One good way to promote a 'fallen flag' is by giving someone (or a
local RR museum) a Burlington calendar. One reason D&RGW is still
remembered is that there are always calendars (all that 3' ng doesn't
hurt) but we can do our share by promoting OUR calendars!
Since many on this list are not BRHS mbrs or have not yet bought the
2007 MP206 calendar, I thought I'd share my 'review' of both for what
its worth (as Will Rogers once said, 'free advice is worth what you
pay for it!')
The BRHS 2007 is quite a bit different than most RR calendars in that
it features art work (annual calendar illustrations) rather than
photos. That said, most Q calendars from the 30's to 1966 (last yr
issued) featured trains and some were from photos as well as from an
artist's imagination. The BRHS calendar has 13 full color repros, all
with good color registry (comparing them to the actual wall calendars
I own). A couple of the original calendar tops were unretouched
photos while others were heavily airbrushed and/or with trains that
were transposed unto a different backdrop than where they were
photographed. The calendar is a good mix of a couple of "40's art
deco versions featuring Shovelnoses & later photos of Zephyrs amd
freights pulled by F's, SD24's or GP35's. The only steam is the cover
shot with the familiar artist's view of 3 side-by-side trains led by a
Northern, E's and FT's. If you do not own a lot of Burlington
calendars & are NOT a BRHS member, buying this calendar is a very
inexpensive way to get 13 somewhat shrunken (10&1/4" x 8&1/4" vs the
original of 12" x 20") but accurate calendar tops.
The MP206 "07 follows previous years' tradition of a mix of heretofore
unpublished b/w and color photos in a slightly larger 8&1/2" x 11"
format also with 13 views (the cover is repeated but Jan 2008 is added
to come up with the 13). They are a mix of 6 steam, 6 diesel and one
waycar with 8 in color & 5 b/w. There are also 2 C&S in the mix.
Dates go back to WWI with a 4-4-2 on a turntable decked out for Bond
Sales but the photo of the year, in my estimation, from ANY RR
calendar is the photo of a steam crane erecting a signal bridge in the
30's. As we know, rail photographers, whether amateur or pro, tend to
focus (no pun intended) on locomotives. To see a Maintenance of Way
view like this is "wow"! especially with its 6 MoW train in the
beautifully framed photo. From a purely biased viewpoint (being a big
fan of the LaCrosse Div)I also enjoyed the "62 color view of 5632 at
the now demolished DeSoto, Wis CB&N depot. Probably the "pure CB&Q in
a nutshell award" goes to Lou Schmitz' color view of a Mike leading a
2 car train across rural Colorado and the artsy-craftsy award to a
Henry Halinski photo of an FT & F-3 @ the Zephyr pit in "64. What
also sets many of the photos apart is the photographers' eye for
detail - a Q train shot is enhanced when the location also takes in
one the Burlington's unique cast conrete whistle posts on the ROW.
With every Q book ever published in my library, it amazes me how many
unique views of the Burlington are still hidden - finding these 13 is
very well worth $14.95 ($1.15 per print!).
Happy New Year and thank goodness we have 2 totally different
calendars for a RR gone 37 years this spring. Gerald
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