I started out by writing letters (on a typewriter in those pre-
computer, pre-email days) to sellers of railroad photos I found
in
Trains
magazine such as M. D. McCarter and Harold Vollrath.
I also wrote to Alco Historic Photos and asked about photos
of the three Alco locomotives purchased new by the YV. I also
asked about erection drawings (original shop drawings) for
these engines. Based on their response, I got the feeling that
no one had ever asked about erection drawings, but I was able
to purchase two 8x10 prints of the builder’s photos of the Alco
2-6-0 the YV bought in 1924, along with a print of the erection
drawing for the same locomotive.
A decade and a half later, that erection drawing helped me
persuade Beaver Creek Models to start importing brass models
of that same Alco and the similar Baldwin 2-6-0s. Beaver Creek
Models eventually imported models of all five of the YV 2-6-0s.
Fortunately, when I started collecting photos, many of the rail-
fans of the late 1930s and early 1940s were still with us. But the
problem was finding postal mail addresses for them.
I checked the credits in Hank Johnston’s YV book and asked
around for contact information for the railfans listed. After
sending them an introductory letter, I discovered that it was
possible to purchase reasonably-priced prints of their YV pho-
tos or even simply borrow their YV negatives to make my own
prints, sometimes with the only caveat being that I also make
a print for their own collection. Fortunately, I was able to rent
darkroom time at a local photography store to make prints, as I
quickly learned the art of printing negatives.
My collection of YV photos grew slowly at first and my filing system
consisted of simply a few file folders for locomotives, freight cars,
GETTING REAL |
2
GETTING REAL |
3
1. This is the “old” system of filing prototype photos in three-
ring binders. While the system worked, the photos were not
stored in numerical order, which made it difficult to find par-
ticular photos.
