It has been a few months since I visited the photo collection on Flickr of the John W. Barriger III (President of P&LE, Monon, MKT, B&M) library. I was surprized to see the addition of over three thousand more photos from the collection of Robert G. Lewis who was the editor of Railway Age magazine. Many of these photos are nothing short of amazing!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/barrigerlibrary/sets/72157645167601967/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/barrigerlibrary/sets/
The Lewis collection has some very interesting photos from the 1940s all the way up to Amtrak (even the Amtrak stuff has some rarities!)
http://www.railwayage.com/index.php/blogs/from-the-editor-the-unique-yes-bob-unique-robert-g-lewis-february-2011.html
Nothing is sorted, few have any caption or date and even the locations are left up to your own research. I know there was a thread here about a year or so past but I'm starting this thread to clue in anyone who may have missed it.
Be ready to spend hours going over these photos. Many show railroad officials (I've picked out Al Perlman in a few) and some are just fascinating, never before seen views.
They can be downloaded at a fairly high resolution as well so you can build your own library. Some need to be flipped, straightened and lightened, etc. but a few minutes with Photoshop or the likes will fix most blemishes.
Go digging and have fun!
Ed
Ed,
Yes, things have been added as they process them, based on checking back periodically. Wonder what goodies are still to come?
One thing to keep in mind when browsing through the pics is that you can comment to add additional information to the images, i.e. this info is being "crowd-sourced" to take advantage of the pics being offered to the public to add much of the info that's likely missing from the collection itself. The archive is respeonsive, so if you find one that's been flipped around so it's bakwards, just leave a note on it and they will get back to fix it. Most importantly, if you recognize locations that aren't otherwise noted, indicate where it was and the approximate date if you can help.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
My understanding is the reason they are online is to identify them and not "to add to your collection". I used one of the images in my Railroading on the Wabash Fourth District book and had to pay $50 to use it and it had to be approved by the Barriger Family...
Victor A. Biard
www.erstwhilepublications.com
I can "add to my collection" anytime I want. What I can not do is re-post the photo or use it in any way for profit. The lower-right download link even gives me a choice of resolutions to download. If you want to prevent your work from being downloaded, or even copy-saved there's an option for that when you post the photo.
In most parts of the world, including the U.S., Canada, EU countries, and Japan, you are automatically granted copyrights to your photos.
Remember that you can only copyright images that you own. In some instances, you may not have the rights to all of the elements that you’ve photographed (for example, the work of another artist) and may not have the rights to reproduce that photo elsewhere.
The nonprofit Creative Commons offers six default licenses as an alternative to full copyright so you can choose the one that best suits your needs.
You can select a default license for your photos here.
To change the license for a specific picture, just open up "Owner settings" near the bottom of your photo page and edit the license.
Mike, yes, I have made comments when I come across a photo that I can add information to as others have. Makes it very interesting.
Thanks, Ed
wabash2800I used one of the images in my Railroading on the Wabash Fourth District book and had to pay $50 to use it and it had to be approved by the Barriger Family...
Yes, observe copyright where it's necessary. But "fair use" is also an important part of copyright law. You can save a copy for personal use and later reference. You can cite and link to it for educational purposes, which is a big deal for teachers, as we often need to both do it ourseves and show students how to properly cite material.
When you create a work for sale where the image is reproduced for profit, that requires the sort of copyright restrictions you've noted.
This link provides an explanation of what "fair use" is and how it is applied and used.
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
Well said, Mike
As a memory refresher, I found the same item about fair use. You can even go into a public library and they will provide, for a fee, any photocopy you want out of a reference work for personal use. I frequently photocopy a picture out of a book when I'm detailing a loco since I don't have room on my workbench and I don't want to get Dullcote on the pages of my book !
Yes, exactly the sort of situation fair use allows. Another common situation with fair use in the hobby is copying plans. In fact, several decades back (in the 70s???) MR and other mags started printing a small notice with each plan indicating you may copy it for your personal use. This was not so much permission as notification that such use was appropriate and did not require permission. I vaguely recall when this started that a small comment from the editors was printed explaining things. I suspect they got tired of answering requests for permission to copy plans from mistakenly overconscientious modelers and came up with this as a solution.
Ed - thanks for the links. Found some great pics I have never seen before of the PM.
Douglas
Ed, I am one of the daughters of Robert G. Lewis. My sister and I donated my dad's collection to the Barriger Libary after he died. He had a vast collection as you can see. He was always worried about what would happen to his collection. We wanted to preserve what he had so lovingly worked on and cherished his whole life.
Thank you for that information! Your father represents one of the great "old school" railroaders who came up through the ranks and earned their place in railroad history.
I recently found your dad's book Off The Beaten Track on Amazon and have just ordered a copy. I can't wait to read about his (and your) adventures around Plainfield, and the World beyond!
I have known of several other railroad photographers' work, numbering in the tens of thousands of images, and the collections were either lost or destroyed, some haphazardly given away, never to be seen again.
Thank you again to you and your sister for being so insightful and generous to allow us to be able to access the years of fascinating photography that Mr. Lewis' collection represents. May his legacy live forever.
Sincerely, Ed
Thank you for the kind words Ed. He was an old schooler for sure. He was always willing to help someone out with photos or his vast knowledge when it came to railroading.
I think that you will like Off the Beaten Track. He has written three other books too. Two are really old called The Railroad Handbook which had two editions and his last book, Keystone State Traction.
Mr Vantuono from Simmons Boardman publishing where my dad worked for years suggested the Barriger Library. We knew that we wanted to preserve his work and we were grateful for his suggestion. When going through his collection the library found some photos which my dad had specifically stated he wanted donated to the railroad museum in Philadelphia. Not sure of the musuem's name off hand. So you will find more of his pictures there.
I believe he said that he had donated some things to the Flagler Museum too. Not sure on that though. He lived in Florida and was a member of a local train club. Howie Stevens, a member and fellow Floridian helped him write Off the Beaten Track. Enjoy the book and God bless you in this New Year.
My sister tells me that more than 300 more photos have been added. There should be one of Lincoln's Funeral Train in his photos too. Obviously he didn't take it. We are not sure if family took it or if he bought it.