Electric Railways Of Iowa Trolley Sparks CERA Bulletin #100 1956 145 pages

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Another year has rolled around and we again present the efforts of the publication committee of the Central Electric Railfans' Association and of the many friends of CERA who have made information and photographs available for another bulletin in our series of electric railways of the states.

Our subject, Iowa, is of course a favorite with all electric railway students. The hardy nature of Iowa's interurban railways preserved them far longer than their counterparts in most other states. Mason City, Charles City and Waterloo are yet in operation at press time, with Cedar Rapids and Des Moines only slightly over the horizon.

We thought a few words describing the method of preparation of CERA bulletins might be of interest. Most of our readers know that CERA is a not-for-profit group incorporated for historical purposes in the State of Illinois. Beyond this, we sometimes think they may picture a fine office with an expert full-time staff with many modern facilities at their disposal. Actually, everyone concerned with CERA publications (except the contractor who does the actual printing) is compensated only by the satisfaction they receive from the pursuit of their hobby. All work on the bulletin is done after members of the staff have put in a full day's work in their respective fields. But then, this is exactly the same basis on which all other CERA activities are conducted.

Publication work begins each year just as soon as the previous year's publication is in the mail. Subjects which have been under discussion for months or even years before are narrowed and a final choice is made by the publication director, with the advice and concurrence of the CERA board as a whole.

First steps are the accumulation of photos, timetables and other data from basic sources such as the railway journals and the collections of some of the well-known "old-timers" in the hobby. Calls go out to anyone having unusual material and lists are compiled showing the data on hand as well as shortages that need to be covered. Sorting and cataloguing places material at fingertip control.

Office quarters for a regular work time for the publication committee are next arranged. So far we have been fortunate in securing even the use of drawing tables in after-hour periods without cost to CERA. Maps, drawings and rosters are the next order of business. Compilation into usable form takes a surprisingly large amount of time even when excellent basic data is submitted. Meantime another group of three are working on the thumbnail descriptions- one composing paragraphs, a second rough typing for a third finish typing on CERA's own electromatic typewriter.

Then comes the interesting job of assembly, with its problems of selection and its many compromises between sizes, quantities and arrangements. When space runs out, should size reductions be resorted to, or should some material be rejected? W he n photos are poor, but the only ones available on a particular subject should we risk criticism of poor reproduction, should we attempt retouching, or should we suffer incompleteness by omission? If the lettering on a map or roster is not up to standards is there time to redo the whole job?

Finally come the captions, credits and the page arrangements, followed by the makeup dummy and the conference with the printer. There's many a booby trap in this phase of the job, and we often wish there were much more time to recheck all these steps several additional times, but by now we're already late for the next year's beginning and the job load now transfers to others.

These are the distribution people, the members who are responsible for getting a copy safely into the hands of each member at home or abroad. They also have the year-round job of supplying copies to the many new friends we develop each year, whose support thru purchase of back issues makes possible the next year's work.

We hope this brief description gives you a better idea of how TROLLEY SPARKS comes into being. If we donot, at times, seem as professional in treatment as you would like, it will be thru lack of experience rather than for any lack of desire to please, for after all, the organization is a hobby group, We cannot expect to demand from the same officers and members year after year,and the new officers of each year earnestly request y our support and forbearance of their human shortcomings.

All pictures are of the actual item. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.

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