I would like to clarify some assumptions that have been were made in Paul's
last post...These are for the whole list, not directed at any one person.
<So, it seems the status quo will be maintained until some fledgling author
<steps up and writes the needed material. Of course, they will need access
<to Society information to research their subject.
<Maybe the answer to the problem is for all the resources in the Society's
<archives be made available online or for copying/mailing similar to what
<the NMRA's Kalmbach Memorial Library does for their members.
While the BRHS Archives has been collecting material for several years, I
can personally vouch that the majority of information about the CB&Q is not
contained in the BRHS archives! It is still located at several
repositories, the Newberry Library, The DeGolyer Library, the Colorado
Railroad Museum, etc...and in PRIVATE collections. This is where a major
difficulty lies...some folks have the mentality that the person with the
most stuff, or has things that no one else has, wins...this is true in that
everyone else who is researching loses. There are many, however in the BRHS
who are openly willing to help, if you are doing "serious" research (with a
published article as a goal, either in the Bulletin, or any other
railroading medium - or a new model available for Q modelers), not just
trying to accumulate a collection.
The successful researcher will need to establish a network to be able to
locate the material needed for their Bulletin. Too many folks have recently
assumed that the BRHS Archives is a one-stop-shop for all of their
Burlington information needs. While that is an ULTIMATE goal...we are far
from its realization. The BRHSlist and the web site at
www.BurlingtonRoute.com moved the sharing of information leaps and bounds
over the mimeographed Zephyrs of the CB&Q Historical Society, but for it to
grow, it too will need more folks willing to help lift the increasingly
heavy yoke of authorship.
<Which kind of puts us back to where we started - lack of info available
regularly on wide areas
<of interest, ensuring the greatest ongoing satisfaction to the largest
<segment of members at any one time.
I too shared your frustrations when I started modeling the Q and started
seeking information. There was very little available, and what was
available cost a fortune because it was out of print. This is still the
case with Corbin's books! Anyway, this frustrations led me to joining the
BRHS to begin my search for the Q's holy grail...I soon discovered that the
information was most likely available, but you had to know where to look.
Yes, research takes effort, and if you've had the chance to see the three
Bulletins I've wrote, that is evident. This trilogy on the Burlington area
took over 10 years of research. I have more Bulletins in progress, but not
the time for completion...doggoned job keeps getting in the way!
In summary, please be careful in making assumptions about what is contained
in the BRHS archives. If you are doing "serious" research please make your
request known to the Archives, and I will do my best to locate and share
that information with you. Or, if you care to make a trip to St. Louis on a
weekend, I'll be more than happy to allow you to help peruse through two
filing cabinets and appx. 10 boxes. Please let me and others know your
expectations on delivery, especially if you have deadlines, because most of
us do this in our spare time (of which we have very little). Don't forget
the BRHSlist and the BRHS membership at large via the Zephyr. Some of my
best material has surfaced through a want ad in the Zephyr.
Stepping off the Archives soapbox,
Dave Lotz
BRHS VP of Archives
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