Despite oral requests onthe phone Trains has refused to open there Archive. This is a disserve to there readers. I think that there are those who would Pay $$ Including my self to veiw the archive and make copies of stuff. This would be invaulble to Train Fans and historians everywhere. Lets talk and make it happen
BUMP
How do you propose that TRAINS opens their “archives” to the public?
They would call and make a apointment. A intern would oversee the operation.
Another option would be too diigittise the collection and make some of it avilble on CD rom or donate part of it to the Unversity of Wisconsin
Archives of what? Can’t you get reprints of old magazines?
kalmbach has a nice girl on the phone that will copy for you anything from their archives that you can identify well enough for her to find. i think it cost $2.50 per page the last time i did it.
Try the Transportation Library at Northwestern University. Admission is free, copy machine is a dime a page and public transportation service to Evanston is excellent.
You guys have no idea the resources Kalmbach has in their library. It’s not what they have published, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s what they haven’t published. Think about it, since 1934 photos and other material has been piling up. Much of it never makes the magazines.
When they publish an issue of Classic Trains, where do you think all the photos come from?
Accessing it would be tricky. It would all have to be transfered to digital media, where it could be looked at in thumbnail form. Quality copies could then be purchased.
I don’t think the Library of Congress has the volume of train related material that Kalmbach does.
So tell me again why a privately held company should open their “archives” to the public for any fee?
Maybe, instead, the readers and posters on this forum should compete to see who can come up with the most inane idea, Of course, a few of us have a head start, right?
Very good point. That material is Kalmbach’s “crown jewels”. You might have better luck asking at the Tower of London.[swg]
Along these lines, I had a friend who has since passed on, who worked for General Mills. He had access to the company archives, and was able to compile quite the collection of historical material for researching a model railroad he designed. The layout still stands and is open to the public, though most visitors have no clue what went into its creation.
The company archives put the state historical society to shame when it came to the specific material, and so did the items in my friend’s collection. He had only accumulated a few filing cabinets full for the project.
Exataxcamondo!
Where is Dave?
THis sounds like a case of “Open Access” to me.
Jeaton…tell us about the Transportation Library at Northwestern…I would invest a day to go snoop around.
ed
The problem is more than likely ownership/copyrights. After all, all of those pictures were taken by someone, and someone has the rights to them. Some may be in the public domain, but who’s got the time to sort it all out?
Converting all of that info to digital will take money. Even assuming that Kalbach chose to open the files, it would be a long time before the information was converted and cataloged for public consumption. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to find out that the folks from Trains, et al, sometimes just go “down” to the archives and root around, looking for a story idea.
I suspect that if a person were to go to Kalmback with a specific request (ie, “I’m writing a book on _______ and I’m looking for information and pictures relating to it.”) they would probably get a reasonable reception. All the T’s would get crossed and the i’s dotted, and the source of the material would be cited in the book (from the collection of).
On the other hand, for a railfan just out looking for pictures of his favorite railroad…
Here is the link to Northwestern Transportation Liabray. I use to go up their occasionally to go through their awesome collection of very old Official Guides. http://www.library.northwestern.edu/transportation/
Bob:
Thanks for the link. I think I will make a road trip up there and spend a day.
I also linked to the John Barringer Library in St. Louis…WOW.
45,000 volumes of railroad related books, including 15,000 that was Mr. Barringer’s private collection. Bob, have you been to Barringer? I get to St. Louis a couple of times a year and should go next time. Meanwhile, Northwestern University is much closer.
ed
And how much is Kalmbach going to have to raise subscription rates to cover staffing and making the rascal user friendly? Leave as is please; there are other sources.[}:)][}:)][}:)]
Actually Larry, the ownership and copyright issue is the least of the problem. For example, if you enter a photo contest or submit an article, everything becomes their property.
If you look in my profile, there’s a photo of me. That is actually their property. Their staff photographer visited my layout and took that shot along with at least 150 more. Only 5 or 6 were published, what happened to the rest?
Now imagine a staff photographer from Trains shooting steam or early diesels in the 50’s, and you begin to get an idea of what TT is talking about.
I think you are correct about the part that if you are working on a specific project, and request access, they might help. The bigger issue is they can’t just open up access to anyone. It wouldn’t take long for material to be lost or destroyed.
It would be n
You must be joking! The archives are the most valuable part of Trains/Model Railroader! They can republi***hose articles until we all die, charging more because none of it is being photographed anymore.
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Hey Elliot, was that the MOA layout you’re referring to? Your “leaning post” sure looks familiar.
I visited the MOA layout several times while it was open; that and the MRR kiosk that was open on the southwest corner of the third level were the two main reasons I liked going there. Now they’re both gone, and I grumble every time my wife suggests visiting the big mall.
Sorry for hi-jacking the subject…
Ok so what are the odds of Railfan and Railroad stealing trains artical ideas