For the past 30 years photographer Ted Benson has been documenting the beauty and travails of western railroads. From coal freighters in the Sierra Nevada to the final run of the California Zephyr, Benson and his camera have captured this history in dramatic black and white. One Track Mind: Photographic Essays on Western Railroading features 200 photographic reproductions spanning Benson’s career. The images are strikingly sharp, at once beautiful works of art and detached photojournalism. Benson has a knack for getting the big picture, like the isolated majesty of trains snaking through stark open spaces of mountains and deserts, then moving in close to observe such small details as dining room receipts in passenger compartments. His accompanying essays are as much personal impressions as histories of the railroad lines and employees themselves. With a sharp compositional line and a sense for loss and nostalgia, One Track Mind pulls off a nice trick, appealing to photo connoisseurs and lovers of American railroads alike.