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We have been SO fortunate over the years to have some of the best historians & railfans focus on the Burlington,its affiliates and predecessors. From the most scholarly (Dr. Richard Overton's trilogy plus his special double Q bio) the first of which is considered THE Standard for business history's to Bernie Corbin's sought after pioneering books on Q motive power to more recent forays by Mike Spoor and the mammoth Waycar work by Randy Danniel. C&S was covered first by Overton and then in depth by a very young Hol Wagner; FtW&D again had Overton for the business side and then Green for the railfan side. I could go on and on (several shelves of BR books at home!) but I need to point out to the "newbies" and remind the oldsters of the on-going labor of love Bill Glick has done. Burlington heavyweights, both wood and steel were sliced & diced in a spiral-bund roster, a drawing book and then a large hardbound book fleshing out their use. This was followed by special drawing books, to scale (modeler-friendly!) and now the final chapter - another drawing book using the latest discoveries and covering the last little 'corners' of Burlington passenger and head-end equipment from the 1800's to the onset of Budd stainless steel. What makes Bill's books so unique is two-fold. One, he does ALL the drawings and fortunately is a fine draftsman with high standards. He's among the few in the rail fraternity that show both sides & ends if there even finite differences. Two, he builds models from his drawings, exquisite models that he also shares with fans with "how-to" articles in the Zephyr & displaying @ BRHS meets. ALSO, all are self-published with so little profit his time spend researching and drawing might be valued at a nickel an hour and that's being generous. I am NOT exaggerating! So if you model OR have an interest of any kind in the Burlington from the late 1800's right up to BN, please order a copy NOW. Even wood heavyweights made it into BN MoW service (I have my own Kodachrome slides to prove same) and the last Official Register of Passenger Equipment pre-BN shows Q hwt's on the active roster. Some could also be found 'on the ground; serving as yard offices, etc. My wife and I have had the privilege of knowing Bill and his wife Lorraine since 1976. Bill (thank goodness he's in California so cannot reach out & strangle me for this post) is the least un-assuming Q fan I know. Self-promotion? Never! Even hint at all his expertise and hard work, for little if any gain? Never! Now that I think about it he's a lot like Dick & Bernie who I knew well - writing books for a very good reason - they loved the Burlington. Yes Dick was on the Q payroll when he began writing and used existing publishers but is last book was the proverbial labor of love. Bernie would have been the frst to tell you he was under no delusion he would make any $$$ with his books. Yet you and I have them to thank for putting CB&Q/FtW&D/C&S on our shelves followed by many, many, more books. So what are you waiting for? Order the book! Gerald __._,_.___ Posted by: gvlc6@hotmail.com __,_._,___ |