Date
1 - 18 of 18
FGEX Book
|
Scott H. Haycock
With Bill Welch's passing, I seem to recall that the book he was working on was going to be finished and published by someone else. Does anyone know the status of Bill's long awaited book?
Scott Haycock |
|
|
|
No Scott but I sure hope it gets published fenton On Thu, Dec 29, 2022 at 7:16 PM Scott H. Haycock <shhaycock@...> wrote: With Bill Welch's passing, I seem to recall that the book he was working on was going to be finished and published by someone else. Does anyone know the status of Bill's long awaited book? --
|
|
|
|
Eric Hansmann
The FGE project Bill Welch was pulling together had grown to three books at the time of his death.
Eric Hansmann
Media, PA
|
|
|
|
Reminds me of the stillborn effort to document ALL C&NW box cars -- His name has slipped my memory at the moment, but he was going to need at least 3 large books to contain the massive amount of material he had collected. And ultimately, there were no books. Sometimes a good editor is what the author needs. :-) Many people have compiled vast amounts of information on their personal computers, or in filing cabinets. Shame that most of it will end up in that big digital bit bucket in the sky. :-( On 12/30/2022 8:56 AM, Eric Hansmann wrote:
--
Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts |
|
|
|
Hudson Leighton
Maybe a little OT, but I recently did a project of most of the RR maps for Minnesota.
What we ended up doing was printing the Index with Lulu Print on Demand, and putting all the maps on a USB drive. We were able to do it at a reasonable cost and have sold a couple of printings. The NPRHA has the Northern Pacific Equipment Roster Ledgers scanned an on their Website. -Hudson |
|
|
|
np328
Tim wrote: Sometimes a good editor is what the author needs.Whoa Tim, been there, had that happen over multiple editors. Researchers who have spent hours and devoted much time and money do not need an editor who never researched on the topic to be final word on what will be cut. Most print historical publications try to strike a balance between history, modeling, current events, and membership and have a limited number of pages to do this. What ends up is a mildly researched article gets printed, a decently researched article gets trimmed, and a well-researched article gets deep cuts to its content. And the mfgrs boxcar that got painted (incorrectly) into your road's colors still gets a mention in the "New" (however three months stale by publishing date) products column. You the readers of these publications are the ones losing as in all of this as you have no idea what was left on the cutting room floor.
Tim, I researched for Bill and sent him a good amount of paperwork and photocopies of available photos from which Bill responded most affirmatively. |
|
|
|
Dennis Storzek
Where is the LIKE button when I need it? Dennis Storzek |
|
|
|
I am sympathetic to what you (and Dennis) are saying, James, but an UNPUBLISHED UNCOMPROMISING book -- or set of books -- is not of much use to anyone. I refer you to the History Of Fish -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Historia_piscium ( The book that very nearly deprived the world of Isaac Newton ) An absolute standard of "completeness" will sink a book project. When Tony Thompson created the Southern Pacific Freight Cars series he covered more or less as far as he cared to go but stopped well short of being "complete". But what there is, is excellent. Not everyone needs more than that. As long as the research and primary source materials are saved, future books about the past are always possible. On 12/30/2022 7:19 PM, np328 wrote:
--
Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts |
|
|
|
B.L. Griffith
I too, would love to have access to this FGE information, as it sounds like a substantive and well researched body of work, but the original question posed here still remains; has someone taken over the project and if so, what’s it’s progress? |
|
|
|
Amen to that Dennis. I know Bill was passionate about the subject and I got to read a few chapters. Hopefully someone is working on it. Fenton On Fri, Dec 30, 2022 at 8:18 PM Dennis Storzek via groups.io <soolinehistory=yahoo.com@groups.io> wrote: Where is the LIKE button when I need it? --
|
|
|
|
Kenneth Montero
If anyone knows how to contact Bill Welch's family, an inquiry and (hopefully) offer to help finish it would be appropriate. Bill had a lot of friends - anyone willing to step up to the plate?
Ken Montero
|
|
|
|
Scott H. Haycock
I was contacted by PM and can say that Bill's research, manuscript, etc. is in good hands and the book(s?) will be coming. It's not my place to say more about who, but this person's involvement is encouraging news to me.
Scott Haycock
|
|
|
|
Eric Hansmann
From what I recall, Ted Culotta is/was the executor of Bill Welch's estate. I think the FGE books were going to be published by Speedwitch Media. I do not know that as a fact.
Bill had shared a few chapters with me that I had proof read and offered comments and corrections. Not only was he researching and writing, but he was also doing the design and page layout. I recall he was prepping the material for three volumes; the wood-sheathed car era, the steel-sheathed car era, and a corporate business volume.
These memories from three to four years ago are a bit fuzzy and my last six months have been a little crazy. Exact details may not be on target.
Eric Hansmann
Media, PA
|
|
|
|
Bill Parks
On Sat, Dec 31, 2022 at 09:55 AM, Scott H. Haycock wrote:
I was contacted by PM and can say that Bill's research, manuscript, etc. is in good hands and the book(s?) will be comingGreat to hear. Someone please notify this group when there is something official to share. I for one am interested in buying any and all volumes. -- Bill Parks Cumming, GA Modelling the Seaboard Airline in Central Florida |
|
|
|
Chris Barkan
This is indeed excellent news. Whoever is working on publishing these, put me down for the 3-volume set! I expect it will be well worth having and will also be a legacy of Bill Welch's contribution to both the hobby and our historical understanding of FGEX's role in the industry.
-- Chris Barkan Deerfield, MA |
|
|
|
Kenneth Montero
Same here.
Ken Montero
|
|
|
|
Me too. I will gladly purchase this if published. It would be tragic if Bill’s FGEX genius and enthusiasm went undocumented.
Additionally, I would be honored to help in any way possible- be it additional research, proofreading/editing, scanning and editing images, etc. |
|
|
|
lsittler
For a time before Bill’s death he and I corresponded and we talked on the
phone. I first thought he had worked for FGE since he knew many of the
people I knew. He sent me portions of his proposed book. I told Bill that
I had worked for the company in the 80s, and when the main office was
moved to Alexandria, and FGE was throwing out its old records, I managed
to rescue a good number of builder photos of FGE, WFE and BFE cars, some
old annual reports, etc. Other employees also gave me photos of FGE
facilities and train operations, along with internal corporate memos, and other
material. We were going to meet up and I was going to give those to
Bill for his book. Then Covid hit and he became ill. He told me that he was
passing on to others the completion of the book so I could get my collection to
them. I followed his instructions but never heard back. I am putting this out
there now so if indeed someone is working on that project I would be happy to
get what I have to that person or those persons. Thanks. Les Sittler
From: Eric
Hansmann
Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2022 10:13 AM
To: main@RealSTMFC.groups.io
Subject: Re: [RealSTMFC] FGEX Book From what I recall, Ted Culotta is/was the executor of Bill Welch's estate.
I think the FGE books were going to be published by Speedwitch Media. I do not
know that as a fact.
Bill had shared a few chapters with me that I had proof
read and offered comments and corrections. Not only was he researching and
writing, but he was also doing the design and page layout. I recall he was
prepping the material for three volumes; the wood-sheathed car era, the
steel-sheathed car era, and a corporate business volume.
These memories from three to four years ago are a bit
fuzzy and my last six months have been a little crazy. Exact details may not be
on target.
Eric Hansmann
Media, PA
|
|
|