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Burgess (Jack) Photography Collection
MS 930
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Contributing Institution:
California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
Title: Jack Burgess photography collection
Identifier/Call Number: MS 930
Physical Description:
3 Linear Feet
3 record cartons
Date (inclusive): 1905-1973
Abstract: The Jack Burgess Photography Collection includes print photographs of the equipment, rolling stock, buildings, locations,
and people related to the Yosemite Valley Railroad. These photographs were collected by Jack Burgess from other institutions
and collectors.
Physical Location: Big Four Building
Language of Material:
English
.
MS 930 is arranged into 2 series:
Series 1. Yosemite Valley Railroad Photographs
Series 2. Al Rose Color Slides
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Jack Burgess, 2022
Collection is open for research by appointment. Contact Library staff.
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 Library & Archives. 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.
Jack Burgess is a well known model railroad hobbyist, civil engineer and published author. Burgess was born on October 8,
1944 in Bakersfield, California. He enrolled in San Jose State University in 1964, but later dropped out and began working
for the City of Newark's Engineering Department in 1965. He worked there for 40 years, designing street improvements, surveying,
and notably led the design and construction of a recreation and swim center for the city of Newark. Burgess retired from his
job in 2004, but has remianed in the city ever since. Jack Burgess has been passionate about model railroading since his youth,as
he was initially a "freelance" railroad modeler until 1967, when he read several books about the Yosemite Valley Railroad
and became inspired to build a layout based on it. From 1980 through 2011, Burgess built a layout featuring several sections
of the Yosemite Valley Railroad. The layout itself is meant to represent the railroad during August of 1939, and features
many handcrafted and custom built pieces. His layout would win him honors from the National Model Railroad Association, becoming
a Master Model Railroader in 1988. In the 1970's, Burgess would begin purchasing prints of the Yosemite Valley Railroad from
railfans who photographed it while it was still in operation. If he was unable to purchase prints, he would borrow the negatives,
and make his own prints of them. His book titled "Trains to Yosemite" was published in 2004. In addition to this book, Burgess
has written over 220 articles on model railroading in various magazines. As of 2023, Burgess is still active in the model
railroading community, providing updates and advice on his website and through an online Youtube series produced by "TSG Multimedia".
Burgess is married to his wife, Jacque, who also is a fan of trains. Together, they amassed a collection of Yosemite Valley
Railroad related items, such as station signs, headlights, lamps and other items. Jack and Jacque were married in 1987, and
have 3 children as well as seven grandchildren.
Al Rose was born in the city of San Francisco in 1918. Rose moved to Modesto in 1926, and worked there as a lithographer.
He set up his own shop in the city, but then worked for the Modesto Printing Company. Rose had an interest in western railroads,
and in his line of work, had a hand in developing several railroad books, such as the "Last of the 3 foot loggers" by Allan
Kreig. His interest in these railroads also led to him becoming part of a group which chartered trips on shortline railroads,
mostly within California. Out of all the railroads, Al Rose's favorite was the Yosemite Valley Railroad. When it was abandonded
in 1945, he negotiated a trade with the scrapper to save documents and files relating to the railroad in exchange for Al's
photography services. This deal resulted in a large collection of Yosemite Valley forms, dispatcher sheets, plans, and files
being saved from destruction. Al Rose would meet Jack Burgess around 1973, and this resulted in a over two decade long friendship
between the two. Al Rose provided Burgess with photographs and information related to the railroad, which assisted Burgess
in creating his layout. Rose had planned on writing a book about the Yosemite Valley Railroad, using the documents he had
previously saved and photographs he had taken of the railroad over the years. Unfortunately, Al Rose passed away on May 27,
1995 before the book could be finished. Al Rose's passing, alongside encouragement from Al Rose's wife Helga motivated Jack
Burgess to create the book "Trains to Yosemite". Many of Al Rose's files and photographs about the railroad were scanned over
a period of several weeks, and later used in the book.
The Jack Burgess Photography Collection includes print photographs of the equipment, rolling stock, buildings, locations,
and people related to the Yosemite Valley Railroad. These photographs were collected by Jack Burgess from other institutions
and collectors. These photographs cover the operational lifespan of the railroad from 1907-1945. Included within this collection
are the Al Rose Color Slides, which are color images of the Yosemite Valley Railroad, available as both slides and as printed
copies. All of these photographs are available digitally, either in JPG or TIF file formats.
Collection was arranged in binder order. Unnumbered binders were arranged alphabetically.
[Identification of item], Jack Burgess Photography Collection, MS 930, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives,
Sacramento, California
Jack, B. (n.d.). About me | Yosemite Valley Railroad. Www.yosemitevalleyrr.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://www.yosemitevalleyrr.com/about/
Jack, B. (2017, May 27). Welcome | Yosemite Valley Railroad. Web.archive.org. https://web.archive.org/web/20170527085812/http://yosemitevalleyrr.com/
Thompson, A. (2012, June 1). Jack A. Burgess. Www.signaturepress.com. https://www.signaturepress.com/authors/jab.html
TSG Multimedia. (2021, March 17). TSG Live Talking Trains - Jack Burgess NMRA Achievement Program and More! Www.youtube.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNe3TAz6qVE
TSG Multimedia. (2022, October 22). Model Railroading with Jack Burgess Layout Tour Visitor Experience.Www.youtube.com. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHfyLPUjFzI
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photograph collections
Photography of railroads
Railroads--Photography--Locomotives
Yosemite Valley Railroad