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The F.R. Ritzman collection comprises about 8,700 B&W negatives (116, postcard, 4×5, and 5×7 sizes) of the C&NW, Milwaukee Road, and CB&Q (plus a small number of other roads) in the upper Midwest, spanning from the 1920s to 1972. Floyd Ritzman (1885-1975) lived in DeKalb, Illinois and focused his attention on structures and right-of-way scenes, but also photographed equipment and train operations in the steam and diesel eras. This collection has a robust metadata database that includes railroad, location, subject matter, and date. Ritzman kept a detailed diary which was used to add additional information to many images. Status: complete.
Wauwatosa-native Edward P. Wilkommen (1930-2017) had a lifelong interest in railroads throughout the U.S. and was very active in the railfan world, serving as a director of the Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers, president of the Milwaukee Road Historical Association, and was long active in the NRHS’s Iowa and Wisconsin Chapters. He photographed a wide variety of subjects: steam and diesel locomotives, interurbans and streetcars, many railfan trips, and 1960s-era freight cars. His favorite railroad was the Milwaukee Road. His B&W collection is mostly 616 format, but also contains some 6×9 and 120 format negatives from later years. He also traded negatives extensively, and these are included in the collection, identified by photographer [in brackets] where possible. B&W metadata is somewhat robust, with additional information about trains included where possible. Status: complete.
Ed Wilkommen’s color photography follows his B&W work, covering the same and similar subjects through the years. He shot almost exclusively on 120 medium format film with a mix of Ektachrome, Kodachrome, and Anscochrome. Early transparencies (pre-1960s) suffer from varying color shift. We have attempted to color-correct scans on the more severe cases. Metadata is minimal beyond date and subject, where it was available. Status: scanning and processing ongoing.
Bruce Meyer (1935-2006) was a prolific Chicago-area photographer from the twilight of steam (mid-1950s) until the early 2000s. Steam locomotives were his main subject, but he also shot Amtrak and diesel trains and locomotives. His best known work was in the B&W 120 format (2-1/4″ square). He began shooting in 1954, concentrating on steam locomotives and trains, often meticulously recording details close-up to aid his drafting and modeling activities. Bruce also purchased others’ negatives (all 116/616 and PC format) to supplement his own locomotive roster photo documentation. As such, any negatives larger than 120 may be assumed to be others’ work. Negatives are arranged by railroad and subdivided by subject matter where quantity dictates. Mr. Meyer’s negative numbering system has been retained, so images are sorted generally by age from older to newer. Metadata is well documented and includes location, dates, and train information where applicable. This is a large collection. Our digitization will concentrate on the pre-1980 era. Status: scanning and processing ongoing.
Bruce Meyer (1935-2006) was a prolific Chicago-area photographer from the twilight of steam (mid-1950s) until the early 2000s. He supplemented his B&W work with over 10,000 35mm color slides spanning a wide variety of subjects and geographical locations. Bruce traveled extensively in search for steam, and also had his camera with him while working in the field for EMD while observing testing of new diesel locomotives and technology. Images are sorted by railroad. Metadata is minimal and will contain railroad, location, and date, if known. Color correction has been completed on images with moderate to severe color shift (e.g. early Ektachrome), although the majority of the slides are Kodachrome. Digital ICE (Ektachrome only) and some manual dust/scratch digital cleaning have been applied. We have begun chronologically at the beginning of this collection and will concentrate on material dating before 1980. Status: scanning and processing ongoing.
William S. Kuba (1938-2012) was a lifelong resident of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He began photographing the railroad scene in his hometown around 1950, initially capturing everyday scenes downtown at the depot, and engines switching in the nearby Quaker Oats yard. He even rode the local C&NW passenger train, hopping off at towns along the way to record life along the railroad. His attention soon turned to locomotives and the trains they pulled, embarking on a quest to collect negatives of most every steam and diesel locomotive that was rostered on hundreds of railroads. The result was over 44,000 B&W negatives ranging from the 1920s to 2010. The vast majority are 116 and smaller. Bill traded or purchased negatives extensively to fill in gaps in his roster, but most of these are not labeled as such. Where photographer names are known, they are indicated by [brackets]. There is a small group of images of structures and diesel action, and Bill purchased postcard-size action negatives taken in the 1930s by Joseph Sleger. We will work to complete entire railroads before 1980 one at a time, but most larger roads will be curated for the subjects of most interest. His early scenes, action, and Sleger’s action photography are featured in separate galleries. Status: scanning and processing ongoing.
Robert H. Milner III (1930-2023) grew up in LaGrange, Illinois and attended the same high school as many other familiar names (though not at the same time!) such as Jim Singer, George Speir, Burt Mall, Bob Borcherding, and Bill Buhrmaster. Bill’s father Ray and Borcherding attended the Lyons Township Junior College there as well. As a teenager, Milner began photographing trains near his home on B&W film. Living near the mainline of the Burlington, his favorite road was the CB&Q of course, but when he enrolled at Knox College in Galesburg in 1948, his travels broadened. His parents were from Oskaloosa and Albia, Iowa, so many trips to that area produced rare action shots of the M&StL in the steam era. Bob submitted his photography to various outlets and soon was published. His M&StL images were used in Frank Donovan’s book “Mileposts of the Praire,” and TRAINS magazine. In 1948 at the Chicago Railroad Fair, he started shooting Kodachrome 828 slides. He soon switched to 35mm using a German Wirgin Edinex which was soon replaced by a Bolsey rangefinder. From 1952 on, he shot color exclusively and traveled throughout the U.S. capturing train action wherever it presented itself. After a stint in the US Army, and marrying his high school sweetheart Olive, he first worked as a Fuller Brush Man based in Galesburg. This provided him ample photographic opportunities during his travels. In 1955 he settled down to a career working in sales in the meat packing industry, first at Rath in Waterloo, Iowa, and later at Morrell in Kansas. Bob retired in 1996 and remained in Kansas close to his family. Almost all of the collection is Bob’s original work of 3,000 B&W negatives and 2,000 35mm color slides, spanning from the 1940s to present, both steam and diesel. He was featured in a major article by J. David Ingles in the Summer 2015 issue of Classic TRAINS. Status: complete.
