I want to move this away from Jerry Day's post on his research, and offer some general thoughts on publishing railroad history. If this seems too far off topic, I will understand the list management's decision to remove it.
I agree with Jerry that a well printed book is a lot more durable and a lot more enjoyable to read than anything on the computer. I appreciate the value of the computer for access to information. This forum is a great example of what computers can do well. We can share images, ideas, etc. But really quality prints? I think paper is still the better choice. But publishing is not inexpensive if you want quality printing and binding.
Narrow gauge railroads are a small subset of the field of railroad history. In most cases, press runs won't be huge, and the difficulties of balancing economy of scale with up front outlay can be challenging. For practical purposes, a lot of publishing folks feel that a press run of 2,000 is a good run - enough to bring the per book cost down, and a small enough number to sell them and not get stuck with unsold inventory that they will have to pay taxes on. So what's that going to cost?
Jerry points out - quality paper, high resolution illustrations, and hard binding will add to the cost. So, again, how much will it cost?
I can't easily get to the old run of TRAINS, so I can't check prices for the 1949 first printing of _Denver South Park & Pacific_ or the 1959 _Pictorial Supplement_. According to the invoice with the copy of _Colorado Midland_ that I bought from its original purchaser, it cost him $15.00 in 1965. That is for a 467 page hard cover book with a sewn binding, several four color plates, and maps. A quality product. In today's dollars (2010), that would be a $103.96 book. To replicate it, presuming one could find enough people willing to pay a hundred dollars a copy, would probably require an outlay of $100,000 in production costs. My back of the envelope math: cost is approximately half of retail pricing. So, 2,000 books at $50.00 each equals $100,000. A historical society needs to be able to pay the publisher $100,000 for 2,000 books - not many have that kind of money to put up front for a project.
Smaller books go for less. My experience in the railroad field includes having one done by an academic press. _Wired For Success_ lists for $31,95, so call it $32.00. This is 136 pages, on matte paper, with a paper binding. The photo reproduction is good, but not anything like as good as would be on a more expensive paper. The university press produced 2,400 of them. So they probably had about $38,000 in production costs, based on my back of the envelope calculations. At the time, I asked them to consider publishing some in hard cover. The editor decided they couldn't do it and make it sell well. He estimated the list for a hard cover version would have been $75.00. Probably not out of line, since that's what the hard cover versions of the volumes of the Lewis & Clark journals published by University of Nebraska Press sell for. Per volume. With a sewn binding. Produced in the USA.
Produced in the USA. One reason you can get Sam Furkawa's beautiful books on the C&TS and the D&S for $49.95 is they are printed overseas. Just the way the University of Washington Press has done the railroad books by Carlos Schwantes.
So here's the $64,000 question: Are there enough people who would pay $75.00 - $100 for a quality book on the final four C-16's? I probably would. But I'm only going to buy one. That leaves 1,999 left to sell. I really do sympathize with Jerry's comments about wanting to do quality books. It isn't impossible. But it isn't really easy, and you can't just do a few at a time at discount prices.
Thanks for reading.
Charlie Mutschler
