| 
Manuscript Group 183
Papers, 1981-1986
1 cubic foot
The research materials for his book The Camas Prairie: Idaho's Railroad on Stilts (Edmonds, Washington, Pacific Fast Mail, 1986), were donated to the University of Idaho Library by Hal Riegger in May 1987. They were processed by Judith Nielsen in February 1990.
Hal Riegger earned his B.S. and M.A. degrees at the New York State College of Ceramics and Ohio State University. He taught ceramics for a number of years, and wrote three books on the subject.
His interest in trains dates back to his childhood and a set of Lionel O gauge trains formerly belonging to his aunt. He has been active in the field of rail history and model railroading. He is a member of the NMRA and has served on its standards committee. He was involved with the founding of Ntrak, the N scale modular system. He lives in the Sierra foothills of California.
Photocopies of newspaper and journal articles, maps, correspondence, oral history tapes and transcripts, and a large collection of photographs dealing with the Camas Prairie Railroad, one of America's most scenic and fascinating railroads. With headquarters in Lewiston, one line ran northwest to Ayer, Washington, while one of the three Idaho lines went to Grangeville, another to Stites, both east and south of Lewiston, while the fourth line ran east and north to Headquarters.
Although the research material in this record group contains photocopies of material dating back to 1879, it was collected between 1981 and 1986.
The majority of the material in this record group was in labelled folders or envelopes; while these headings were preserved, a series order was imposed during processing.
The first series contains background material on the railroad and includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, illustrative items such as time tables, and annual reports, journal articles, maps of Northern Pacific lands (the parent company of the Camas Prairie), track laying records and a souvenir of a 1960 passenger excursion from Lewiston to Grangeville.
The second series contains a large number of photographs of trains, engines, and bridges. These are arranged alphabetically by the collector. Some collectors have only their own photographs, while others added photographs of other collectors to their own collections. For this reason there is a small amount of duplication in the folders. Some folders also contain correspondence concerning the identification of photographs. Many of the photographs are copies. Photographs used in the book are identified on the verso with the chapter and photograph number within the chapter, e.g. 2-12 is chapter 2, the 12th photograph.
The final series contains permits allowing Riegger on railroad property, track profiles, and tapes of oral history interviews with retired Camas Prairie employees; transcripts of these tapes are also included.
I. Background Material, 1879-1986 1 II. Photographs, 1902-1984 1 III. Other Items, 1968-1983 1
1 1 Correspondence, 1982-1985 45 2 Newspaper clippings, 1960-1986 18 3 Illustrative/background material, 1907-1982 24 4-5 Journal and other articles, 1903-1984 42 6 Maps of Northern Pacific lands, ca.1900-1984 32 7 Track laying records, Northern Pacific Railroad, 1879-1945 1 8 Souvenirs, 1960 2
9 Herb Banks, 1902-1948 13 10 A.E. Bennett, 1949-1952 15 11 Ken Brovald, 1970-1984 37 12 Al Butler, 1929-1955 13 13 Bruce Butler, 1954-1960 13 14 Camas Prairie Railroad, 1949-1976 36 15-16 Earl Cash, 1920-1984 57 17 Bill Clem (Movie: Breakheart Pass), 1975 6 18 Gruber-Potlatch Collection, n.d. 27 19 Phil Hastings, 1950-1983 33 20 Dick Herman: Army Corps of Engineers, 1962-1973 10 21 Dale Johnson, ca.1910 4 22 Lewiston Tribune Photocopies, 1984 18 23 Wally Meckstroth collection, 1956-1958 7 24 Jim Morefield, 1981-1982 10 25 Ron Nixon, 1908-1953 49 26 Maynard Rikerd, 1945-1984 32 27 Irvin Sullivan, 1956 3 28-29 Todd Sullivan, 1976-1984 39 30-31 Everett Watson, 1983-1984 10 32 Will Whittaker, 1941-1958 11 33 Winchester Museum, 1915-1934 33 34 Dan Wayt, n.d. 15
35 Permits to be on railroad property, 1981-1983 3 36 Track profiles, 1968-1981 2 37-38 Oral history tapes and transcripts, 1983 14
|