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Hello all,

I have recently gone through (and still am) my passed away Father In Laws railroad Collection.

He was a retired Railroader and I have found so many interesting things he owned.

He worked for Amtrack and Conrail for over 30 years. Retired from there actually. All of his stuff is so interesting.

But, I said all that to ask this question.

Who is Grif Teller? He is the artist who has his signature on this awesome portfolio I found in the things I am looking through.

Since he painted "Real Trains" I thought I would post this question here. I am adding the pictures that are in this album.

Can anyone tell me about him and these awesome real Train prints?

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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 

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

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.

 

 

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 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/

Last edited by jay jay

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.

Originally Posted by Rusty Traque:
Originally Posted by Hot Water:

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 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. 

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.

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! 

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