Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Guy L. Dunscomb papers
- Dates:
- 1937 - 1999
- 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.
- Extent:
- 9 Linear Feet 7 boxes + 1 oversize box
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Guy L. Dunscomb Papers, MS 493, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
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.
- Biographical / historical:
-
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 byAlbum 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 onWestern 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 1991 and 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.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Robert A. Pecotich in 2001 and 2002
- Arrangement:
-
This collection is arranged in three series:
1. Publications
2. Trips and Excursions
3. Correspondence
- Physical location:
- Statewide Museum Collection Center
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Bibliography:
-
Dunscomb, G. L. (1959). Album of Western locomotives. The Author.
Dunscomb, G. L. (1977). A century of Southern Pacific steam locomotives: 1862-1962.
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-02-20 00:31:07 +0000 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research by appointment. Contact Library Staff.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright has been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. Permission for publication must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Library & Archives.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Guy L. Dunscomb Papers, MS 493, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
111 I StreetSacramento, CA 95814, US
- Contact:
- (916) 323-8073