Francis Cole (1895-1957) was a traveling businessman based in the Chicago area. He started photography in the early 1900s and mostly concentrated on the C&NW and Milwaukee Road in Illinois and Wisconsin. For a time, he was a close friend of A.W. Johnson, accompanying him on forays to record freshly-shopped C&NW steam locomotives on breaking-in runs on the mainline west of downtown Chicago. Initially he used a smaller format camera creating images of lesser quality, but the subject matter is of great interest. He paused his photography during the Great Depression through WWII but returned in the late 1940s with a better camera to document the last days of steam, particularly on the C&NW. His widow passed his collection on to Clint Jones who in turn has donated it to Lake States. There are a small number of trader negatives by other photographers. Every view is well identified by location and date. Status: complete.
Orlin Means grew up in Rock Island, Illinois close to the action of several railroads operating in the area, especially the CB&Q and CRI&P. He quickly developed a strong interest in the locomotives, and armed with a cheap box camera in 1899, began “shooting everything in sight.” He upgraded cameras over the years resulting in three phases of his work surviving today: 3×4 glass plates (1910-1912), 116 film negatives (1912-1924), and lastly 122 or postcard-size film negatives (1924-1932). His work was mostly roster photography, but occasionally he would capture a train movement. Means traveled modestly throughout the Midwest in the 1920s, working in the towel cleaning service industry, and photographing locomotives along the way. He kept his avocation private and preferred to use only his first and middle initials. He was, however, a lifelong member of R&LHS, and kept his trading and printing of negatives limited and to the highest of standards. Means passed away in 1943. Over 1,200 images are organized in locomotive number order, but grouped by the media captured, starting with the oldest (glass plate, if any), and ending with his postcard camera work. The collection so far numbers 1,236 images. Status: Scanning and processing in progress. Anticipated completion 2025.
Horace D. “Mike” Runey (1918-1983) hailed from Horseheads, New York on the ERIE Railroad. Around 1946, he began photographing steam trains in the area utilizing an excellent 4×5 camera. After he was published in Beebe and Clegg’s “Mixed Train Daily,” he was inspired to travel to the south to cover smaller shortlines and branchlines. He also heavily covered the southern provinces of Canada. Steam in action and out-of-way places were his forte. He was frequently published in Railroad Magazine during his active years (1946-1952), and at least once in TRAINS. Stan Mailer purchased the collection from his widow Beth for a few Ahnapee & Western photos that Runey had shot on a trip as far west as Minnesota. He later sold the collection of nearly 1,000 negatives to Ray Buhrmaster, who has meticulously researched dates and locations using the numerous published magazines as a guide to reconstruct Runey’s travels before donating the collection to Lake States. Status: complete.
John S. Ingles (1907-2003) perhaps is best known by name recognition as the father of renown rail photographer and journalist Dave Ingles. John was the son of a Soo Line conductor and a Santa Fe “Harvey Girl” waitress. He had a longtime interest in steam locomotives, starting with live steam models in his teen years. He befriended many fellow live steamers and traveled the country to seek them out in the 1930s. He graduated from University of Illinois in 1933 with a Railway Mechanical Engineering masters degree and began a career in the motive power department of the Illinois Central at Homewood, Illinois. He moved to the Detroit area in the late 1950s to serve the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton as Assistant Supt. of Mechanical Engineering, retiring in 1968. John was also an O-scale modeler and voracious hobbyist. He was a charter subscriber of TRAINS magazine and maintained memberships in many rail historical groups such as R&LHS and CERA. His activities included photo-documenting locomotives. In the summer of 1932, he visited an impressive number of railroads large and small on what must have been a whirlwind tour given the primitive roads of the time. His interest appeared to be in smaller, older, obscure, and lesser-known power. John kept a logbook of roads visited, complete with a list of master mechanics to contact at each location. He again traveled in the late 1930s and later 1950s seeking out steam. In retirement, he vigorously shot 35mm slides of his many travels. To supplement his own photography, he traded and purchased numerous locomotive negatives from the 1930s until the end of steam and 35mm color slides in the diesel era. The collection presented here consists of both his negatives (almost exclusively postcard format with a few 127 format) and those of others (all 116/616 format), his 35mm color photography (including traders) of passenger cars organized by type, as well as some miscellaneous prints from various sources. Any photography identified as taken by others will contain that information in [brackets]. The collection is mostly organized by railroad. Basic metadata accompanies this important and historical collection. Status: complete.
