Title: Guy L. Dunscomb papers

Dates: 1937-1999

Collection Number: MS 493

Creator/Collector: Dunscomb, Guy L., 1915-2000

Extent: 7 boxes

Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Abstract: At the time of his death in September 2000, Guy Dunscomb had been working with Robert Pecotich on a revised edition of SOUTHERN PACIFIC STEAM PICTORIAL, Volume II. This collection includes correspondence, corrections, notes and copies for the new manuscript.

Language of Material: English

This collection is open for research at our off-site storage facility with one week's notice. Contact Library & Archives staff to arrange for access.

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Guy L. Dunscomb papers . California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives

Gift of Robert A. Pecotich, 2001 and 2002

Guy L. Dunscomb was a prominent railroad photographer and historian. He was born May 24, 1915 in Chicago and in 1920 moved to a citrus ranch in Lindcove, California. Dunscomb had his first contact with trains there, as the Visalia Electric passed his family's ranch. In 1932, Dunscomb took his first photograph, of a Southern Pacific steam locomotive, in Santa Cruz, California. This was the beginning of a collection which would grow to include 20,000 locomotive images. •Dunscomb's working life was spent at the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. In the 1930s, he began working for the Southern Pacific Freight Traffic Department. After serving in the Army for 4 years during World War II, he moved to Modesto in 1947 and worked for three years as a printer before returning to Southern Pacific in 1950 to work in the Operating Department. In 1959, Duncomb transferred to the Pacific Motor Trucking Company. He retired in 1977. •Dunscomb authored nine railroad books, which he published himself. His first book, DIVISION MAPS OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC, co-authored with Al Rose, was published in 1949. It was followed by ALBUM OF WESTERN LOCOMOTIVES (1950), and A CENTURY OF SOUTHERN PACIFIC STEAM LOCOMOTIVES (1963). Dunscomb wrote several books in collaboration with Fred Stindt, including: WESTERN PACIFIC STEAM LOCOMOTIVES, PASSENGER TRAINS AND CARS (1980). He collaborated with his son Donald Dunscomb on WESTERN STEAM PICTORIAL (1988). •Dunscomb's final collaboration was with his son Donald K. Dunscomb and Robert A. Pecotich, a Silicon Valley resident and railroad photographer and historian. The first volume of SOUTHERN PACIFIC STEAM PICTORIAL was published in 1991and the second volume in 1999. •Dunscomb passed away on September 1, 2000 at his home in Modesto. He was survived by his wife, Eileen; children Marilyn Reineka of Merced and Donald Dunscomb of Roseburg, Oregon, as well as several grandchildren. •Dunscomb was a prominent figure in many railroad organizations, including the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club, and the Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society.

At the time of his death in September 2000, Guy Dunscomb had been working with Robert Pecotich on a revised edition of SOUTHERN PACIFIC STEAM PICTORIAL, Volume II. This collection includes correspondence, corrections, notes and copies for the new manuscript. This collection is arranged into three series: 1. PUBLICATIONS 2. TRIPS AND EXCURSIONS 3. CORRESPONDENCE