Re: (rshsdepot) 1903 Photo Excursion . . .

["Steven Delibert" <stevdel_@_prodigy.net>]

rshsdepot
    In January, 1931, Railroad Magazine (I forget if it was then "Railroad
Man's" or "Railroad Stories") editor Freeman Hubbard solemnly announced the
discovery that "Unbeknown to the general public, there are several thousand
men and boys in the United States and Canada whose hobby is collecting
pictures of locomotives."
This was the kickoff to what they called the "Engine Picture Club" or the
"International Engine Picture Club", where for awhile they gave out
membership pins (till overwhelmed by demand, I suspect), and for many years
published free listings of people interested in sale, exchange, etc -- you
can see many names that later became famous (I found many by Ed May as a
teenager, in connection with a story I'm doing).
    I think this was Railroad Mag's very smart marketing stunt, to use
railroad fans to replace what must have been plummeting circulation as their
previous target market -- working railroaders -- shrank drastically due to
depression & highway competition; does anybody know if this is right?
    Steve Delibert

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Paul S. Luchter
> rshsdepot
> By the way in my scrolling through 1903 NY Times I came across an =
>
> Goes to show how long people like us have been around (but boy was it =
> easier to find trains to photograph back then!
>
> Paul

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