Wasn't addressing you. I was addressing Mr. Heavenrich.

It really is amazing how much so many people online prattle on and on AND ON about how they're not going to respond anymore to a subject......

>;-)

Really Mr ADMIV ??? Then how come your post "I'm sorry you can't understand a simple analogy" appeared directly after mine, but before that of Mr Heavenrich. But you do have a point, NUFF SAID.

A psychiatrist might have a field day with: 1) someone repeatedly demanding respect for his views defensively over such a personal "who cares?" issue while 2) repeatedly misspelling someone else's name...........

No one gives a rat's ass Alex about that or quips agaisnt certain politicians. The question has already been answered it's a group of someone exclusive railfans like to get pictures and trade slides.

Some of the b&w films for cameras produced before PRR's M1a 4-8-2's were built are no longer available. These include 116 and 122. There are adapters to let you use 120 roll film.

In an earlier post, I mentioned the current price for 4x5 sheet film for your Speed Graphic.

35mm slide film and processing are both available from B&H or similar. A 5-pack of Fujichrome Provia RDP III 100F 135-36 is $84.95 without processing. There are many labs that process 35mm slides. Fuji sells mailers that go to Parsons KS, famous as either a division point and shop on the Katy or the home of the last lab that could process Kodachrome.

Batteries for the light meter are another question, but they're out there.

Phil Mulligan

What in the world does this topic have to do with Railway Preservation? Why was this topic brought up on this forum to begin with? And after 4 pages worth, it's still going on. Sheesh.....

This is a railway preservation group, and most likely the most common locations for that are museums. The "WGRF" contacts these museums and asks for special access to their collections, which when it involving spotting those collections for best camera angles, is not a trivial request. While some here are quite familiar, obviously others had never heard of them, either.

Preservation isn't always about the equipment, I think questions involving the management of the institutions of preservation are on-topic too.

Discussions about digital vs traditional cameras was interesting, but quite a detour off of the original topic.

Aren't the photos by these railfans from the steam era part of out historical collections?

And by extension, isn't how they did it worthy of an occasional display?

Phil Mulligan

ONLY if they somehow end up both "preserved" and "made accessible." Via slide shows, exhibits, publication, sharing with archivists, and/or archiving.

Collectibles that disappear into "black holes" of private collections never to be seen again by historians or the public--be it rail slides, artwork, artifacts, relics from archaeological digs, insect specimens, or whatever--are not.

Digital imaging has VASTLY facilitated the "sharing" of not only the photography, but the information and enthusiasm behind the hobbies.

People who power-wind six rolls of film through a camera at a custom-posed piece of rolling stock are only enriching slide film makers/processors and their fellow traders, not necessarily the historians. At least, until we hear of one of these "WGRF" members donating their entire archive to a library or museum.

Several noted rail photographers of the "WGRF" ilk--J. David Ingles, Jim Boyd, etc.--have passed away of late, and we never hear of their output/collections being transferred to archives, only cryptic references to their collections being "rescued" by associates/friends--and if you don't know who they are, lotsa luck to you. Others of advancing age, however--many unknown except to a close-knit circle of fans of a certain area or railroad--have been talked into letting others share their often-astounding photo work (which has sat in closets for decades) and/or historical recollections on websites and social media.

Certainly, if people are willing to pay tens or even hundreds of dollars for an original slide, no one should behoove another's ability to profit from their investments. But that's not being a historian.

I recently heard (and saw a sample) of the work of a long-time photographer who ended up in the East, who died in the last couple of years with a collection of over 180,000 images, both B&W and color slide, dating from the late 1940s. He either left it to, or left instructions to leave it to another photographer friend to distribute to appropriate specific railroad historical societies (PRR, B&O, etc.), so I know his collection will end up where it will be used and appreciated. I think his name was Rodney Peterson. Sandy might know him or know of him. He wasn't part of WGRF, and much of his work was action shots of trains, not just roster stuff. Really impressive, and well-documented. So there's that.

My understanding is that one good place to donate a collection to that will digitize and make it available generally is the Barriger Library at U of Missouri, St. Louis, if you know of anyone looking for a place for their collection.

I understand the reasoning for donating to a historical society, but I hate to say it, some of them can be NO better, or even worse then having a collection in private hands.

I have only had about a 40% success rate with dealing with a group when it comes to getting photos. Be it for a book or just getting print. IF they can find said image (that's if you get a response to begin with) or collection, it takes an act of god to get a copy of it.

I just inquired about a single image at a university library for my book project, and the price I got in response to use said imagine almost made me fall off of my chair.

I would also like to offer an endorsement of the Barriger Library. In researching placement options for a large collection of manufacturer information, I found them very cooperative. They were also one of the few organizations that expressed an interest in documenting and preserving information on the entire scope of the manufacturer's products and operations rather than just the railroad product line.

PC

Here's Electric City's website.

https://www.ectma.org/

You can see we have Philadelphia B&W and color photos up for everyone to see. They were donated for that purpose. Thank yoiu to the donors. The donors are not "WGRF" but in my mind are greater for making these public.

Phil Mulligan

Mike Schafer's article about Boyd (in the NRHS Bulletin) explained how his slide collection went to White River Productions.

Thought I would mention that the WGRF folks were at the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum this past Saturday, 9/25/21.

Les