“Peer Review”
That’s the term used in the world of academe when one’s article or paper or book is sent out to others in the field for review, and comments, corrections, accuracy and/or omissions. I know some of you are so far beyond being my “peers” when it comes to Colorado railroad history that I’m almost afraid to ask, but:
For the last several years I’ve been working on what I hope will become an interesting and well-illustrated book on the history of the railroads of Leadville. While excellent books have been written about all three major players of the Leadville mining district, most are out of print and each focused on an individual railroad, not the overall railroad “environment” of Leadville. Most of them are also often a bit too dense for those whom I consider the audience for my
magnus opus, the casual rail fan or Leadville visitor who doesn’t need to know the name of every banker or board member or driver diameter but wants a good, well illustrated, interesting and accurate story of the lines and their role in the history of one of Colorado’s greatest mining camps. Those who want the minutiae of history probably already own the existing literature or know where to find it. My project is for the rest of the interested public and would be a distillation of the existing knowledge and literature that I have located and researched over the years.
(By way of background, I’m a longtime lurker/infrequent poster here at NGRDF. I’m a retired college instructor and a life-long fan of railroad history. I lived in Leadville for five years in the early 80’s while on the faculty at Colorado Mountain College’s Leadville campus and it was during my Leadville tenure that I began thinking about a book. However it took retirement twenty-five years later to find the time to actually begin the project.)
So I’m looking for some of you – “peers” – who might be interested in looking over what I’ve written so far and assist me in nailing down:
• What’s right…
• What’s wrong…
• What’s missing…
…from the stories of Leadville railroading between 1880 (actually earlier because the book will also cover some of the origins of the D&RG and the DSP&P, the Royal Gorge War and other topics that are directly associated with the race to Leadville that fall earlier than that date) and the present. I’ll be the first to admit that I know there are important facts or events that I have overlooked or gotten wrong or have been revised since they were originally published so I’m looking for some help with content review for accuracy and omissions, not official “editing.” That will come later. Again: what I’m seeking at this point are corrections for accuracy and omissions.
I’m also trying to identify sources for as many illustrations (old photos, maps, etc.) as I can find. There are the usual ones of DPL/Western History Collection, the CRRM, various regional libraries and some individual collectors, but if you have any additional hot tips, I would also appreciate it mightily.
If you are interested in helping out (or you know someone who would either be interested or be a good resource for further research) send me a private message here. You don’t need to read the entire manuscript – unless you really want to – but if you are knowledgeable about the Colorado Midland or the South Park or the D&RG or Leadville in general or wherever your interests might lie, I’d appreciate your time and interest in reviewing any sections containing your specialty. I’d love to say I’d pay you for your time but this is a labor of love, not profit. Hopefully the interest in seeing an accurate historical chronicle would be enough compensation. If not, I would certainly understand.
Many years ago I carried on a long correspondence with Jack Thode as I researched the history of a small narrow gauge railroad in Utah, the
Little Cottonwood Transportation Co. that ran to the mining district that later became the ski area of Alta. In fact it was Jack who gave me a copy of Morris Cafky’s then-just-published
Colorado Midland book after I gave him a tour of the Little Cottonwood route in 1965 (I was 16 years old!!!) that I think started me on my Leadville journey. Alas, Jack’s gone now so I’m hoping others might be able to give me some input as I begin to wrap up the contents, just as Jack Thode did so long ago.
This is an fabulous community here; You folks here at NGRDF are a pretty amazing and diverse group of rail fans and history buffs. If you are interested in reviewing any portions my rough draft that correspond with your interests or you just want to yack about Leadville, please drop me a PM from here.
Thanks!
Chris James
Sandia Park, NM
