A friend commented recently that on at least a few occasions Baldwin Service Representative John Kirkland had done talks for groups about Baldwin and the locomotive building industry.

Is anyone in the preservation community aware of any notes, tapes, or transcripts of such presentations by John having been preserved?

I have heard from a few sources that there was a book on EMD in the works when he passed on. If so, I would like to see it in print.

I heard this also, and would have liked to see the result, but given the amount of time that has gone by since John passed away and the magnitude of the project, I can understand that it would be a very difficult task to complete.

I was wondering if any tapes or transcripts of John's remarks when talking to groups had been preserved as they might provide a better understanding of the gentleman and the times than he was able to put into the constrained presentation format provided by the books.

With the many questions that get asked on internet forums about the design details and features of various locomotives, it is very unfortunate that several generations of diesel locomotive manufacturers people have now passed away, taking vast accumulated experience with them, but there presently does not seem to be any organized effort to preserve the knowledge base. We are fortunate to have the major contribution a few industry people like John have been able to make through writing books.