A Train of Bookmarks

by

Laine Farley

Can a fascination with something be transmitted through DNA? If so, then there may be an explanation for my love of trains. One of my family’s stories tells of how my great-grandfather and his brother rushed to see the first train coming through. As the story was told by a cousin, there was a “train” of covered wagons making their way across the Texas wilderness:

Of course in those days the whole country was new and very wild and the first railroad had just been built in that part of the world. Everyone was excited and talking about it in every town they passed through. . . . They had been told it would pass that place about 4 o’clock in the morning so they all made their camps and cooked and washed up at the nearby creek, milked their cows and fed all their stock and sat up by the campfires and waited all night in order to see the wonderful, so much talked about train.  In the meantime, Uncle Jim and Dad went exploring with their dog, with much warning and tales of danger about even going near the track. They could not imagine just how it would come, or look, but they would dare each other to touch the track with their feet.  Said they would ease up and touch the rail with one foot and run for dear life. Said they imagined it would come through like a bullet from a gun from all they had heard of the great speed, and it really was speed compared to their slow oxen and wagon traveling. The next morning about time for it they heard the great roaring noise and could see the reflection of headlight long before it got in view. Of all the scrambling and rounding up of children and he said every one caught hands and held tight and it whizzed by. He said that was the biggest thrill he ever experienced. 

My third grade teacher took us on a number of field trips to the fire station, the sugar cane syrup mill, and the turkey farm but the most memorable was a 15-minute train ride to the next small town. We had to write essays about our experiences, and I had no trouble talking about the thrill of being able to ride, gently rocked by the motion, or walk, lurching through the cars; my story was published in the local paper. On hot summer nights, I lay in front of the window while visiting my aunt, and listened to the train whistle as it lumbered through town in the middle of the night. I was intrigued by the possibility that it could travel across the vastness of Texas and ultimately out of the state, a daunting but exciting prospect.

As a young adult, I ventured out alone on a trip from Dallas through Chicago to Washington, DC. The discomfort of spending two days in a seat (sleeper cars being too expensive) was mitigated by the excitement of observing the countryside as it changed into cities like none I had ever seen. After college, my roommate and I spent three months traveling in Europe on the wonderfully efficient and inexpensive trains, meeting all kinds of people, mastering the schedules and fares, and relishing the views if not the food. 

Although train travel in the U.S. is much less convenient, it is possible to travel by train in California within reason. I have gone to Davis, Sacramento and Merced on business trips, thankfully avoiding the stressful drives and enjoying the convenience of wireless access. Trains to Tahoe pass through beautiful scenery and often have informative commentary from volunteer train enthusiasts. It is even possible to travel from the San Francisco area to Los Angeles if you have the time and a plan for another mode of travel once you arrive. And there are a number of historic trains that offer short runs through former logging routes. While I haven’t declared an official mission to ride all of them, I do seek them out at every opportunity. And of course, I’m always on the lookout for a souvenir bookmark. 

The Bookmark Society Newsletter (BSN), published in England, has devoted at least four articles to trains over the years. As they are fond of doing, members compile inventories of bookmarks in series and devise categories appropriate for the type of bookmark. 

Railways in the UK began issuing bookmarks around 1900 and continued through 1914 when the war necessitated a break. The pace picked up again in 1920 and has continued ever since in various forms. Prior to 1948 when the regional lines were combined to form British Railways, several of the lines were quite prolific in their use of bookmarks. Some of them issued printed timetables and guides with bookmarks attached by a string, and many existing bookmarks still have a hole at the top indicating their beginnings. I don’t have enough examples or even enough clues to develop a similar inventory for the U.S., so I will offer my few specimens in hopes that more may be identified, following the same categories as BSN, listed in issue 43, December 2002, p. 6.

