Collecting Railroadiana

Grand Trunk train at Gravenhurst station

NOTE: I probably should have dumped the blog (below) that I wrote earlier today, as being blatantly irrelevant, in light of, and according to the breaking news this hour; in favor of writing something enlightening and profound about the terrorist attacks still happening in Paris, France, even as I write this preamble. I don't have the professional capability as a writer or enlightenment as a philosopher, to explain why bastards continue to blow innocent people up, to make life a misery for us all. I guess I am more enlightened than I thought, because this is the most likely point of it all. To put fear in all of us. It didn't work after the 9-11 attacks in New York City, and it won't work after the crisis is over in Paris. Terrorism executed by the deluded, has become the kind of normalcy in many parts of the world, that it does make citizens pause, momentarily, wondering if going out for dinner, or a concert, possibly taking in a soccer game for recreation, could unnecessarily put their lives, and those of family and friends at great risk. In France, apparently, this is the case. There was risk but 70,000 soccer fans refused to bow to potential danger, of gathering in large numbers. Yet as hard as it is to cope with these situations, being timid and fearful of the known unknown, is presumably, just what those bastards would like to manifest upon the citizens of the world. We must not surrender to those who get their satisfaction, destroying the beautiful, wonderful aspects of life; because they fear honor and humanity, and the goodness of kindness and charity, might calm and remove their hate. There has just been a news report, on the evening news, that five bomb blasts have been heard coming from the concert hall where a band had been performing for a sizeable crowd. It has been reported that there may be upwards of a hundred hostages being held in the same theatre facility. It's just a sad, sad, state of affairs, but a much more opressive option, to hold ourselves back from celebrating life, despite what might happen, when terrorists are trying to make a name for themselves. I've got a name for them. I would print it here. Having a hobby takes my mind off how crazy the world has become in my sixty years.  

I THINK I'VE FOUND MYSELF ANOTHER INTEREST TO TIDE ME OVER - FOR ANOTHER FEW YEARS OF AN ALREADY CHARMED LIFE

I'VE SPENT THE AFTERNOON WITH STANLEY L. BAKER AND VIRGINIA BRAINARD KUNZ - AUTHORS OF 1976 "COLLECTOR'S BOOK OF RAILROADIANA"

