Kevin EuDaly
Kevin EuDaly was born a stone’s throw from the Monon in Bedford, Indiana, and grew up “chasing trains” with his dad, Jim EuDaly, some of whose photographs appear in this book. A childhood move to Kansas City put Kevin in position to witness the many railroads of the 1960s and 1970s before merger mania erased so many names, and frequent treks around KC with his brother, Lon, helped build an early interest in railroad photography.
Four years at Southwest Missouri State University (1978-1982) put him in close contact with the MoPac’s White River line in southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas, resulting in that road becoming a personal favorite, and netted a degree in environmental chemistry. Many trips to the Chesapeake & Ohio with his dad inspired an interest in all things Appalachia, resulting in the C&O also being a road of interest.
In 1992 he founded White River Productions and began publishing historical society magazines, and wrote and published Missouri Pacific Diesel Power that same year. He has authored dozens of articles and had hundreds of photographs published over the last two decades. WRP has grown to become the primary producer of historical society publications in the U.S., and currently produces magazines, calendars, and books for 16 organizations, as well as Railroads Illustrated and Passenger Train Journal under the WRP flag.
He resides on the east side of Kansas City near the former Rock Island in Raytown with his wife, Nadean, and four children, Sarah, James, Danae, and Ashley. This is the sixth book he has authored or co-authored.
Mike Schafer
Mike Schafer hails from Rockford, Illinois, where he recalls his earliest train-watching experiences on the Illinois Central, Milwaukee Road, Burlington Route, and Chicago & North Western. He vividly can recall his first train rides, circa 1952, on IC’s Hawkeye and Land O’ Corn between Rockford and Chicago. Eventually he would declare the latter — America’s railroad hub — his “honorary hometown.”
While attending East Rockford High School in the mid-1960s, he met Jim Boyd at the Forest City Model Railroad Club. Jim inspired Mike to combine his railroad interests with his art, writing, and photography skills all while learning the ropes of railfanning — a move that would lead to Mike’s full-time career in railroad book and magazine publishing.
After high school, Mike attended Rock Valley College and Northern Illinois University where he received degrees in art, English, and education. But instead of becoming an art teacher, he landed a job at Kalmbach Publishing in Milwaukee. There, for nearly ten years, he helped edit and lay out numerous railroad and model railroad books produced on behalf of Trains Magazine and Model Railroader.
Mike spent all of the 1980s art directing and editing Passenger Train Journal, Prototype Modeler, and a line of books for PTJ Publishing (later purchased by Interurban Press). In 1990 he became part owner of Andover Junction Publications, another railroad book and magazine publisher and production house. In 2005, White River Productions hired Mike to help edit and produce railroad magazines and books, including a revived Passenger Train Journal.
Mike and his little dog Archie reside in a house (which includes a 1,600-square-foot model railroad) next to BNSF’s busy Twin Cities mainline in a small town outside Chicago where he also serves as village trustee and occasionally mayor pro tem.
Jim Boyd
Jim Boyd grew up in Dixon, Illinois, where he lived within sight of the Illinois Central that was still running steam during his early teen years. He “made his peace” with the black Geeps that replaced the Mikados but began a lifetime of pursuing preserved steam operations. He attended the University of Illinois and Layton School of Art and began writing magazine articles in the early 1960s. In 1967 he got a three-year job as a field service representative for the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors delivering new diesel locomotives. After EMD, he worked for a year as a brakeman on the Ilinis Central before joining Carstens Publications in New Jersey as a magazine production editor.
When Hal Carstens created Railfan & Railroad magazine in 1974, Jim became its editor and held that title for the next 23 years. After retiring as editor, Jim stayed in New Jersey and began producing railroad books and has completed or contributed to more than three dozen volumes. He still writes featue articles for numerous magazines and does a monthly “Camera Bag” column in Railfan & Railroad.
Steve Jessup
Steve Jessup is originally from Southern California and grew up on the Southern Pacific Coast Line in Atascadero. It was there he developed a passion for railroading in the late 1960s and 1970s and took an interest in rail photography in 1980 with several trips to Tehachapi Loop and Cajon Pass.
Steve began his editorial career in Seattle in 1982 and spent 14 years as a sports editor. He jumped back into publications work in 2007 joining White River Productions following a decade’s worth of experience in model railroad sales.
Steve has written many railroad features, and his by-line and photos have appeared in Trains, Railfan & Railroad, Railroads Illustrated, and Rail Classics since 1981. He and his wife, Julie, and daughter, Angela, reside in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
Andy McBride
Andrew M. McBride was born in Dixon, Illinois, where he grew up with the sounds of the Chicago & North Western’s mainline and a branch of the Illinois Central Gulf floating through his bedroom window. His father, Mike McBride, a rail enthusiast and model railroader, as well as an employee of the C&NW, got him hooked early on. By the time he was 14 his photography had been published in a couple of railroad magazines and he was hard at work on his first HO scale layout.
Andrew has spent most of his life working in the railroad hobby field. His first job was at the local model railroad hobby shop. From there he worked for Interurban Press, FastTrack video, the NMRA, Kalmbach Publishing, Walthers, and Andover Junction Publications. Today Andrew works for White River Productions as an editor and graphic designer for some of the many historical society magazines they publish.
Besides a life of railfaning Andrew also lives and dies with his beloved Chicago Cubs and is an avid collector of music and books. He lives in Paw Paw, Illinois, with his wife Wendy and their three girls, a dog, two cats, and assorted tropical fish.
Steve Glischinski
Steve Glischinski was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1957 and has been interested in railroads since he was 10 years old. He began taking photographs of railroads in 1970, at the age of 13. Since that time, his photos of railroads in action have appeared in a number of books and numerous magazines, including Pacific Rail News, Passenger Train Journal, Progressive Railroading, Railfan & Railroad and Trains. His first magazine articles on railroading were published in 1982, and his by-line has appeared dozens of times, mainly in Trains Magazine, for whom he serves as a special correspondent. He is the author of four books on railroading, including such topics as the history of the Burlington Northern Railroad, Wisconsin Central, Milwaukee Road steam locomotive 261 and regional railroads.
Steve holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science, with a minor in history, from the University of Minnesota at Duluth. In 1991, he entered the field of free-lance writing full time, working with several clients including one that handles public relations and communication programs for several short line railroads. He and wife Lori and son Andy currently reside in the St. Paul suburb of Shoreview, Minnesota.
