A Portfolio of Trains Pennsylvania Railroad by Grif Teller

Although I already know who Grif was, I simply did a Google search and found all kinds of info about him. Have you tried THAT?

Hi,

Thank you so much for your reply.

I thought I could count on the Train men here to give me more info. You all are much more than a bunch of statistics on here..you are educated and experienced so I hoped I could find some interesting facts here. But, I'll jump on there Hot Water and find out something bout him. Thank you for bringing that to my attention.

Mrs. Fran Ford 

The first one is my favorite right away, but I'm thinking 'On Time' would, in time, be number one.  More subtle and open to mystery... I like it a lot.  Grif got game!

Fran

I aslo  have a book by Fran Teller. Tiltled Cross Roads of Commerce. The PRR Calendar Art of Grif Teller. He basically painted the lion's share of all Pennsvania RR Calendars.

I lived near a neighbor/railfan who lined the cellar walls with his calendars.

I was always impressed with the collection and the next calendar  he would acquire.

Your father in law had good taste

Floyd

The equation is pretty much this: Grif Teller = PRR calendar

Simon

Ok! Wow The Pennsylvania RailRoad! Why is it I never hear anything about that Railroad?

Fran,

The Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad merged in 1968 to form the Penn Central.  Penn Central in turn became the core of Conrail in 1976.  Conrail was later partitioned between CSX and Norfolk Southern.  It is complicated.

ChipR

After the PRR calendars ran their course, Grif Teller also did paintings on commission. A customer described what the painting ought to portray; some customers supplied photographs. Mr. Teller painted a rough draft and discussed details. During a railfan show at The Railroad House in Marietta, someone brought a painting of a PRR M-1 4-8-2 heading a freight at McKees Rocks/Narrows near Columbia, PA (a few miles north of Marietta), on the route along the Susquehanna between Harrisburg and Harve de Grace, Maryland, where it meets the PRR main (now the Northeast Corridor).

The man who brought the painting told us that he had mentioned Grif Teller's name during a family gathering. A friend of his wife replied, "Oh, Uncle Grif."

"Uncle Grif?"

"Yes, he's my uncle. He does paintings for people." She got them in touch and the M-1 painting was the result.

Good grief!!!! Surly you jest!

wow! See this is the kind of awesome info I was hoping to get! I knew that the gentlemen here could offer what I was looking for. That's so awesome! Seems like this artist liked to keep things personal? Thank you ReadingFan!

Cant get that from "google" now can I? 

No, I don't think it's her.....

SZ

Steinzeit! Now that's funny! Thank you! 

as I said earlier, I have accepted a responsibility that I am neither educated in or experienced with. When my Father in Law died all his RR memorabilia (as he was a train man and a conductor with Conrail and Amtrack ) and his RR sets laid in his home for 7 years before I said yes to this job. I am only trying to be a good Stewart of his hobby! 

I will continue to ask questions and learn the things I need to know to accomplish this task! I am not a train enthusiast but am quickly becoming a Fan! 

" and don't call me Surly" haha

Fran,

I also have that portfolio, but don't know the history of it.  I haven't looked at it in some time, but thought it had more than four prints.  The best source of information might be The PRR Historical Society.

Fran, I have that portfolio, and I picked it up from a vendor at a local railroad memorabilia show back in the late 1980's.  As your photos indicate, it contains four prints; "On Time", "The Horseshoe Curve", "Crossroads of Commerce", and "Partners in Progress". I cannot find a publisher's mark on it, but the explanatory comments on the inside cover might have been written by someone in the marketing department at the Pennsylvania Railroad itself. However, they also might have been written by a historian or enthusiast, a member of the above-named historical society or otherwise. As stated, the railroad was merged into another entity, Penn Central, in 1968. However, my "gut" tells me this was a product of the railroad itself, for the benefit of its shippers and customers. As stated, the above-mentioned historical society would know. Here is its website: http://www.prrths.com/

Fran, here is a two-minute video you may find of interest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4S6dMAtEsE

John!

That video was just fabulous. I have been an art student for 3 years and he has never been mentioned! So impressive. Thank you for sharing that with me/us. 

I will visit the PRR site today. Thank you very much! 

Has your art instructor ever mentioned Howard Fogg, Gil Reed, John Bromley, Ben Dedek, or Harry Bockawitz (sp)?  All are/were great RR artists!

You can contact the PRRT&HS at http://www.prrths.com/ They can answer most all of your questions about the railroad and Griff. I have the same set of prints mounted and framed hanging in my train room. If you are interested in parting with any of the stuff they may also be able to help you there. They are a great organization with a vest wealth of knowledge on the Railroad Standard of the world.

Fran, There are actually several painters that were known for their railroad-themed art, Howard Fogg comes to mind. Teller's work is my favorite, the locomotives are full of motion and life (hardcore railfans actually believe steam locomotives have souls). Don't let our local curmudgeon get you down, he's a real softie...and a wealth of railroad knowledge.

You left out Ted Rose...

And John Winfield ain't no slouch either.  http://www.winfieldart.com/ 

Rusty

Thanks. I was "thinking Ted Rose", but it never made it to the two fingers that do the typing. 

Crossroads of Commerce...J1 operation on the Mid Div was extremely rare, but

it has been photo (actually movie) documented.

Fran,

  The B&O Railroad Museum , Pratt & Poppleton Streets, Baltimore (9 blocks west of Inner Harbor) probably has some information about Grif Teller (www.borail.org).

 Other than the PRR Technical & Historical Society, the main source of info about Mr. Teller is The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania at Strasburg (www.rrmuseumpa.org). The Pennsylvania Railroad's Northumberland Collection of historic locomotives and cars are displayed there.

Both museums can help you assess your Father-in-Law's memorabilia.

Please feel welcome to post more questions. We are happy to assist you.

At first glance, I thought something was amiss here...maybe not.  Pictures indeed can say a thousand words.

Huh? I'm sorry I don't understand what you mean Ron Blume, can you explain please. 

ReadingFan, I know exactly where the B&O Museum is. That area of the City was a part of my ole stomping grounds when I was younger. I grew up in Baltimore! I will certainly look into Grif there too. Other members JayJay, Gary and RJT suggested the PRRhistorical society and lo and behold they actually contacted me back! Im going to chk at the BO railRoad too! Thank you guys soooo much! 

Fran,

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania at Strasburg (www.rrmuseumpa.org) houses many (if not all) of Grif Teller's original paintings done for the Pennsylvania Railroad.  Several summers ago they had an exhibit.  It's on the top floor.

George