Book Proposal



Book Proposal

For Images of America series

Transportation History

ARCADIA PUBLISHING

This form is intended to provide important information for our editorial department to use in assessing the viability of each project, and, if the proposal is accepted, in scheduling the book for completion and for all publication services.

Please fill out this questionnaire and return it, with sample photocopies of twenty (20) of the images from the collection you plan to use, along with detailed captions of 50 to 70 words, as they would appear in the book, to the following address: Kaia R. Motter, Acquisitions Department, Arcadia Publishing, 224 State Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801.

If you would like an electronic version of this form in Microsoft Word, please e-mail your editor, and one will be sent to you.

You should expect to hear from our editorial department within three to four weeks. If you have any questions, please call 603-436-7610.

PROPOSED BOOK TITLE: The Long Island Rail Road: An Era of Service

PART A: ABOUT THE AUTHOR

1. Full name: David Keller and Steven A Lynch

2. Address (include street address and mailbox number):

7256 Hiawassee Oak Drive, Orlando, FL 32818-8360

506 Choo Choo Lane, Valrico, FL 33594

3. Telephone (home): 813-653-4047 407-578-4956

(work):

(fax):

[Please note if you do not want these numbers given out to the local press.] Do not give out.

4. E-mail: thekellers@cfl. slynch@tampabay.

5. Place and date of birth (necessary for Library of Congress information):

Please note if you do not want your date of birth given out to local press. David Keller: 3/30/52 Port Jefferson, NY

Steve Lynch 12/31/51 Brooklyn, NY

6. Current career: David Keller: Chief Estimator in structural steel fabrication

Steve Lynch: Insurance Sales

7. Past occupations, educational background, interests, and hobbies: David Keller was a Ticket Clerk and Special Services Attendant for the Long Island Rail Road while attending SUNY @ Stony Brook. Later he became a teacher, a banker, a ship builder and steel fabricator. He has been an LIRR enthusiast since age 5.

Steve Lynch has 25 years computer/telecommunications experience. He has been modeling, following and collecting LIRR for 40 years.

8. Museum or historical organization affiliation (if any): David Keller was at one time a member of the Long Island Sunrise Trail chapter of the N.R.H.S.

9. Previous works, including books, articles, videos, and other projects (if any), together with the quantity sold and circulation: David Keller has had many photographs from his archives published in several of Ron Ziel’s and Vincent Seyfried’s LIRR history books. Also has had photos published in the New York Daily News magazine section under the old “New York’s Changing Scene” section. His photos have also appeared in articles written by several individuals for the “PRR Keystone” historical publication as well as Steve Lynch’s magazine article on the operations on the Oyster Bay Branch of the LIRR for Model Railroad Planning 2004. Both Dave and Steve have recently had published the new hit Arcadia Publishing book The Long Island Rail Road: 1925-1975

Steve has recently had a magazine article published: “Operations on the Oyster Bay Branch” of the LIRR.

10. Any extra biographical detail that you think might add interest and color to publicity information: David Keller became a railfan at age 5 when a retiring LIRR trainman gave him his old blue cap and vest as he got off his final run. He began seriously photographing and collecting negatives of the LIRR at age 14. He’s been continuing to do so for the past 39 years. He currently has a LIRR website at

lirrphotos/lirrphotos.htm

Steve has combined his photography, modeling and rail activities into several rail websites including:

and

11. How did you hear about Arcadia?

Dan Maxton’s Rahway Valley and Dave Morrison’s LIRR Station Photographs by Arcadia. As a result we had our own book published through Arcadia: The Long Island Rail Road: 1925-1975.

PART B: ABOUT THE SUBJECT

1. What is the subject of your proposal?

Long Island Railroad Pictorial Perspective; a view of the operations, facilities, structures, passenger equipment and motive power behind the railroad.

2. What geographic area does your subject cover? What time period(s)? Long Island, NY: 1925-1975

3. What are the populations of the areas covered in your subject matter? (Please specify town names and populations. ) Long Island has 7+ million people and has carried millions of passenger miles yearly for well over a century.

All major towns on Long Island are covered by Long Island Rail Road service. Municipal lots are daily filled to overflowing with commuter’s cars.

4. Are there historical societies, organizations, or museums dedicated to your subject? Does it contribute to a tourist destination or attraction? If so, which features attract visitors, and during which time(s) of year? How many visitors does the area receive each year? (Please indicate the source of this number.)

Long Island Railroad Museum

Friends of Loco 35

Oyster Bay Historical Society

Twin Forks Chapter, NRHS

Long Island Sunrise Trail Chapter, NRHS

Railroad Museum of Long Island (Riverhead and Greenport)

5. Are there competing books that already examine the history of your subject? If so, how will your book offer something different to the market? Pre-existing books about this subject were not as subject-specific. They were general overviews of the history of the LIRR. Also, those books are pretty much out of print, and have been for some time. Our just-issued Arcadia book, The Long Island Rail Road: 1925-1975 has been a big hit since its release on 9/1/04. Out of an initial run of 1791, there were about 200 copies left on hand as of 2/1/05.

