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Fairbanks Feature: A New Train of Thought – Two books from the Lindsay Publications Catalog

James D. Van Trump Library | Frank B. Fairbanks Transportation Archive | Fairbanks Features

Showcasing a variety of materials located in the Frank B. Fairbanks Rail Transportation Archive

No. 5 Presentation
Two books from the Lindsay Publications Catalog

The Lindsay Publications catalog is officially called, Lindsay’s Technical Books. The catalog uses the cheapest of papers, small print, pages crammed full of book titles and explanations, and writing sometimes so quirky the reader might think something has been incorrectly stated. In fact, the blurb on the front cover states Exceptional technical books for experimenters, inventors, tinkerers, mad scientists, and “Thomas-Edison-types.”

The catalog, however, is a gold mine of books that cannot be found elsewhere. Most of them are reprints, the originals long out-of-print and their value not known until Lindsay found and resur-rected them. Two of these unique reprints are in the Fairbanks Archive for your enjoyment. The Catalog is also available for your enjoyment.

  • Cover. Lindsay Publications Catalog.
  • Catalog page advertising one of the books to be found in the Fairbanks Archive.
  • Cover. Railroad Shop Practice. Methods and Tools by Frank A. Stanley. Originally written in 1921.
  • Cover. Locomotive Design. Volumes 27, 28, 29 and 30 from 1910. By Geo. L. Fowler and Carl J. Mellin. Railway Repair Shop Practice. Volume 90 from 1912. By Franklin D. Jones. From the Trenton Shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
  • Picture, page 192. View in the erecting department of the Trenton Shops. From the above Railway Repair Shop Practice.

The Frank B. Fairbanks Rail Transportation Archive is open by appointment on Mondays, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Use of the archive is free to PHLF members (one of the benefits!); non-members are assessed a $10 use fee.

The Archive is located on the fourth floor of The Landmarks Building at Station Square, in the offices of the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.

To schedule an appointment, email the Librarian James Halttunen: James@phlf.org

Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation

100 West Station Square Drive, Suite 450

Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Phone: 412-471-5808  |  Fax: 412-471-1633