Allen Ferguson wrote:

I have a question that should have a simple answer. The equipment
registers are referred to as July 1958 for example. What was the
cutoff date for new data?

Throughout most of the era of this list, a very small italic date can be found somewhere in each railroad's section (in the latter part of our list's period, at the end). At one time this indicated the time the entry was complete, and in accord with Gregg Mahlkov's description, was usually a month prior to the cover date of that register. Back earlier in the 20th century, though, dates varied widely. I recall reading some Alton segments as late as 1906, still dated 1902. Of course, it they continue in a series so dated, they remain unchanged, thus greatly reducing their value for research <g>.

Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
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