Posted 10 years ago
pajrr
(102 items)
Being a railroad historian I love finding (and receiving!) old items, the older the better. On Christmas Day Santa left me this binder from the 1930s. The railroads listed on the cover were all controlled by the Van Sweringen Brothers of Ohio. These railroad tycoons had dreams of merging these 4 railroads together into one big system. As a result of the planned merger the brothers formed a committee among the railroads to standardize materials and procedures. This way, anything ordered could be applied to any of their railroads. Each set of specifications was signed off by officials of the 4 railroads. The merger never happened but this book somehow hid for 80+ years until Santa found it. I'm sure these were not common to begin with when first printed. I can't even imagine how few are left now. The two Van Sweringens died in 1934 and 1935.
