Locomotive Cyclopedia circa 1941

[tomcat623]

   I own a copy of the locomotive cyclopedia from 1941. It used to belong to the B+O rail transit shop. This is a reference book 2 1/2 inches thick that they used in the repair shop. It has every steam, diesel and electric loco that was in use in 1941 on all U.S. railroads, scale diagrams, (blueprints) every detail you can imagine. How can I shre this with interested party's?

     Tom

[Orsonroy]

Scan every page as a high-res document, convert the entire book to a PDF file, and offer both versions (high-res for museums, PDF for hobbiests) for a nominal fee (Ebay works well here)

[cmgn9712]

I believe you will find that violates copyright law.

[tomcat623]

I don't want break any laws, I just thought it might be useful. Its a great book for prototypical reference.

Tom

[Dr EMD]

(This should have been under general discussion).

Most major libraries MAY have this in their collection as well as college with engineering programs. A few are on sale on E-Bay and Kalmbach reprinted this edition a few years ago. I think someone hay have the info on CD. I know Westerfield has the Equipment Registers on CD.

Sound like you got the LC from the Cliffton shops from B&O's Staten Island Rapid Transit. Keep the book!

Also a great reference source is Google now has searchable patents. Did you know Kadee has a patent on some track system, but never committed themselves to go into production. How about a B&O steam turbine?

[Orsonroy]

I believe you will find that violates copyright law.

I doubt it. ALL material printed before 1935 is open source, meaning that anyone can republish material at will. Material published after 1935 is open to interpretation, but in general is under copyright to the producer of the material for life plus 75 years (or something similar).

Corporate copyrights of trademarked icons are handled a bit differently, and is generally more open-ended based on the "protection" given to them by the originator, which is why you see $1 Woody Woodpecker DVDs from 1945 but not non-Disney reproduced Disney cartoons (although someone CAN reproduce a 1935 Disney cartoon at will, but cannot make Steamboat Willy T-shirts.

Abandonment is also a valid issue. Let something lapse for too long and you lose your rights to it. Material from a "dead" railroad like the NKP is copyright free, even though the road's only been gone since 1964. The N&W/NS abandoned the copyright to the NKP and any related materials, which is why the NKPHTS, I, or anyone else can reproduce anything we have from them without fear of being sued by NS.

Copyright laws are a confusing, murky mess. In general anything newer than 1950 or so should be looked at, but anything older than 1950 is free to reproduce. I'd scan and pass around that book in a New York minute!

[RAM]

another thing.  I think if they add something to the book, they can renew or get a new copyright. 

[SteamGene]

The first question concerning copyright, is who published the book?  Generally speaking, however, I don't think it is under copyright protection now.
Gene

[ebtnut]

I think I would beg to differ on the copyright situation.  I believe the original Cyclopedias were published by Simmons-Boardman, which is still in business.  The Cyclopeidas were issued maybe every 10 years or so.  As noted, Kalmbach republished the '41 Cyclopedia about 15 years ago, and that by itself may have extended the copyright.  In any case, the 75 year rule would take you out to 2016. 

[SteamGene]

I'm not sure the Kalmbach's Cyclopaedia is the same publication as the '41 mentioned.  If nothing else, they published two, one for steam, one for diesel.  In addition the Kalmbach's pub has represenative locomotives, not every one in operation at a particular time.  In fact, it had a few that a '41 pub wouldn't have, like the C&O H-8 and the Big Boy.
Gene

[Orsonroy]

I think I would beg to differ on the copyright situation.  I believe the original Cyclopedias were published by Simmons-Boardman, which is still in business.  The Cyclopeidas were issued maybe every 10 years or so.  As noted, Kalmbach republished the '41 Cyclopedia about 15 years ago, and that by itself may have extended the copyright.  In any case, the 75 year rule would take you out to 2016. 

When Kalmbach reprinted the Cyclopedia, they created a NEW copyright on their edition of the book, not on the original itself. It's like Charles Dickens novels: anyone can publish one, but the copyright they hold will be on their version only, not on the story itself.

As I said, it's a murky mess when it comes to copyrighting. But the Kalmbach (and even the NMRA's ORERs) book is a good example of people taking old material and reissuing it without fear of legal action, same as all those Chinese fly-by-nights that are LEGALLY pressing old RKO and Republic films from the 1930s-1950s. (heck; I've got six copies of the original Little Shop of Horrors (Jack Nicholson's first movie), each made by a different company. The film came out in 1960)

[tomcat623]

This book was published by Simmons-Boardman publishing corp. for the Association of American Railroads- Mechanical Division.

[ebtnut]

Don't confuse the Model Railroader Cyclopedias with the reprint of the 1941 Simmons-Boardman Cyclopedia.  The former were plan books with photos of the prototypes, primarily intended for the modeler.  The latter was a straight reprint of the original, which was intended to illustrate new trends in locomotive design, as well as info on parts and equipment for same.  Another outfit, whose name escapes me at the moment, reprinted the 1927 Cyclopedia about 20 years ago.  If you are seriously into steam, both should be part of your library.