CBQ List,
If you want to see an "embarrassment" of an archives, come to my house to
view those of the Wabash Railroad Historical Society. The entire holdings
fit very comfortably in about an 8'x10' area on shelving units only 4
shelves tall. Virtually everything we use to print in our publications, is
from private collections. But that's enough about our problems.
When I lived in Fort Worth, Tx, I had occasion to go to the Degolyer Library
on the SMU campus in Dallas several times. I was told (by library staff)
that they have what amounts to about 2 semi trailer loads of CB&Q records.
At the time, no one had stepped forward to catalog them, so they did not
know exactly what they had. Therefore, they weren't accessible......but at
least they exist.
gary roe
president
WRHS
quincy, illinois
-----Original Message-----
From: CBQ@yahoogroups.com [mailto:CBQ@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Gerald &
Virginia Edgar
Sent: Friday, October 08, 2010 6:36 AM
To: cbq@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [CBQ] RE: Strauss books
i agree our Society holdings are sketchy at best but more importantly not
accessible. But did Strauss contact Holck, Spoor, Wagner, Douda, you, me or
anyone else active in BRHS that might have pics, data etc not to mention the
ret'd Emps (not sure if BNSF still has a ret'd Emps groups as Q/BN did)
Waycar is VERY near to completion - I've seen acutal preprinted galley's etc
- it's massive and will be the best RR waycar/caboose book ever - bar none!
Will be end of yr; only 'hole' in it right now is need for 1 or 2 more pics
of NE-3's (know of any?)
Gerald
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
From: cvlk@comcast.net
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 2010 22:13:40 -0500
Subject: Re: [CBQ] RE: Strauss books
I did not mention the lack of an index to diminish the importance of the two
Strauss books and am glad to hear that Mr. Wallet will have to let the moths
out for another, hopefully soon.
I would even come to the defense of him and any author who takes up the task
of writing something about the CB&Q. While we are fortunate indeed to have
the Newberry Burlington Archives (and hopefully soon the Overton files) but
compared to, say, the PRR we have not too much good information to offer.
The BRHS "archives" are an embarrassment; who knows how much material
starting pre-merger and beyond has been lost because of an organized place
to receive it. Some material has been donated in the name of the Society but
no accounting of what and where it is has ever been made to anyone.
I just spent a disturbing couple of days reading the latest PRR Society
journal in which there is an extensive, well written and documented
discussion of the development of the Q2 duplex. Could such an article be
written on the CB&Q "Colorado" 2-10-4 ? The answer is no.... unless there is
a treasure trove of CB&Q documents somewhere that most mortals have never
heard of!
The Newberry Collection is great if you want to learn about the early
development of the CB&Q from the perspective of finance, business, and
management. There is very, very little material on engineering, equipment,
track, trains and operation. And most of the collection stops around 1900
from what I've seen.
Great stuff, but very, very limited. For example, something as significant
as the Dynamometer Test Car Z (and maybe Y from what I've been
researching) that played such an important role in the Master Car Builder's
trials of competing systems on Burlington Hill over a two year period is
virtually totally absent from the records at the Newberry. No photos exist
to document the written and printed material in the collection, and almost
no engineering drawings or other graphics.
Part of the reason the PRR enjoys such a huge following is the publicly
accessible volume of material about the railroad. This translates into
books, models and other merchandise that feeds the flames of popularity of
the railroad.
So while I may complain about the lack of an index in a book (something
there is no excuse for well into the use of computers for producing books) I
am grateful for every book in my collection.... even the ones that are
hastily thrown together photos montages that are loosely glued together with
mediocre text. Strauss' books do have good, previously unpublished photos
with data that I've never seen before..... so even with no index his books
still get an A- or B+. Maybe someone will eclipse them, but I wouldn't count
on it.
Now if we could get the darn Waycar book.......... and the massive three
volume set on the Shovelnoses......
Charlie Vlk
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