PART C: ABOUT THE BOOK

1. What time span does the book cover? 1925-1975

2. Please list the sources for all the images you will use in your book. Please include sample photocopies of twenty (20) images from the collection you plan to use, along with a sample caption of 50 to 70 words for each one, as it would appear in the book. (Please do not send original images at this point.)

All photos will be from the archives of David Keller. These archives consist of negatives obtained over the past 38 years from various photographers around the country, who once all lived on Long Island. The original photos submitted will have, along with the captions, a photo credit to those great photographers where their identity is known. (as for sample photos and captions, please see our first book.)

3. Are the rights to these photographs or postcards cleared or easily accessible? Yes. The original negatives are in the possession of David Keller and are, therefore, his property. Any copy negatives that may be used are copy negatives of photos where the original negative is no longer known to exist in anyone’s collection.

4. Will you be able to provide original images to Arcadia for scanning? (Authors have the option of shipping or delivering images in person.) Yes

5. What is the thematic focus of the book? Please include a preliminary outline of the chapters you may include. (You may have three to ten chapters.) The theme will be to show the railroad as a sum of its parts and not just a commuter line going into and out of New York City. Focus will be on never before published photos depicting the railroad from a view behind the scenes.

Chapters:

 

Electrified Service

Feeding the Firebox

Our Diesel Heritage

The Freight Business

Passenger Service

Morris Park Shops

Depots and Towers Along the Right of Way

6. Please include a one-page description of your book. You should focus on the time period it covers, the founding, significant people, history, products, and services of the company. Please also include the sources of the photographs. In addition, draw attention to the historical and cultural context of the book, little-known historical facts associated with the company, people and places of special interest, and outstanding individual images.

Planned and chartered in April 24, 1834, the Long Island Railroad commenced operations in

1836 to provide a route to Boston. Stretching 110 miles east of New York City, the LIRR has been the backbone of population growth and suburban development for well over 100 years. Through several immigration and population periods starting in the 1880's the railroad has provided the link to New York City for millions.

Farmers, fishermen, and the tourist industry have depended on the LIRR for their livelihood just as the millions who have used the railroad daily for their pilgrimage into New York City for employment and markets.

Individual images of note will show steam retired prior to WWII, men working on the railroad, one of a kind shots of structures no longer in use such as towers, water tanks, and crossing shanties, and never published photos of bygone days of Long Island when it was more rural and the railroad was the primary means of travel.

We plan to show the behind the scenes operation of the railroad from 1925 through 1975 with emphasis on the days following WWII, the mix of electric motive power, daily operations, structures and facilities, and other facets of a working railroad that few commuters or inhabitants of Long Island have seen or thought about. The photos will show the variety and richness of the oldest chartered railroad still in operation today: The Long Island Rail Road.

PART D: SCHEDULE

1. Most of our authors compile their images and complete the manuscript in three to six months. What do you see as a workable deadline for the delivery of the images, text, and layout plan for the book? As we have our first book already out, and it is seriously being considered for a 2nd print run, We would like to have this new book come out towards the end of the Summer or early Fall/2005 so as not to interfere with additional sales from the 2nd print run. Dave Keller has more than one-half the material already in place, laid out and captioned. The remainder of the photos can be printed, captioned and laid out anytime between the present day and the end of the summer.

2. Are there any major events during the year for the company that we should consider when planning the release date for the proposed publication? This year, 2005, is the 100th anniversary of the electrification of the Long Island Rail Road. It is a big deal and will certainly have newspaper coverage as did the New York City Subway System with their 100th anniversary last year (2004). We have included a detailed chapter on the electrification plus chosen cover photos of electric locomotives and/or trains as a result of this “big event.”

PART E: COMMUNITY APPEAL

1. For what is your form of transportation best known? Commuter service. The LIRR was and is the largest commuter railroad in the nation, handling over 150,000 riders daily!

2. What particular appeal will this book have to the community? Whom do you identify as the primary readers/buyers of the book? With millions of past riders, a large well educated population group, and the preservation of Long Island history at an all time high, the potential is large. The primary group is railfans, LIRR employees (both past and present), LIRR commuters (both past and present) and readers of 20th century history.

3. Please include a listing of transportation related bookstores, gift shops, catalogues, and websites in the immediate area(s), and related to the topics represented by the book. (If possible. This is not required for the initial proposal.)

Ron’s Books, Harrison, NY (railroad book seller: also on-line)

Farrell Books, Boston, MA (railroad bookseller: also on-line)

.

Numerous railroad-specific booksellers throughout the United States.

4. Please provide the name and telephone number of at least one reference, preferably someone who is concerned with the preservation of transportation history.

Vincent F. Seyfried: 163 Pine Street, Garden City, NY (Retired and numerously-published

LIRR, trolley and Queens County historian)

Arthur Huneke: 39 Adams St., East Islip, NY (dorart@) (Retired LIRR employee

and historian)

Thank you for taking the time to complete this proposal form and submit the sample images. The acquisitions department will review your proposal and contact you within 2-4 weeks.

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