Frisco Archive - Monthly Report

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by FriscoCharlie, May 3, 2014.

  1. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Folks,

    The Frisco Archive had it's busiest month to date in April with 90 posts. We hope to hit similar numbers in May.

    While we had a very successful telethon to raise money recently, funds will be needed on a continuing basis to keep the Frisco Archive as active throughout the next year. Likewise, more material is neeed and many of you have collections of material which would be well-suited for inclusion on the site.

    Thanks very much for the help that you have given so far. We will continue to work to make the Frisco Archive something very special.

    Charlie
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 8, 2016
  2. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Folks,

    This is my monthly address regarding the progress of the Frisco Archive.

    As May comes to a close, we are on track for about 79 posts this month. That’s not quite as many as the 90 posts we made in April but we continue to try and acquire content.

    We also continue to ask you folks to share your collections of content that can be posted to the site. Many of you have amassed very nice collections of interesting material which could be shared to the delight of many Frisco fans.

    Unfortunately, the history of our railroad is, in many cases, lying dormant in boxes in attics and basements and in the private collections of people unwilling to share with others.

    While there is certainly no requirement upon any person to share what he has, things that are not shared are more likely with each passing day to never be shared and to eventually vanish.

    As has been stated, as time passes (and as we pass) younger people are less and less likely to be interested in a railroad that they were never witness to.

    That is the goal of the Frisco Archive, a project that I believe to largely be the first of its kind. Yes, there are other websites that offer images and documents relating to fallen flag railroads, but none that I know of that offer these high quality scans and that attempt to offer as much information as we are trying to offer.

    As time passes and more content is posted to the site, the number of page views is increasing and the amount of interest in the project is growing. We are getting a number of interesting e-mail messages and other contacts relating to the site and I find that exciting. More than one inquiry has asked me to explain the nature of the project and what is to come.

    We are interested in all things Frisco; slides, photos, negatives, and documents, such as All Aboard Magazines, any kind of booklets issued by the railroad, advertising, vintage timetables and annual reports.

    We don’t ask to keep these things, but to scan them to preserve them on the Internet either as images or PDF files.

    Right now, we still have $300 to $400 available to purchase content with, but for those that believe in this project, it will require ongoing funding. We did receive some unsolicited contributions during May and I used one $100 donation to purchase a small slide collection.

    Thank all of you for your help with this project, and for those of you that believe that we are building something great, I thank you and we welcome your continued participation either in the way of financial support or the contribution of material.

    I am willing to scan and return any items (at my personal cost) to anyone who would like to help.

    Regards,

    Charlie
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 8, 2016
  3. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Folks,

    Here is the Frisco Archive monthly report for June: We will finish June with 76 posts.

    During the month, we ran a brief fundraiser and took in about $272 in donations. I donated over $200 myself to buy a group of slides and that is not counted in the total.

    I want to thank everyone who donated. It is appreciated!

    I am going to continue with an explanation of a few things. These are things that I have said before but due to questions that people have asked, I think it is important to cover these things again:

    1) Which slides on the Frisco Archive are we buying? On the right hand side of the page on the Frisco Archive, if you click on the category SLIDES, those are the ones that we buy. All other material (including the BN patched images) are donated by others and are not purchased with the donated money.

    2) How much material is on hand now? I am not going to speak to other donated material because we have various amounts of donated material on hand that is not posted in the "slides" category, but the slides that we are buying (that remain the property of Frisco.org), we have enough material to post every day for more than a year. I am going to estimate that we probably can post an image every day for at least a year and a half from today, maybe a little more; so, several hundred.

    3) How much is enough? How much is out there?

    4) What will happen to the actual slides and where are they now? Most of the slides are in my possession right now. Bob Dye has slides that are pending a date with the scanner. I do not have any particular need to have the slides. I have never owned a slide projector or scanner and I can't do anything with them personally. As stated before, if I get struck by lightning, my wife would contact the other administrators and ask who they want them sent to. If you folks decide that you want to appoint someone to be the "keeper of the slides" (especially someone with a fireproof safe) that is fine with me. The only goal is that we maintain possession of them as a group. We are scanning the slides at a very high quality and as such, most people would never need to use an actual slide for any reason, but we do have them.

    5) What about reselling them? I have received that thought as a suggestion from four or five people. No decisions have been made on any such thing but we would talk about that as a group if we ever considered it.