J. David Ingles (1941-2020) was well known to the railfan community as a longtime employee of Kalmbach, serving in various editorial positions for TRAINS magazine and Classic Trains. His journalism training and background made him a reliable and prolific author and photographer, capturing the railroad scene and documenting locomotives and equipment from the late 1950s through the 2010s through extensive travels. His collection at Lake States (about 20,000 slides) comprises mostly of 35mm color slides of shortline and industrial railroads, northern Minnesota ore railroads, CRI&P, cabooses, passenger cars, work equipment, and railroad logos. Dave also shot B&W film (another 10,000 B&W negatives) in his earlier days while living in the Detroit area. He was an avid collector and trader in a quest to fill out coverage of various railroads across the U.S. as part of an active community known as Worlds Greatest Railfan (WGRF). Consequently, many of the slides in his collection are the work of others, and when known will be identified in [brackets]. We will continue to curate “JDI” 35mm slides and B&W negatives to select for scanning. The Ingles collections are now a major component of our photographic holdings. Status: Scanning and processing ongoing.
William A. Raia (1944-2012) was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and spent 45 years of his life working for the Soo Line Railroad. He had a fascination with railroading and started photographing trains at a young age. During the early 1960s, Bill began trading and collecting negatives. Over the next 45 years, Bill accumulated one of the largest steam negative collections in the country. Images from the collection have been in numerous magazines and books. Bill was active in coordinating photographic sessions, most notably at Mid-Continent Railway Museum for their annual Snow Train and later with the non-profit group Historic Transportation Preservation. He had a strong passion for railroad imagery, also selling prints from his collection at train shows. Most of the steam material from Bill’s collection was purchased from Charles T. Felstead, another well known Chicago-area photographer-collector. Through Charles, other notable photographers’ negatives (almost all entirely 616 format) have been brought into the fold, including R.J. Foster (he shot postcard size negatives), Harold K. Vollrath, Harold Van Horn, Jim Boose, and Paul Eilenberger. Bill’s sons Mike and Tony have donated the steam and diesel negatives from shortlines and some larger roads such as CNJ, DL&W, SP, MP, NYC, and PRR. We are beginning work on this large and historic collection. The steam side consists mostly of roster photographs, while the diesel portion contains roster, plus some equipment, structures, and scenes. If photographers are know, they are indicated in [brackets], including any collection genealogy. Status: Scanning and processing ongoing.
Edward M. DeRouin (1946-2010) was born in Evanston, Illinois and spent his early years in Rogers Park, on Chicago
’s north side. As a youth, he spent Saturdays at his dad’s shoe repair shop in Evanston where they would walk over to the C&NW station to watch the commuter trains. His aunt’s visits from Milwaukee resulted in further train exposure. His fascination with the CB&Q began after a trip to Union Station downtown. He started shooting 35mm color slides in 1962, just in time to capture the end of the North Shore before it was abandoned. He mostly stayed in the midwest through the 1960s and 1970s, capturing railroads in a time of transition. Ed was instrumental in establishing the Burlington Route Historical Society, was a Vietnam veteran, and enjoyed a long career at Commonwealth Edison. In retirement, he authored numerous articles and books on railroading in Chicago and the Midwest. Of the 8,000 35mm slides, about 70% are estimated to be originals taken by Ed beginning in the early 1960s with the rest a combination of trader and commercial slides. The collection was organized in three groups: carousel trays of programs on eight separate railroads curated by Ed, several Logan trays with mostly traders/commercial slides and some extra slides, and a steel toolbox that held thousands of Ed’s original slides organized by railroad. We have kept Ed’s slides organized as received. The galleries titled “…Program” are those that were stored in the carousel trays. Status: scanning and processing in progress. Anticipated completion 2025.
Edward Garrett Baker (??-1988), who preferred his first and middle initials, was a railroad photographer concentrating near the areas he lived, beginning in the mid-1930s. He concentrated almost exclusively on steam locomotives and trains, producing postcard-size negatives with a high quality camera. His last known photography was of the American Freedom Train in 1976. E.G. grew up in Harrison, Arkansas where he documented the ups and downs of the Missouri & Arkansas railroad during the Great Depression. His work figured prominently in the book “The North Arkansas Line” published by Howell-North in 1969. Author James Fair called Baker “the REAL historian of the North Arkansas.” Baker moved to Louisville in his adult life where he worked as an agent of the Washington National Life Insurance Company and was active in the local railfan community. He traveled modestly, photographing railroads across the Midwest, but his heavy concentration was in southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, and the Louisville areas. He was also published in TRAINS magazine in its early days. He did trade or purchase 116/616 size negatives extensively, most notably with a person by the name of William L Greenaway. His negatives were eventually passed on to friend Ernie Gibson. Gibson’s son Steve, a UP engineer, ended up with the collection. Brother-in-law and LSRHA member Rory Peterson recently received the E.G. Baker collection from Steve and immediately donated it to Lake States. Lake States thanks Steven Gibson and Rory Peterson for preserving this historic collection of steam-era railroading. Status: complete.
John F. Endler, Jr. (1927-1998) was born and raised in the Wyoming valley of eastern Pennsylvania and later lived in Waterbury, Connecticut. He documented steam, diesel, and traction railroading beginning in 1945 and moved to color slide film in 1951. His coverage was mostly on the east coast, but he made frequent trips across the country by train while working for the American Brass Company. He was aware of the changing dynamic of railroading in this era and documented steam, diesel, and traction operations. After his passing in 1998, his wife Susan donated his railroad photography to the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society who in turn, through LSRHA member Richard Jahn, passed some 5,000 B&W 116/616 negatives on to Lake States. The subject matter represents geographical areas outside the mission of ARHS. The Endler negatives are sorted first by railroad and then chronologically by year. There is minimal metadata. Status: scanning and processing ongoing.
