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 & d
iced 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 m ight 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 abo ut 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