown murals riding the rails. Either way, it’s always fun to explore and see what’s come through. Welcome to the twenty-first edition of railcar spotting!
I know I sound like a broken record every time railcar spotting rolls around, but I’m the production planner at a plastics factory. It’s one of the biggest of our company’s thirteen plants worldwide, and we’re the only one that gets materials delivered by rail. Every now and then, the cars show up with a little extra flair. This blocky “ICH” piece isn’t really one of them, but it’s worth sharing nonetheless. As it turns out, “ICH” is close to the sound I made when I saw its rusty hues.
April’s haul was a mix of quick-and-dirty throwups like ICH and massive carwide art that stretched thirty or forty feet. I couldn’t even begin to decipher this jagged tag, but its colors really popped. The combination of blue and gold instantly took me back to my high school days as a Burris Owl. It makes me wonder… could one of my reprobate classmates have left their mark on this car? Maybe so!
I think this crude, drippy piece says “CROOKS,” but honestly, who knows? I say this every time I hit the railyard, but I’m no graffiti expert. I’m not here to decode or translate what I spy, but I enjoy documenting the pieces that catch my eye. I try to channel my inner Potter Stewart whenever I head outside- I might not always know exactly what I’m looking at, but I know what’s interesting when I see it.
It’s fun to think about how much art has rolled through our yard over the three years I’ve worked here. Sometimes, I feel sure I’ve seen it all! Some graffiti tells a story, while others just leave me wondering. Enormous groups of tags that take up an entire car are some of the best: I thought about capturing each of these tags on their own, but honestly, they looked better as a set. They’re loud, chaotic, and sort of perfect together.
On most days, I catch a mix of graffiti as I walk past the yard on my way to the production office. The view is usually hit-or-miss since the closest cars are tucked behind a chain-link fence. Fortunately, this piece, which I think says “DUKE,” stood out from the crowd. It’s not as bold or sprawling as some of the car-wide tags I’ve featured this month, but something about it still grabbed my attention.
The second-to-last tag I snapped this month was a dual piece, where both sections were painted in varying shades of blue. It had an impressive size and presence as it stretched across the side of the car like it meant business! Still, as far as variety goes, April ended up being a bit underwhelming on the railcar spotting front.
At least it was until the last minute! My friend Dylan and I were out at the railyard last week closing up cars when we saw this enormous masterpiece. My iPhone camera couldn’t zoom back far enough to capture the entire railcar without hopping over our pipes, but Dylan’s Android could. Here’s “PENG” in all its glory, complete with a mustachioed gangster. Not every month can be a showstopper, but this one certainly was! The cars are always moving. Hopefully, May will include some bold new art worth chasing.
I suppose we are well past the point where we can assume that all graffiti artists are native English speakers. Isn’t “Ich” a German word?
And the “crooks” letters look uncomfortably swollen, like they need an ice bag.
You were back on my Reader feed this morning, so whatever you did or didn’t do worked!
Yesterday I wasn’t even in my own reader feed! Not sure what happened there.