Henry E. “Hank” Balinski (1941-2016) was born and raised in Chicago. He became a railfan after he received a Lionel set as a child. Henry began photographing Midwest railroads in the late 1950s with a 35mm Nikon F-1 and quickly changed over to a Graflex Speed Graphic 4×5 camera. He shot color and B&W in tandem to document the last of steam and fantrips, but also turned to equipment and structures, particularly of his favorite railroad CB&Q. Henry also documented nearly every EMD FT diesel on the CB&Q before they were retired. Henry loved the Q fantrips where he rode or followed every one that operated. Henry also acquired older negatives of many various railroads by trading with other photographers. He stopped shooting in 1970 with the formation of the Burlington Northern. Henry was a machinist and mold-maker by trade and was one of the first to develop CNC machining in the late 1960s. He moved to Detroit and Canada, eventually returning to Lindenhurst. In his later years, he applied his machinist skills to build a ¼ scale operating railroad on his 9-acre property in rural Kenosha. The main motive power is a beautifully constructed live steam CB&Q 4-4-0 accompanied by finely crafted freight cars and a wood caboose. We have scanned over 4,300 negatives and color slides, including the traders. Status: complete.
Harry Evans (1943-2022) grew up in Winthrop Harbor, Illinois. With frequent rides on his bike to swim in Lake Michigan, he would stop at the railroad tracks to watch many locomotives pass by with trains. In short time, the C&NW became his favorite railroad. He was always interested in photography. As an eighth grade graduation present, his uncle gave him a used 35mm Voightlander camera. Thanks to an older brother, at the age of 14, his first railroad subject was a Nickel Plate double-header mainline steam freight roaring through Knox, Indiana in 1957. “It changed my life,” he reflects. From that moment on he was hooked on trains and model railroading. He traveled with his brother in search of the last of steam in the Midwest, including capturing the last gasp of DM&IR during the steel strike in 1959, chasing the GTW in 1960, and western narrow gauge in 1961. His brother soon lost interest with the assimilation of diesels but Harry carried on documenting C&NW, MILW, CB&Q, EJ&E, the North Shore and many others on Kodachrome and Ektachrome film through his college years 1961-65 in Iowa. He continued on throughout the Midwest, expanding to Canada and Europe on occasion. During 1965-69 he worked in the Freight Traffic and Marketing Department at C&NW’s 400 West Madison Street headquarters in Chicago. Harry returned to photography in the 1980s, eventually converting to all digital. Scanning of Harry’s collection of about 4,500 35mm slides concentrated on the pre-1990 era after which his primary interest has been HO modeling. Status: complete.
James A. Neubauer (1933-2013) was a life-long Chicago resident with a passion for passenger trains and steam locomotives. His photography reflects this passion. Jim started shooting at an early age of 16 when he visited the Chicago Railroad Fair. Armed with a 120-format camera, he documented the parade of C&NW (his favorite road) steam commuter trains passing near his house on the city’s near west side. Soon he switched to a Kodak Pony (828) and then 35mm, documenting passenger operations in the Chicago area and traveling with fellow enthusiasts. His focus was and remained passenger operations and he followed steam wherever he could find it. Jim hired on with the Rock Island in the 1950s, working in the public relations department. He finished out his railroad career with the C&NW as a clerk in Chicago. In the 1960s he rode many passenger trains to experience and document the twilight of the pre-Amtrak era. Jim’s collection received at Lake States consists mostly of 35mm color slides, plus about 400 black & white negatives from his early era. Most of Jim’s photos are organized by railroad, chronologically. He switched exclusively to color by 1955. We have digitized about 60% of Jim’s collection that was received at Lake States. His Mid-Continent, later steam museum/excursion, and post-1980 photography will not be scanned at this time but may be viewed in person by appointment. Status: complete.
Lee Allen Hastman (1946-2011) was a well-known Chicago-area based enthusiast, historian, and photographer. He worked for the Illinois Central Railroad in train service before becoming a load supervisor and dispatcher for many years, eventually retiring from Metra. His collection is organized into three groups. Lee maintained a large B&W collection of diesel roster photos (but also included a small amount of action, equipment, structures, and scenes). Most of these are his own photography, almost exclusively in 2-1/4 x 3-1/4 format. The second group consists entirely of Lee’s own color 35mm photography of a few specific subjects. The third group is an aggregation of Lee’s collecting of others’ negatives and slides over the years. These include various formats and railroads across the U.S. Individual photographers, if known, as are shown in [brackets] in metadata. There is also a small group of cabinet card prints covering right-of-way improvements along the Panhandle line near Brighton Park, Illinois from 1903, and also a selection of B&W prints of Illinois Central steam locomotives featuring many rare older images. Metadata is basic, identifying location and date when known. Separately we have also received additional 35mm color photography by Lee that he traded to others. While we have completed his primary collection up to the early 1970s, originally donated in 2013, we will curate and scan his additional work as time allows. Status: main collection complete, auxiliary collection ongoing.
