Between image and symbolic vehicle

revisiting the photographic albums of Portuguese railways of late 19th and early 20th centuries

Abstract

From the second half of the 19^th century, two technologies were implemented in Portugal: photography and railways. In this article, I analyze the interactions between them in eight photographic albums portraying the construction, operation, and various aspects of Portuguese railways built between 1872 and 1914: Minho, Douro, Beira Alta (two albums), Tua, Salamanca to the Portuguese border, North (construction of the Maria Pia bridge) and Vouga. Starting from the bibliography on railway photography, I revisit some of its conclusions and add reflections on photography as an instrument of territorial appropriation and creation of landscapes, as well as on its material dimension, as a vehicle that transports representations and places. I contribute to the debate on the use of photography as a primary source (and not just as an illustrative accessory) and to a call for greater use of this source in historiographical analysis, especially in the field of transport history.