Category A:  Bookmarks issued by railway companies. As in the UK, there have been many local and regional railways in the U.S. One of the most familiar to me was the Cotton Belt Route, established in 1877 near Tyler, TX, about thirty miles from my birthplace, under the name of the Tyler Tap Railway. It was incorporated a few years later into the Texas and St. Louis Railway, running from St. Louis to Texarkana, and then connecting to the Tyler Tap. In 1886, the line was reorganized into the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway Company which became the St. Louis Southwestern Railway in 1891. The web site for the Cotton Belt explains that “Since 1919 the Cotton Belt had been a very important connection of the Southern Pacific system on traffic between points in the East and the Pacific Coast and points in Texas. The consolidation and strengthening of other systems in the Southwest during the decade, 1920-1930, brought the Southern Pacific to a realization that self preservation required a route to this competitive territory.” Southern Pacific took over the St. Louis Southwestern in 1932. The “Blue Streak” illustrated on the bookmark was inaugurated in 1931 and was a fast merchandise train between St. Louis and Pine Bluff, AK. However, information on the reverse titled “Important Dates World War II” makes the bookmark no older than 1945 and probably dates it to the 1950s although the mention of the St. Louis Southwestern Railway Lines is confusing. Apparently, it maintained its own identity until the early 1990s.

Another railway company bookmark commemorates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Texas Eagle, now part of Amtrak. According to American-Rails.com, the Texas Eagle was originally part of the Missouri Pacific fleet, the first railroad to be built west of the Mississippi. The Texas Eagle served Memphis, St. Louis and several cities in Texas. Known for its distinctive eagle logo and designer livery in colors of dark blue, silver and yellow, the line was in serious trouble in 1971 when Amtrak revived it. The gold-toned aluminum bookmark includes Amtrak’s logo and was probably issued in 1973, based on the line’s founding date. Although the bookmark has a profile of an eagle’s head and a silhouette of an eagle landing, it doesn’t depict the classic chrome eagle with wings spread across the nose of locomotives. The line now serves Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, and San Antonio where it connects to the Sunset Limited route to Los Angeles. 

The third railway company bookmark is the most handsome, befitting its reputation for having the most beautiful steam locomotives. The Southern Railway operated from 1894 to 1982 when it merged with the Norfolk & Western Railway to form the Norfolk Southern Railway. The railway covered Richmond to Florida, ranged west to Memphis and New Orleans, and its main line ran from Atlanta to Washington, DC. The bookmark’s distinctive deco design and moderne angle on the train suggests it dates from the 1920s-1930s. The reverse describes its northern and western gateways and its ocean and Gulf ports. One of the locomotives is on display at the Smithsonian sporting its green, white and gold trim.

Category B: Bookmarks issued by book publishers. In this category, BSN, issue 44, Sep. 2003, lists major UK publishers, notably the Oakwood Press which has issued a series of at least forty “Collectors Bookmarks” from 1989 to 2003, to accompany their books on trains. A magazine called The Popular is also listed with two examples, but BSN notes that the publisher is unknown. Recently, I came across a set of these bookmarks, all having the message “Presented free with The Popular” and dated between March and May 1922. I located a magazine with this title, published during this period by Street and Smith in New York, which contained mostly men’s adventure stories. However, the bookmarks all feature British trains which seem like unlikely companions, given the magazine’s focus. The illustrations are colorful and detailed, designed to appeal to collectors or enthusiasts, but their sponsor remains a mystery. They include the following:

• “The Latest Type of Midland Railway 4-coupled compound Express Engine”, March 11th, 1922
• “The ‘Duke of Rothesay,’ the Latest Type of North British Railway Express Engine”, March 25th, 1922
• “Great Central Railway War Memorial Express Engine ‘Valour’”, April 1, 1922
• “The Latest Type of North-Eastern Railway Atlantic Express Engine”, April 8th, 1922
• “The Latest Type of London and /South-Western Railway Express Engine”, April 15th, 1922
• “The Latest Type of Great Eastern Railway Express Engine”, April 22nd, 1922
• “The Latest Type of South-Eastern and Chatham Railway 4-Coupled Express Engine”, April 29th, 1922
• “The Latest Type of Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway 6-Coupled Express Engine”, May 13th, 1922

BSN lists one other: “A fine 6-coupled express engine of the Buenos Aires and Great Southern Railway”, July 29th, 1922. 

In the U.S., one of the most prolific producers of railway bookmarks is Kalmbach Publishing Co., founded in Milwaukee, WI in 1934. The extra long bookmarks feature large horizontal color images of trains and many are labeled as a “book marker.” They list an assortment of books on railways including modeling books, historical sources and others, along with an area for a retail store stamp. I have five designs that appear to be from the 1950-1960 period.