Charles Stats (1933-2021) was a passionate and voracious collector based in Oak Park, Illinois for many years. His grandfather was a conductor on the C&NW, and as such, he was able to travel on an employee pass to Kaukauna, Wisconsin from Chicago to visit when he was a child. Charles was very active in the Chicago railfan scene, heading the Chicago Chapter of R&LHS for many years. Charles was a lawyer and accountant. Although his own photography was infrequent and incidental with the exception of some later exploration during participation in railfan conventions, he served as executor for many estates and in turn, inherited photo collections. These comprise the majority of the Charles Stats collection at Lake States. Included is Don Davis who worked for the Rock Island in the Chicago area as a tower operator. Don had exclusive access to several towers, offering a unique view into the Rock Island’s operations, and traveled in the 1950s, shooting Kodachrome of mostly steam and smaller shortline operations. D.W. “Doc” Yungmeyer shot the postcard format extensively in the 1930s and 1940s, often featuring employees and railfans posing with steam locomotives. Charles Stats’ focus on steam, traction, shortlines, and obscure builders—it seemed nothing was off limits—guided the holdings of his collection. We have curated his collection of photography to select original material of interest. Status: complete.
Ralph Wehlitz’s interest in railroads was nurtured at an early age. Growing up in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, he frequently rode his bike down to the C&NW’s lakefront engine terminal to observe steam locomotives in action. At age 11, he took his first photographs using a Kodak camera. The Milwaukee Road’s fast Hiawatha trains heading west from Milwaukee were also a frequent subject. He graduated from high school in 1942 and worked for Packard until drafted on May 1, 1943. After sustaining an injury during WWII, he attended college in Madison, Wisconsin and took on teaching as a career. After a three-year stint in Mellen, Wisconsin, he moved to Merrill in 1954 to teach English and social studies. Ralph finished his teaching career there and still resides in his home where he has built an impressive model railroad layout. Ralph’s photography throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s was driven by his desire to document prototype examples that he could model in HO scale. Many of his photos include buildings, scenes, and outlying industries with heavy concentration on Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Ralph has donated his B&W negatives, mostly 35mm with some 616 format, to Lakes States. Images are organized mostly by railroad with metadata. Status: complete.
Ralph Wehlitz’s color work echoes his earlier B&W (monochrome as he likes to call it) photography. Ralph often photographed scenes and structures to help with his modeling activities, and he switched entirely to color in the 1950s. Many of his photos include buildings, scenes, and outlying industries with heavy concentration on Wisconsin
and Upper Michigan. Images are organized mostly by railroad with metadata, similar to his B&W work. Although Ralph continued shooting into the 2000’s, we have paused scanning at 1980 at this time. Status: complete at this time.
Clint Jones (1944-2024) was born and raised in the Milwaukee area. His interest in railroading began with trips to the Upper Peninsula via the C&NW and Milwaukee Road to visit relatives in his teen years. Thus began his long and storied railroad career which continues to this day. After a brief stint studying business at Michigan Technological University, he hired out as a diesel locomotive mechanic for the Milwaukee Road at their Milwaukee shops. But his passion and pluck led him to form his own company Trans Northern, Inc. to operate a steam passenger tourist railroad in Michigan and act as a dealer of vintage railroad equipment. Clint later worked for the C&NW in train service and also served as a trainmaster for Wisconsin Central Railway from 1987 to 1997, supervising train operations and train crews from Marquette, Michigan. He also owned Mineral Range, Inc., a railway equipment, industry switching, and transportation consulting firm. Over the years, Clint assembled a personal collection of photographs (many taken by himself) and paper documents, mostly focused upon railroads of the Michigan Upper Peninsula. His own B&W photography covered the Upper Midwest and followed his career. Over 1,200 images cover such roads at the C&NW, SOO, Milwaukee Road, Copper Range, and others in the 1960s and 1970s. Status: complete.
Roger Rasor (1944-2015) was born and raised in Wadsworth, Ohio on the Erie-Lackawanna mainline, henceforth his favorite railroad was the ERIE. He studied at Akron Art Institute and later relocated to Racine, Wisconsin where he worked for J.I. Case. He was an accomplished graphic artist and model builder who photographed C&NW, MILW, and SOO around Des Plaines for several years, and also documented freight cars. His main interest, though, remained with the Erie Lackawanna–he was active with the EL Historical Society for many years. Several thousand 35mm slides are sorted by railroad and freight cars with minimal metadata. Status: scanning and processing in progress. Anticipated completion December 2024.
Beloit-based Fairbanks, Morse & Co. was a well-known and diversified manufacturer of scales, pumps, and other industrial equipment. In the rail industry, FM built coaling and water facilities for steam locomotives, track motor cars (sold under the name of Sheffield, which FM had merged in the early 1900s), and diesel locomotives. Lake States’ Fairbanks Morse Collection comprises a large collection of papers, publications, construction and maintenance records, and builders photographs of FM’s railroad products. Through an agreement with Fairbanks Morse Defense, the current iteration of FM, we are able to make available to the public through our on-line photo archive, company photos of coal docks, water stations, motor cars, locomotives, and more. Many of these photos were already at Baraboo from a previous donation, but we have also been receiving new material from FM’s Beloit plant. We are grateful for FM’s foresight to preserve and pass on the storied history of FM and its contribution to the rail industry. A large collection of coal dock and related facilities, and Sheffield motor cars are already on-line. Diesel locomotives will be added when available. Status: ongoing.