     Call it a perk of the profession. As a buyer and seller of old books, occasionally I find one that isn't going to be priced and shelved in our shop. This morning, I found about twenty old and other vintage books, and nineteen of them are now priced and ready for purchase. One however, is a book I've been wanting to own for about a decade now, since I was first made aware it existed. I know that I could have purchased one from Abe Books online, but I like to ferret these finds out on my own; cause it feels real good to get a bargain price for a really good book. It has taken a decade to get this one, but by golly, it was worth the effort and time spent.
     The book, as you can view at the top of the page, was written by Stanley L. Baker and Virginia Brainard Kunz, and is entitled "The Collector's Book of Railroadiana," being "a complete guide to collecting railroad memorabilia and antiques." The book was published by Castle Books in 1976, in large format hardcover. It's not a particularly valuable book on the rebound, unless signed by both authors, but its contents are brilliantly arranged, to help the starting-out collector and the veteran, validate their collections. I have been a frustrated "Railroadiana" collector since childhood, and it has always seemed to me, to have been an impossible area for a low budget fellow like me, to get a foothold in, and progress accordingly. It was an expensive area of collecting to get into when I was starting out in the antique trade, forty years ago; and it's still a pricey hobby, and as far as buying to sell, boy oh boy, you've got to have deep pockets, a will of a steel rail, and a knowledge that shows no weak spots. You can get "railroaded" by forgeries and reproductions on the market, being fobbed-off as originals. A book like writers Baker and Kunz came up with, back in 1976, may not be considered the collector and hobbyists Bible, but it is one of the cornerstones of a Railroadiana reference library.
     My interest in trains began when my parents got me a Lionel Train Set, in the late 1950's, that someone they knew was selling off, so it certainly wasn't new. Or working. They bought it on the word of the former owner, that it was A-okay! New to me, was their point of view. The damn thing never worked, or at least, worked for long enough to make two full laps of the oval track. It would hum with electrical current, but it wouldn't move more than a few inches at a time, if it moved at all. I used to push it around the tracks, but of course, the wheels of the locomotive wouldn't turn, and as it was a heavy piece, well, it just wasn't much fun and I kept running it off the rails. The several cars I got with it were okay, but you can only have so much fun with an electric train that doesn't perform what it is supposed to, for my entertainment. But it did whet my appetite for railroad bits and bobbs, when I could find them for what I had to invest; which explains why I have a very limited collection at my elder age, but still with ragged high hopes of one day soon, having either a working train set of my own, or a nice stock of cheaply acquired stuff with railroad provenance. By the way, I am a huge fan of television's situation comedy, "The Big Bang Theory," because of character Sheldon's love for trains, and the many railroad references that enthuse us hobbyists glued to the tube.
     I picked up a couple of copies of the well known Gravenhurst history, known as "Magnetic Muskoka," written by Muriel Grigg, published in 1971, and was delighted to find it contained a vintage image of a Grand Trunk steam locomotive, stopped in town to board passengers. Hey, I know where there's a "Grand Trunk" brass baggage tag, but I'm not telling you. I have to get a lot tougher about these acquisition realities, if I want to build a latter day collection of Railroadiana. Of course, I also have to become a millionaire real soon as well, and buying lottery tickets may be the only way to get there.
     I have been collecting stamps and postal covers for the past three years, but it's never dawned on me before, to start pulling together subject collections; such as a separate binder with stamps having trains as a theme; and covers with train cancellations and stamps, including markings from the former railway postal cars. I'm still learning this stuff, so obviously I'm not as informed as you folks, presuming you have an interest in Railroadiana. We set railroad buttons aside as well. Suzanne buys large lots of old buttons, and you'd be surprised what we find in those large sealer jars loaded full of neat sweater and coat fasteners. As well, I do have a small quantity of books relating to railways, including an early one on the commencement of the Boston to Montreal Railroad in the early 1850's, which isn't even illustrated in the Baker and Kunz guidebook. I even have the map, albeit a little worn and ripped, but still a work of art as far as my interest in early rail lines. I also have a nice 1920's CPR map, with the Bala station highlighted, and a conductor's cap which is a little worn but wearable. I put it on at this time of year and pretend I'm the conductor, played by actor Tom Hanks, in the seasonal classic, "The Polar Express." I love this movie. It's on our top ten of holiday favorites behind only "A Christmas Carol," "It's a Wonderful Life," the cartoon, "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer," "Christmas Story," and "Christmas Vacation," because I really relate to Cousin Eddy. "The Polar Express," might rise this season according to the top ten list, the more I immerse in my new interest, collecting "Railroadiana."
     The kicker here, is that I used to spend a lot of free time, hanging around the Bracebridge Train Station, on Main Street, running parallel to the North Branch of the Muskoka River, and being less than a block from the main street of town. It would take us, being the Hunts Hill gang (not Huntsville) about five minutes, (if we didn't start a fight on the way) to get down to the train station platform, where we would engage the freight cart, which was a no-no, especially punitive if the station master caught us. For most of this time, Ed Stacey was off-duty, having been retired by the railway, to leave the old train station largely abandoned. We could even get into the lobby, but not into the ticket or manager's office. It was a haunting feeling being in there, and we all heard strange sounds, like the distant steam whistle of an incoming train; but that was impossible considering steam locomotives, by the early 1960's were mostly scrap metal. To be melted down for re-use, and the whistle, lanterns, and bells were of course, acquired by antique dealers, and sold as, well "Railroadiana." But we know what we heard, and it wasn't a train horn. It was, despite the ghostly sounds, and hollow, abandoned feeling we got sitting in the old station, a memorable place to invest free time. We watched thousands of trains pass through our towns, on our station vigils, and yes, we did contemplate the down side of jumping aboard one of those empty freight cars that the hobos used to ride for free. Did you know we had Hobo Jungles in Bracebridge and Gravenhurst, short distances from the stations?
     In the preface of the book on Railroadiana, written by L. Baker, it suggests to collectors and those who enjoy railroading stories, that much of the latter day interest in railroads, comes from those early experiences, either watching or riding on trains.
