A number of years ago there was a printing company in the Boston area that used the trade name "Railroad Printers." They advertised in various railroad magazines, such as Trains. Their specialty was printing authentic-looking railroad passes, membership cards, stationery, forms, etc., for hobbyists. They had a large catalog of logos and line art ("pen-and-ink" style) for customers to choose from. Does anyone know if they are still in existence? I don't remember their official name and I haven't been able to find them using internet search engines. -- Ray

The sad reality is that in this age even the most computer-impaired nitwit can probably produce equally good or better material using computers and computer printers, or at worst taking the computer-created graphics on a memory stick/card to a print shop or REA/Kinky's and handing it to a clerk for higher-quality printing. I've run across what was apparently material produced by that "railroad printer," and it was mediocre at best if it was.

I very literally grew up in a newspaper print shop. It's all ancient history now, but I still have about a dozen type drawers, a fair number of very vintage railroad logo printing blocks (PRR and Reading), and the "builder's plates" from the Linotype machines and the Heidelberg printing press.

I have worked in graphic arts and publishing for more than 40 years. I experienced the conversion from "hot type" to "cold type" to "computer-assisted composition" first-hand. So I don't consider myself a "nitwit."

My experience with "Railroad Printers" some years ago was quite satisfactory. Unfortunately, I no longer have their literature. The materials they produced for me were top quality, much better than what one can usually obtain directly from their computer, and a lot better than much of the printed material I receive in my mailbox daily.

Though I have, indeed, created various printed items for my own use, and the use of various organizations I have been affiliated with over the past 20 years or so (from the beginning of the personal computer era), I don't have the art library that "Railroad Printers" had. Also, I've been disappointed in the railroad graphic art libraries available for PC users that I've seen over the past few years.