Norman Clarke Metcalf (1937-2019) was born in California but later moved to Colorado. He served in the USAF in the 1950s. Later in life, he traveled the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains regions photographing locomotives, equipment, some trains, and structures starting in the early 1970s. He shot color transparency film in the 120-format, 15 exposures per roll, with a high quality camera. Instead of retaining the film in strips, he opted to mount individual exposures in 2¾” square cardboard mounts (so-called “Super Slides”). Norm’s collection was later obtained by Jim Ehernberger of Cheyenne, Wyoming and in turn has been donated to Lake States. The images are organized by railroad in alphabetical order. Status: scanning and processing ongoing.
Holman Braden (1909-1995) grew up in a railroad family. His father was Division Superintendent of C&NW’s Nelson-South Pekin, Illinois line. Holman went to college at Bradley University in Peoria to earn a Civil engineering degree while living in Pekin. He then hired on the C&NW as a division engineer, working at many locations in Wisconsin such as Green Bay and Antigo. He eventually transferred to the western lines, based at Norfolk, Nebraska. His career path is reflected in his photography, with heavy coverage of C&NW, Omaha Road, as well as substantial CB&Q and UP subjects near where he lived and worked. Holman shot almost exclusively postcard-size negatives with several cameras. He retired in Norfolk. His negatives that are at Lake States were acquired by Stan Mailer directly from Holman. They were later passed on to Ray Buhrmaster who donated them to Lake States in 2022. Status: complete.
As a youth living in Madison, Wisconsin in the late 1940s, Stanley H. Mailer witnessed the Illinois Central’s Mikes working hard up the 1% grade out of town a few blocks from his boyhood home. Determined and armed with an ailing camera, he took a bus to Freeport, Illinois to document his now favorite railroad on the “big main.” Soon he convinced his mother to allow his use of the family car and his photo activities quickly expanded. Stan acquired better camera equipment and developed an interest in smaller and less fortunate independent shortlines as well as the backwoods branchlines of the big players. He traveled around the upper Midwest to record the last decade of steam and ascent of diesel power. Stan’s advocacy for rail history was manifested in his active involvement at Mid-Continent Railway Museum in the 1960s, the authoring of many articles and two major books, and included a stint at Kalmbach in the early 1970s. Mailer’s name is well known and respected among rail historians. His documentation of “last runs” and rare equipment are his hallmarks. Stan’s negatives at Lake States were donated by Ray Buhrmaster and represent his early work 1949-1951. Status: complete.
Lifelong Madison, Wisconsin resident Ron Jones worked for Madison-based Oscar Meyer as an auditor. His railroad modeling activities required taking photographs of prototype equipment, trains, and scenes. There were plenty of examples in his hometown which he covered extensively from the late 1940s for more than a decade. Later, he traveled to various locations, photographing rail equipment and operations with heavy emphasis on steam. His financial management experience was put to good use in the early success of Mid-Continent Railway Museum where he also was instrumental in restoration of two cabooses (12 inches = 1’0” scale). Donated by Ray Buhrmaster, Ron’s negatives are all 2-1/4 x 3-1/4 in size and of excellent quality. Status: complete.
Donald Kotz (1920-2002) was a lifelong resident of Kenosha, Wisconsin who worked in the commodities business at the Chicago Board of Trade. As such, he was well known as a daily commuter on C&NW/Metra. He was active with the Railroad Club of Chicago, serving as their president and could identify trains by their horns. Photography was a natural outlet to serve his interests. Our small collection of about 265 Kotz negatives is primarily of the C&NW, but also other Midwest area roads, and is believed to be only a small portion of his lifelong output. Ray Buhrmaster donated these excellent quality negatives which are organized by railroad. Status: complete.
This collection of Pullman sleeper passenger car roster photographs were taken mostly at Dallas, Texas by Dick Kuelbs in the pre-Amtrak 1960s. Donated by Al Hoffman, the images are arranged by Pullman car name in alphabetical order. Status: complete.
The Piersen-Kamacher Collection consists of images created by Joe Piersen (1940-2014) and John Kamacher, Jr. (1941-2018). Both were from the Chicago area and volunteers for and active in the C&NW Historical Society for many years. C&NWHS has donated their non-C&NW material to various historical societies. Lake States was chosen to receive their Rock Island photography. Joe photographed the Rock Island in medium format B&W beginning in the late 1950s and switched to 35mm color by the 1970s. John Kamacher shot 35mm B&W, mostly of action and freight cars at Joliet, Illinois plus some views at the Rock’s downtown Chicago passenger station at LaSalle Street. Status: complete.
Terry Norton resides in Grayslake, Illinois. He has had a long interest in railroads and photography and traveled extensively in the U.S. seeking out subjects for his cameras. Terry has donated about 2,800 6×7 B&W negatives of his photography from 1980-1995 of various railroads with concentration on Midwest and smaller shortlines and obscure roads. He shot these with a Pentax 6×7 medium format camera with excellent optics. Status: scanning and processing in progress. Anticipated completion December 2024.
Bill E. Robertson (1920-2003) was a member of CERA, model railroader, photographer, and WWII veteran sharing these same interests with his friend Jack Bailey. Bill lived most of his life in Wilmette, Illinois, traveled extensively with his wife, and was an author and historian. Bill shot 35mm color exclusively, covering railroads and traction subjects across the U.S. and Canada in the 1950s and early 1960s. Ralph Nelson received both Bill and Jack Bailey’s slides from Jack’s daughter Janet. He has in turn donated Bill and Jack’s slides to Lake States. Status: scanning and processing in progress. Anticipated completion 2025.