     "I can remember the sight of my first passenger train coming down a stretch of track. The huge monster, with bellowing plumes of smoke, breathing heavily and full of scary noises, frightened me. I was out for a walk with my father, who told me not to be afraid and explained how the huge steam engine was taking the people I saw across mountains and plains to faraway cities, even to the shores of great oceans. I was overwhelmed."
     The author notes, "As I grew older, my interest in trains also grew. I tried to learn all that I could about them. I would haunt the railroad yards near home, watching engines move cars, switchmen switch track, or an engine being turned around on the turntable. I would go down to the depot to watch the passenger trains come and go. I fell in love with the railroad. I hoped that when I grew up I would be able to work on the railroad, maybe even be an engineer. But my mother thought otherwise. I was frail, and she felt the work wold be too hard and dangerous. My love for the railroad continued. Somehow, I felt I must be part of it. Back in those days, money did not come easily. Sometimes my mother would take me with her to the Salvation Army (Thrift) store, where she bought our clothes. One day we passed a counter filled with toys, and I spotted a toy train. My mother said she could not afford it, but from then on that was all I thought about. I would go again and again and look at the toy trains, wishing I had the money to buy one."
     "Soon I discovered that behind the Salvation Army store was a junk pile where they threw their broken things, and here I found broken toy trains, which I took home. I would find cars with missing wheels or tops, a broken locomotive, tracks, switches, wheels, parts, and I would carry all of these home to try to fix them as best I could. I made my own railroad layout on the floor, imagining I was the engineer, pulling a passenger train to those faraway places," wrote Baker. One day I learned about the 'money dump,' behind a roofing manufacturing company. On Saturday mornings the neighborhood boys would dig in the mill tailings for coins screened from the pulp material in the manufacture of roofing. The tailings were hauled to the dumping grounds on a dump wagon pulled by a team of horses. The driver would pull the lever to operate the trap doors on the bottom of the wagon and dump the tailings. Each boy staked out a claim on the pile and dug around with a stick to see what he could unearth. Coins would often turn up - it was like panning for gold. For the first time in my life, I had a little money to spend and I bought my first perfect and complete toy train."
     "In grade school, I made another discovery. The railroads were freely handing out advertising materials. I would make the long walk downtown to ticket offices and to depots to collect these blotters, pencils, rulers, pinbacks, memo pads, calendars, timetables, travel brochures, anything would give me. Soon I had a small collection of what is known today as Railroadabilia, and I treasured it. I arranged everything neatly in the compartments of two old humpback trunks. I would take the items out to look at them again and again, thinking of the adventures they represented. As time went on, my collection grew."
     My own story is much the same, and I too chased after the railroad companies, in the mid 1960's, to get as much print material as possible, under the guise of working on school projects involving both the Canadian Pacific Railroad and the Canadian National Railroad. I got huge whacks of mail in those years, as they all complied, and sent me everything they could; and I did share it with my classmates, who yes, stole half of it before I could get it back in the briefcase in which it had all been stored. I went to a tough school where the kids had the express opinion, that "what was mine was theirs, and what was theirs was also theirs." I think losing items over the years at show and tell, and being used, at my generosity, for classroom exhibits, did cool me down as far as trying to build a larger collection of railroad materials. This and the fact, I had very little money to expend on such speculation, that one day such a collection would be worth substantially more than I invested. Well folks, if I had continued to invest, I would be wealthy now, and loving it! Railroadiana is a big deal after all these years, and it is hard to find a bargain, because there are so many active collectors, looking to improve on their large scale investment. I am still a collector who operates "on the cheap," and I will only invest big-time, when it comes to efforts out on the hustings; putting the time and work into finding bargains where they exist, and this means taking advantage of opportunity when it presents. Simply stated, it means finding "sleepers" out there, meaning Railroadiana that is misidentified as being something other than a railroad or train collectable. There are thousands of opportunities to "score" if you want a sporting analogy. I know where there are at least twenty misidentified railroad pieces at this moment, simply because I've spent a few hours today reading through this great book, as presented by Stanley L. Baker and Virginia Brainard Kunz. By the way, if you click onto the Abe book sight, (a collective of old book dealers across North America) you can find a used copy of this book for a wide array of prices based on condition, and I regret now, that I didn't seek it out sooner; because low and behold, it's bargain priced in most of the shops we browsed through (online) this afternoon.
     You know what? You're never too old to mount a bid for a new collecting interest. You just move a little slower, making all kinds of creaking and groaning noises, but what the hell. If it makes you happy, and it's legal, well then knock yourself out, but not literally. There are lots of self help books regarding Railroadiana and Model Railway collecting in the contemporary sense. It's nostalgic, romantic, and by golly, did I mention it's a lot of fun building a collection. If you do it right, and get some bargains along the way, you'll be able to pass it down to the grandkids, or, gosh, sell it when you've satsified your play urges, and retire handsomely with a little money left over in case you want to start collecting something else. Yes indeed, we always have a plan B, and sometime down the line, we reserve the right to get turned on my something we hadn't appreciated earlier. Despite the fact some of our critics might see us oldtimers as risky business, having one foot on the proverbial banana peel; having limited time to enjoy the fruits of our labors. I've got news for them.

     And in conclusion, as I began today's blog, "Terrorists! Be damned!"


 Collecting, like athletics for some, keeps us old farts young in spirit. Suzanne likes the fact I have all these interests, which allows her time to pursue the sewing projects she's had on hold for decades. She collects vintage sewing machines, that by the way, I think look like stationary trains. She rolls her eyes when I say this, and remarks, "you've got trains on the brain dear." Maybe so, but I can live with that very nicely, because I've got a huge surplus of imagination to expend before I step off this mortal coil for good.
     Point here, enjoy your collecting hobbies. They stimulate the brain, and tickle the heart, and that makes for a healthy spirit.