CENTER FOR RAILROAD PHOTOGRAPHY AND ART INC

PUBLICATIONSTHE CENTER PUBLISHES A QUARTERLY JOURNAL, RAILROAD HERITAGE, THAT USES PHOTOGRAPHS AND ART TO INFORM THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE RAILROAD'S INFLUENCE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, POPULAR CULTURE, AND THE LIVES OF THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO BUILT, OPERATE, AND MAINTAIN RAILROADS IN NORTH AMERICA AND BEYOND. BOOKS ADD TO THIS MESSAGE AND THE CENTER CONTINUES TO PUBLISH ONE EACH YEAR. THE TITLE FOR 2023 IS RIO GRANDE STEAM FINALE: NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD PHOTOGRAPHY IN COLORADO AND NEW MEXICO. IT DRAWS FROM PHOTOGRAPHY IN MANY OF THE CENTER'S COLLECTIONS TO SHOWCASE THE TECHNOLOGY, LANDSCAPES, AND PEOPLE OF THE DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN RAILROAD'S NARROW-GAUGE LINES IN COLORADO AND NEW MEXICO IN THE 1950S AND 1960S. THESE LINES TOOK ON A LARGER-THAN-LIFE MYSTIQUE FOR THEIR REMOTENESS AND SPECTACULAR LOCATIONS, AND ALSO AS ONE OF THE LAST BASTIONS OF STEAM-ERA RAILROAD. THEY DREW PHOTOGRAPHERS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, AND THEY REMAIN HIGHLY POPULAR TODAY. RELEASED ON OCTOBER 1, 2023, IT HAS ENJOYED THE STRONGEST SALES PERFORMANCE OF ANY CENTER PUBLISHED BOOK TO DATE.

COLLECTIONSTHE CENTER MAINTAINS AN ARCHIVE OF MORE THAN 500,000 PHOTOGRAPHS, PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS, AND PRINTS; ITS STAFF MEMBERS PERFORM ARCHIVAL PROCESSING OF THIS COLLECTION INTO ARCHIVAL-SAFE STORAGE MATERIALS. ANTICIPATED ADDITIONS IN 2024 AND BEYOND WILL PUSH THE TOTAL NUMBER OF IMAGES ABOVE 1,000,000. THE CENTER DIGITIZES MANY OF THE IMAGES AS WELL AS THEIR ASSOCIATED METADATA, SHARING THEM THROUGH ITS WEBSITE, SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS, AND PUBLICATIONS, WHILE MAKING THEM AVAILABLE TO RESEARCHERS, AUTHORS, AND OTHER USERS. GROWTH OF THE COLLECTION HAS LED TO A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN IMAGE USAGE REQUESTS, AND IMAGES FROM THE CENTER'S ARCHIVE NOW APPEAR FREQUENTLY IN BOOKS AND MAGAZINES BY OTHER PUBLISHERS AND AUTHORS. ONE EXAMPLE IS THE "ARCHIVES TREASURE" FEATURE THAT APPEARS IN EACH ISSUE OF CLASSIC TRAINS MAGAZINE AND SPOTLIGHTS A PHOTOGRAPHER IN THE CENTER'S ARCHIVE. THE CENTER'S COLLECTION IS NOT RECORDED ON THE ORGANIZATION'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.COLLECTION PRIORITIES IN 2023 INCLUDED THE ONGOING PROCESSING OF SEVERAL LARGE AND SIGNIFICANT COLLECTIONS. THE RICHARD STEINHEIMER AND SHIRLEY BURMAN COLLECTION WAS AUGMENTED BY A SECOND BATCH OF MATERIALS THAT ARRIVED IN DECEMBER 2023, JOINING THE FIRST BATCH FROM JUNE 2022. THE CENTER'S COLLECTION HOLDINGS NOW CONTAIN MORE THAN 40,000 SLIDES, PRINTS, AND NEGATIVES, ALONG WITH WRITINGS AND CORRESPONDENCE. WORK ALSO CONTINUES ON THE HENRY POSNER III COLLECTION, WITH APPROXIMATELY 40,000 IMAGES, THE JIM SHAUGHNESSY COLLECTION, ESTIMATED AT MORE THAN 60,000 IMAGES, AND THE JOHN GRUBER COLLECTION, WITH MORE THAN 100,000 IMAGES. THE CENTER ALSO ACCESSIONED SEVERAL DOZEN PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS, AND ART PRINTS IN 2023.