Jack R. Bailey (1927-2003) was a member of CERA, model railroader, photographer, and WWII veteran as was his friend Bill Robertson. Jack lived most of his life in the Andersonville neighborhood on the north side of Chicago
with his wife, Ele, where they owned Dawn Studio, a small camera store and portrait studio located on Clark Street. The business catered to wedding photography, where he processed film and made enlargements in the Dawn Studio darkroom. In later years, he took vacations with his friends, primarily to photograph trains. Riley became well known for selling dupe slide sets. Ralph Nelson received both Jack and Bill Robertson’s slides from Jack’s daughter Janet. He has in turn donated them to Lake States. Status: scanning and processing in progress. Anticipated completion 2025.
Paul V. Nash (1946-2021) was born in Mississippi and grew up in Gary, Indiana. While attending Purdue University, he worked part-time for the EJ&E as a brakeman. Upon graduation, he hired on with the Santa Fe as an operations analyst. He moved up through the ranks and worked at various locations across the system eventually becoming AVP of unit train operations in Chicago. Nash was the first African American to hold a superintendent position on the Santa Fe where he was involved in planning a line relocation project on Cajon Pass in 1977 which saved operating costs. Nash left Santa Fe in 1991 to work for American President Lines and later as an independent consultant with MK-Centennial-Washington Group where he worked on the creation of the Rail Runner commuter operation in New Mexico. Nash retired in 2009 to focus on modeling and photography. His two sons donated the collection through Brian Matsumoto. Paul shot 35mm color slides and B&W negatives of railroading across the U.S., but was particularly interested in the West. Status: ongoing.
Ron Sims (1939- ) is life-long Des Moines, Iowa resident and railroad photographer and historian with a strong interest in electric railways and branchline, shortline, and industrial rail operations. These interests were cemented by his childhood memories of riding Des Moines Railway streetcars at the tender young age of 5 and later growing up just blocks from the Des Moines & Central Iowa. He first started taking photos in 1954. A DM&CI 70-ton diesel locomotive was an early subject. Over the years he accumulated much considerable research materials, some of which are now at LSRHA. He also authored a book on GE 70-ton locomotives. Depots, signboards, and interlocking towers also piqued his interest. Ron continues to reside in Des Moines. Dana Grefe donated Ron’s industrial and shortline trader collection of about 500 photographs to LSRHA in 2022. Status: complete.
Don Ball (1948-2022) was a prolific author of many magazine articles, and best known for his all-color books on railroading. For the book projects, he brought together the work of many other photographers to create an attractive tableau of late steam/early diesel-era railroading across the U.S. This small collection of 35mm color slides and 120-format B&W negatives represents the Upper Midwest region and includes the works of others as well as himself. Photographers are identified in metadata when known. The B&W 120-format negatives are believed to be his own. Status: complete.
Philip A. Weibler is a well-known photographer and collector based in West Chicago, Illinois. His railroad career began in 1956 in a roundhouse full of steam locomotives on the Norfolk & Western. Upon graduation from college in 1960 he went to work for the Rock Island and by 1964 was in the Assistant Mechanical Engineer’s office at Silvis, Illinois. In 1972 he moved over to the C&NW and was qualified as a locomotive engineer in 1975, retiring in 1999. The collection of photographs here were donated by Phil and are grouped by subject matter. Status: complete.
Madison-native Gilford Heath’s railroad photographs number about 1,000 B&W and color negatives. They center mostly on C&NW, ICRR, Milwaukee Road, and even some museum and Circus Train views, taken in the 1960s and 1970s in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. He photographed trains, but concentrated on locomotive roster shots and depots. Heath was primarily a camera enthusiast, using a variety of film formats in the medium format, including 120, 620, and 116 (616). We have attempted to cull duplicate views (he often shot multiple images while testing his cameras), keeping the highest quality images. Color scans were color-corrected as best as possible, but as these were made on negative film, their color shift varies and was, in some cases, severe. Images are organized first by railroad, then by subject matter. Metadata is minimal and will contain railroad, location, and date. Status: complete.
Preston Cook is an accomplished and prolific rail photographer, authoring dozens of books over the years. This small collection of over 200 35mm slides taken by Preston, had loaned out for various publishing projects. Preston
has graciously donated these slides to Lake States. Status: complete.
This potpourri of photographs is from smaller collections and organized by photo formats and subject matter as appropriate. See the gallery for details. Status: ongoing.
In the early 1970s, the Illinois Central corporate headquarters moved from its long-time location at 12th Street in downtown Chicago. Corporate photographic records deemed surplus were offered to employees. Over the years, Lee Hastman accumulated additional prints from fellow employees to supplement his own inventory which today exists as this collection. Most images for which we possess glass plate or sheet film negatives are not included here as they appear in the Glass Plate and Sheet Film galleries. Prints of right-of-way and construction are organized to illustrate the ICRR by geographical location starting at South Water Street in Chicago. There are additional subjects such as scenes, structures, trains, and equipment. Metadata is minimal, determined from identification on the original images and visual inspection. Status: complete.
Midwest-based railroad car restorer and historian Glenn Guerra’s collection of period photography includes public relations photos from the defunct magazine Modern Railroads, several real photo postcards, builders photos of freight and passenger cars, and a variety of older steam and wooden car era scene photography. Status: complete.
