Welcome to the RRPictureArchives.NET contributor site of Ronald E Estes.
Hello everyone, I am Ron Estes and I currently live in
Stroud, Oklahoma. I was born in Pawnee, Oklahoma,
son of William “Bill” Estes (b 1926 - d 2022) and
Margie R (Drumm) Estes (b 1929 - d 2003).
My father was a WWII Merchant Marine veteran and
retried from the Santa Fe Railway in 1989. In 1947 he
began his railroad career with the Union Pacific in Hays,
Kansas. He then went to work for the Santa Fe Railway
in 1948 as a depot agent/control clerk (1948-1989).
I grew up in northwest Oklahoma in the small town of
Cherokee (1962 – 1976) and then we moved to Enid, OK
in 1976 (1976-1980).
Upon graduation from Enid High I moved in with my brother
David in Oklahoma City, who also worked for the Santa Fe
Railway, he retired February 2020 after nearly 43 years of
service (1977-2020) with ATSF/BNSF.
My oldest brother Charles (b 1949 - d 2021) retired from
the Santa Fe Railway as a Foreman for the Steel
Bridge & Building (1972-1995).
My interest in trains started at a very young age, as
I would spend many hours at the Cherokee depot.
There I met many train crews and watched as my
father would send and receive messages via the
telegraph. I rode many trains with the crews during those
years.
During the summer I would ride my bike to the depot
taking my father lunch. Wheat harvest was my favorite
time as many trains would come through until late at night
around midnight.
It was the summer of 1973 and my father had to go to
Burlington Oklahoma to give a southbound grain train their
train orders to proceed. The engineer asked me if I would
like to climb aboard and run the train. I said yes, and so
began the journey from Burlington OK to Cherokee OK
and this was one of many fond memories of my days in
Cherokee. When we moved to Enid, Joe Chandler asked me
if I would like to do some yard switching with the crew
and that was in the fall of 1977 on a Sunday afternoon.
I spent 8 hours with the crew switching in the Enid yard at 10th
and Cherry streets.
I started photographing trains in 1969, however not very many
and then in 1982 I began taking more photographs of trains.
In 2011 I bought my first Nikon digital 35mm camera and the
sky to my photography had no limits. I now average
2,000 photo's per month.
If you are out and about in the Edmond/Oklahoma City area or
Stroud as I moved from Edmond to Stroud Jan 2022, you may
run into me. if you wish to contact me when in the area my cell
number is 405-513-0629. I work 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM
M-Th & Fri 7:30 AM - 11:30 AM and sometimes spend my lunch
hour by the railroad tracks.
On weekends I drive to many locations throughout Oklahoma
photographing anything and everything and driving a Hyundai
Tucson graphite gray.
Many of my photo's can be found here and on Facebook
www.facebook.com/ronald.eugene.estes or www.facebook.co...
I also do video while taking pictures and videos can be found on youtube www.youtube.com/user/railimages1/featured?disable_polymer=1
Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/people/ronald_e_estes_photography/
Facebook Group - Mid America Rails - www.facebook.com/groups/488481825083171
You may browse my collection of pictures via the menu located on the left hand side of the page. I hope you enjoy the collection and thanks for stopping by!