Category C: Bookmarks issued by preserved railways. BSN lists twenty-four examples for historic railways in the UK but notes that most of them are leather, suggesting that bookmarks have been promoted only recently. While I have ridden on about ten historic railways in the U.S., I have only two bookmarks and the one from Roaring Camp and Big Trees Railroad is a disappointing white leather, made in England! The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad is more appealing, if not unique, with an image of the steam locomotive on a thin piece of “aromatic red cedar.” Given the fact that historic railroads have colorful names and histories and almost always sell books, a memorable bookmark would seem to be a natural offering. 

Category D: Bookmarks issued by interest groups, museums, etc. BSN listed thirteen railway museums issuing bookmarks in issue 45, Spring 2004. American-Rails.com identifies at least thirty-three railway museums in the U.S., of which I have visited only one, but it’s surely one of the best. The California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento provides the full experience of railroad history, from the incredible story of how the western railroads were built and the historic golden spike linking the transcontinental railroads, restored rail cars, model railroads, railroad photography, archives and train rides.  The gift shop gives away a modest bookmark amidst a profusion of train books and themed gifts. 

The non-profit organization Operation Lifesaver has issued several bookmarks since the mid-1990s promoting safety around rail crossings, two featuring a die-cut of the familiar crossed signs and red lights signaling a crossing. Their web site lists many educational materials, but no bookmarks. 

Category E: Gift bookmarks. I have only one example in this category and it depicts a Canadian train but is made by the American company Quality Industries, Hatfield, PA in their Weve-a-Gift series. This woven bookmark features a nice little view of a locomotive coming around a curve with snow-covered mountains in the background and highlights the “Royal Hudson from North Vancouver to Squamish British Columbia”. 

Category F: Other types of card bookmarks (on railways). Here too I have only one that stands out, a fifth-grader’s entry in the 2005 bookmark contest for Children’s Book Week sponsored by the Solano Public Library. A little train with a red engine and a caboose with “rocks” on its side rumbles along in front of gigantic letters on a hillside spelling “IMAGINE.” And that is just what I do even now when I hear, a few miles away, the low rumbling and the train whistle late at night . . .
   
Bookmark specifications: Cotton Belt Route
Dimensions: 2" x 6 7/8"
Material: plastic
Manufacturer: St. Louis Southwestern Railway Lines
Date: 1950?
Acquired: eBay

Bookmark specifications: The Southern Serves the South
Dimensions: 1 1/2" x 5"
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: Southern Railway
Date: 1930?
Acquired: eBay

Bookmark specifications: The Latest Type of Midland Railway 4-coupled compound Express Engine
Dimensions: 2 3/8" x 7 1/2"
Material: Cardboard
Manufacturer: The Popular (magazine)
Date: 1922
Acquired: eBay

Bookmark specifications: Kalmbach’s book marker keeps you on the right track for good reading
Dimensions: 2 3/4" x 11 1/2"
Material: Paper
Manufacturer: Kalmbach Publishing Company
Date: 1960?
Acquired: eBay

Bookmark specifications: Yosemite Mtn. Sugar Pine Railroad
Dimensions: 1 7/8" x 4 7/8"
Material: Red cedar
Manufacturer: National Novelty Products
Date: 1990s?
Acquired: Sugar Pine Railroad Museum

Bookmark specifications: Trains Can’t Stop Quickly
Dimensions: 1 1/2" x 7 1/4"
Material: Plastic
Manufacturer: Operation Lifesaver
Date: 2006
Acquired: Another bookmark collector

Bookmark specifications: Royal Hudson
Dimensions: 1 5/8" x 5 3/4"
Material: Woven fabric backed by plastic
Manufacturer: Quality Industries
Date: 1960s?
Acquired: eBay


Laine Farley is a digital librarian who misses being around the look, feel and smell of real books.  Her collection of over 3,000 bookmarks began with a serendipitous find while reviewing books donated to the library. Fortunately, her complementary collection of articles and books about bookmarks provides an excuse for her to get back to libraries and try her hand at writing about bookmarks. Contact Laine.