Philip A. Weibler was working for the Rock Island’s Mechanical Engineering Department at Silvis, Illinois in the mid-1960s when management decided to move the department to Kansas City. Phil was in position to save files that were deemed obsolete and discarded by the Rock Island. These included drawings, photographs, correspondence, and equipment files, which he hauled home in his Chevy Nomad station wagon. Over the years, the files moved with him and his family as he eventually ended up in West Chicago working for the C&NW. Phil has chosen Lake States as the new home for these valuable remnants of the Rock. We have scanned the photographic portion of this collection (B&W 8×10 prints, a few are larger), which contains mostly builders photos from various suppliers, but also some in-house documentation of the department’s work over the years. As these prints are original survivors from the era when they were created, many wear a coat of steam-era office environment coal dust and soot as a badge of honor. Some of the images may show additional deterioration from their age. Status: complete.
Ajax Consolidated Co. which was a well known Chicago-area manufacturer of freight car handbrakes in the 1920s and 1930s. Later they also made appliances for locomotives such as water coolers. Jeff Geisler has donated a small collection of negatives, prints, and promotional materials from Ajax Consolidated. We have scanned original negatives from as early as the 1920s plus a few prints as appropriate to fill out missing products. Status: complete.
James Everett “Buster” Brown (1882-1949) was a Rock Island draftsman and shop foreman at their Silvis, Illinois shops for many years. From 1914 to about 1922, he documented work performed at the shops on 5×7 glass plate negatives. Silvis was a huge facility performing major steam locomotive and car rebuilding for many years. His work documents the scale of operations, employees, the tools they used, and environment they worked in. Phil Weibler saved these priceless images from destruction in the mid-1960s when the Rock Island discarded them. In later years, more of Brown’s glass plates surfaced. All were reunited back together and donated to Lake States by Phil. Each image was reviewed by Gary Bensman to add metadata describing equipment and procedures illustrated. Status: complete.
This collection comprises company photographs of the Illinois Central Railroad dating from 1894 to the mid-1920s in the glass plate format. The early plates (pre-1895) are 6.5″ x 8.5″. The remainder are 8″ x 10″. Metadata is minimal and contains a brief description of the subject, and the date if it was engraved on the negative. These plates were saved and preserved by Chicago-area rail historian Lee A. Hastman (1946-2011) when they were discarded by the railroad in the early 1970s. Status: complete.
This collection comprises company photographs of the Illinois Central Railroad dating from the 1890s to about WWII, made on nitrate and acetate (Kodak Safety) sheet film. Almost all are 8″ x 10″ size. There are a few older images that appear to be copies. Many of these sheet negatives have begun to chemically deteriorate. As such, image quality may vary. After scanning, the negatives were placed in freezer storage to preserve them. As with the glass plates, metadata is minimal and contains a brief description of the subject, and the date if it was marked on the negative. Lee A. Hastman (1946-2011) was a Chicago-area rail enthusiast who acquired these negatives when the railroad disposed of them in the early 1970s. Status: complete.
This small collection of builders photos from 100+ years ago were donated by Glenn Guerra. The Ohio Falls Car Manufacturing Company was located in Jeffersonville, Indiana starting in 1895. In the 1910s, they merged into American Car & Foundry. The Jeffersonville plant closed in 1930. Earlier prints in this collection are mounted on cabinet cards. Subject matter ranges from wooden freight and electric railroad cars to steel passenger cars (exteriors and interiors), various parts, and a few shop scenes. Status: complete.
The Southern Iron & Equipment Company was a family-owned business concentrating on the rebuilding of railroad locomotives from 1900-1960. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, SI&E purchased locomotives, refurbished them, and then re-sold to smaller railroads. Their major customers were industrial/logging railroads, some narrow gauge. SI&E also rebuilt some passenger and work equipment. Shop numbers were assigned to each piece of equipment. The company photographed many of the locomotives and cars before and after work was completed. Each negative or print is identified with company did repair and reconditioning work on behalf of various railroads. The Smithsonian houses many of these photographs. Some found their way to private collectors. LSRHA received a substantial collection of negatives (including glass plates and many large film negatives) from Ray Burhmaster. It is believe that multiple exposures were made at the same time, as glass plates are original. Shop numbers not included in Smithsonian’s collection have been scanned and presented here. Status: scanning and processing in progress. Anticipated completion November 2024.
Richard Calland harks from Wisconsin and has long been interested in Midwest railroading. This smaller collection of B&W negatives comprises the work of others that he collected over the years. Photographers are noted in metadata if known. Status: complete.
Fred Kubly was believed to have worked as the postmaster in Monroe, Wisconsin in the 1940s. His photographic subjects included the usual railroads in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois: C&NW, Milwaukee Road, IC at Freeport, CGW, and even the M&StL. He utilized a postcard-size camera most of his work, but later had smaller cameras. Most of the material here is of the former. This collection was donated by Mike and Mark Nelson. Status: complete.
Bruce Black was a Colorado-based photographer originally from Chicago. His work in B&W and color was of very high quality. His collection at Lake States is limited to his late work in the 1990s documenting diesel locomotives with well-lit and composed roster views, however a small cache of earlier work of interest is also included and is presented here. Status: complete.
Michigan-based Kevin Musser (1960-2007) had a strong interest in the Upper Michigan mining industry, its history, and the railroads that served it. He maintained a website with photos, maps, and historical information. His collection at Lake States contains research documents and present-day photography of mine sites, plus a small collection of acquired negatives. The latter is presented here. Status: complete.
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revised 8/27/24