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| California Narrow gauge event https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6676 |
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| Author: | Randy Hees [ Sun Aug 17, 2003 10:33 pm ] |
| Post subject: | California Narrow gauge event |
On Friday, August 29th the Society for the Preservation of Carter Railroad Resources (SPCRR) will be hosting a video premiere and book release party at Ardenwood Farm, in Fremont California. This will be for the new documentary video, by Boone Morrison "California Narrow Gauge, Preserving the Legacy", and the introduction of Bruce MacGregor’s newest book on the Carter Brothers and early California narrow gauge, "The Birth of California's Narrow Gauge Railroads" This premiere is free. There will be a barbecue dinner available by advance reservation only, for $15.00 per person. Please go to the SPCRR web site ( WWW.SPCRR.ORG ) or call our toll free number, 866 417 7277 for dinner reservations, and additional information. We expect to have a steam loco running that night, along with other railroad displays The following day, Saturday, August 30, we will have a second event at the California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento: The film will be shown as part of a day long symposium on California Narrow Gauge, with talks by Bruce MacGregor, Randy Hees, and Kyle Wyatt, as well as the film. And, if you are headed to Denver for the Narrow Gauge Convention, the folks from SPCRR will have a table in the mfrs room where they will be showing the film and selling both the film and the book. However, those interested better get there early, as the stock will be very limited. Here is the info on the book and film The new film "California Narrow Gauge -Preserving the Legacy" will be released on August 29. The film runs 64 minutes and is in color with sound. You will meet Bruce MacGregor and many of the other prominent California rail historians as they tell of the history of California narrow gauge, those who built the lines, and of the ongoing preservation efforts to restore remaining equipment. You will also see a group build a 19th Century flat car entirely with hand tools, just as they once were. After these above events, you can order the film direct from Boone Morrison at: The Boone Morrison Studio PO Box 131, Volcano, HI, 96785 Price is $30 + $5 s&h, and it is available both as VHS and DVD-R. Bruce MacGregor’s book is being published by Stanford University Press. Here is their write up on the book The Birth of California Narrow Gauge, A Regional Study of the Technology of Thomas and Martin Carter This long-awaited study, the magnum opus of a leading railroad historian, describes the conception, construction, and early operation of the first narrow gauge railroads in northern California. It is lavishly illustrated by some 600 photographs and drawings, almost three-quarters of which have never before been published. The topic is approached through an unusual lens: the history of the relatively small but extraordinarily inventive contracting and engineering firm of the brothers Thomas and Martin Carter. The Carters were able to reduce the cost and complexity of light railroad construction to the point where local narrow gauge lines could initially compete with the state’s notorious railroad monopolies. Pioneering a mobile manufacturing operation that could supply locally funded short lines with rolling stock (which traditionally came from East Coast manufacturers), the Carter Brothers began with a line to serve Salinas Valley wheat farmers, desperate to achieve an independent means for conveying their crops to the wharf in Monterey. The narrow gauge railroad that resulted was an act of political and economic defiance, but ultimately a hopeless assault on the "Octopus"—the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads. Rallying around the example set in Monterey, a narrow gauge movement in California flourished in the mid-1870s, with the rapid launching of five more companies—the North Pacific Coast, the Santa Cruz Railroad, the Santa Cruz & Felton, the Nevada County Narrow Gauge, and the South Pacific Coast—all of which drew on the Carter Brothers for manufacturing and engineering. Soon, Thomas and Martin Carter were not only selling railroad supplies and engineering to all six short lines, but had won management positions with the strongest, the South Pacific Coast. Until personal and financial disaster overtook them in 1880, the Carters were at the forefront of not just a new business, but a new technology. 720 pages, Over 600 illustrations, Forthcoming, ISBN 0804735506 cloth hardcover price: $79.95 These should be wonderful events to get to know a wide variety of California Narrow gauge preservationist Randy Hees http://www.spcrr.org hees@ix.netcom.com |
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