Perhaps Tom will join us and explain why the image is framed this way. One possible explanation is that the lens he had wasn't wide enough and he had his back against some immovable object, like a wall or a fence. Even in that situation, I would probably avoid shooting broadside and step to the right to make it work. Not knowing a thing about the "rules" for roster shots, that's what I'd do. I've never liked the super-tight roster look that seems to be so popular here. Even if I am shooting a "here's a locomotive" shot, I want a little space. If it is coupled to something, I would cut off as much of the front-coupled machine as possible, but still leave a bit of the trailing unit.
This could also be a case of an image that wasn't level, or had something really distracting near the edge, and when the work was done to make it "fit" the RP mold, the cure was indeed worse than the disease. Hey, I can see it in the data base if it is extremely rare and this is all the documentation that exists of a machine that has long since become razor blades.
I am thinking that it was accepted because the RP Admins/Screeners trust Tom's judgment with regard to merit. I think they place similar trust in some other contributors as well. With regard to Jean-Marc's opinion about whether or not a similar image from a non-US source would have also been accepted, I don't think he is wrong. In the end, RP is a business and the folks who control the content have to make a call with regard to whether or not they think a given image will "sell" with a primarily US audience and primarily US advertisers. Unfortunately, business decisions virtually always make someone angry. After 40 years seeing business up close and personal, it's just become a fact of life from my perspective.
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