by Kevin EuDaly, Publisher/photo by the author
In our railroad world, we allot plenty of ink to dates, times, and generations, so it is not surprising that there’s a celebration tied to the five-decade mark for the Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazete. But what makes the 50-year run that began in March 1975 special is that its original founder, Bob Brown, is still at the helm. In the publishing world this is a truly remarkable feat, a testimony to the passion and endurance Bob has for his magazine and its subject matter. His course didn’t happen by some random chance once he set his hand to the throttle, he’s been at the helm for two generations by anyone’s measure.
The narrow gauge world of railroading and model building is a fascinating one. From the twisting world of the Colorado Rockies with tiny Rio Grande steam locomotives negotiating wild topography with you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it curves and trestles, to worldwide narrow gauge railroads still in freight operation, Bob at the GAZETTE has been painstakingly covering the details, especially in model form, on what has to be a publishing record.
I long ago traded in my model-building passion on writing and publishing, choosing what almost seems a predestined path of photography, railfanning, and worldwide travel.
I’ve photographed a number of narrow gauge operations, and because my passion is freight railroading, I haven’t taken much time to explore the current day narrow gauge tourist train operators, an oversight Jerry Day (author of our K-36 and K-28 books) implores I need to correct.
The problem is, with the freight interest, I keep finding other targets, a number of narrow gauge operations that are of keen interest. For example, in the aerial photo above, witness U.S. Gypsum’s narrow gauge Alco DL-535E 112 trundling across the desert north of Plaster City, Calif., on March 2, 2022, hauling 15 gypsum loads and two empties from the mine to the gypsum plant (the first car behind the Alco is an idler and the last car is a water car used to haul water to the mine). This is undoubtedly the last industrial narrow gauge operation in the U.S., a survivor that dates back to 1920, and certainly one worth the time to go see.
Most of the rest of my narrow gauge interests lie overseas, especially Australia, where a number of 3-foot, 6-inch gauge railroads haul iron ore, gypsum, and lime through the vast landscapes of South Australia and Western Australia, and there are other narrow gauge operations in every Australian state, including a massive system of sugar cane railroads‚ a mecca for narrow gauge freight operations. New Zealand’s narrow gauge net-work is vast, making it another must-see, especially while the older EMDs and GEs are still operating on the South Island. But you better hurry to see them, new locomotives built in Spain are already arriving.
I have the distinct feeling I’m preaching to the choir, and it’s a big choir! Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette is highly successful, and that points directly to Bob. He’s stuck to his original vision and seen it through many phases, moving it to White River Productions when Bob’s wife, Irene, was ready to step away from the daily management pressures associated with subscriptions and accounting. When I was introduced many years ago to Bob by Charlie Getz at a National Narrow Gauge Convention, I knew instantly that here was a gem, one of us chasing his dream on a trajectory that few manage.
While it’s important to honor a magazine’s run, it’s critical to recognize the man behind the publication, and the GAZETTE and Bob Brown are synonymous: a quality publication from a quality guy.
—Kevin EuDaly is the founder of White River Productions and the publisher of Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette.