    6) How and where do you acquire the slides? We buy through auctions and I have purchased a couple of collections from people that contacted me and offered to sell a group of slides. As funds are available we will continue to try to acquire relevant material through any possible avenue.

    7) How much money do we have now to use for this? Right now not much! We have just over $100 available and that will run out soon. The money tht was recently donated purchased some great slides that will be forthcoming. I ask that anyone that believes in this project that can afford to donate, continue to do so. Obviously, me on here begging for donations on a weekly basis will get old quick (and may already have). We need to look at fundraisers through a t-shirt project or special run or anything that will raise money! As I said earlier, we do not need money to pay the site's bills now that Frisco.og is hosted on the TrainBoard server. I will donate the money necessary to pay for the site hosting for as long as I can afford to do so.

    To again quote something that I posted last month:

    Please keep this in mind as we move forward with the Frisco Archive. We need material: Pictures, documents, annual reports, anything related to the Frisco that can live on through the Internet.

    Thanks for reading and Happy July! We've got some really good posts coming in the next few days.

    Charlie
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 8, 2016
  4. TAG1014 (Tom Galbraith RIP 7/15/2020)

    TAG1014 (Tom Galbraith RIP 7/15/2020) Passed Away July 15, 2020 Frisco.org Supporter

    I'd like take a moment to make some requests (and I don't care if the images are color, black and white, slides or prints), I'd like to see some passenger cars, and more black and yellow diesels and full stripe "Racehorse" E-units. I especially liked the FM yard switcher image just posted yesterday! Excellent photography, composition and camera!
    I don't want to monopolize what slides and images are chosen and posted, but we've had plenty of mandarin and white diesels and way too much BN equipment. I enjoy the steam photos and any photos that show unusual (or photographically neglected) installations and lineside equipment. Also m/w equipment. I feel like I'm entitled to make a few requests, because I have​ contributed to the Frisco Archive fund. I'd encourage other Frisco-Dot-Org members to make requests and contribute financially.

    Thanks, Tom G.

    PS: I'd also like to have more than one or two images posted per day.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 30, 2014
  5. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Tom,

    We don't have much available in the way of passenger cars. We might have one or two slides and if we do, I have sent them to Bob. As far as the black and yellow, we have a good number of those but not as many as the latter paint scheme (of course). I am trying to balance the posts so that you get variety. There will be a lot more black and yellow coming but we can't post them every day or we would run out of those quickly.

    E8 units are my favorite, and again, they will come as we can post them. Obviously, these images are harder to come by (and more expensive when we buy them). There are more coming though.

    Well, again I am posting what is available. The BN patched locomotives are donated and are part of the post-Frisco history. There will be a BN patched unit posted ever three to four days on average at noon Eastern time.

    I love the steam too and our steam contributor has not been able to give us images lately as he is busy with another project but I stand by for more of those images to be contributed and will immediately resume posting them if they become available.

    Without a doubt, but again, I post what is available! If people would donate more images that they have on hand we could make it more interesting.

    The thing on this is that if we post more images than we are then we will run out quicker and then there will be no new posts. I am trying to acquire content to stay ahead. If we post four or five images per day, we will run out soon. I think it is kind of like a kid with a bag of fireworks; if we shoot them all off now, we will be out. I like watching the new posts come on every day.

    Charlie
     
  6. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Folks,

    Some really good slides are going to be available in the next few days. We are essentially out of money for the project. I don't want to keep beating the drums over and over but if you feel motivation toward this and want to see some really good slides added to the Frisco Archive, please act as you see fit (as will I). :)

    Regards,

    Charlie
     
  7. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Hi Folks,

    I’m over a week late with the July update. This is due to me working a lot of overtime and not being able to spend much time online. But, July has come and gone. I always get depressed at the end of July - especially living in Maine. Summer (what there is of it) winds down a lot quicker up here than it does in Frisco-country. I always look forward to May, June and July. When July starts to wind down it’s a bad sign; time to start stacking firewood and putting the summer stuff away.

    Enough of that, here is our Frisco Archive report for July:

    We will finish the month with 80 posts. We had some really good material added to the site this month as well. No one really mentioned it but we had a little tribute to Independence Day with bi-centennial caboose posts for several days. That was fun. Some other very good images were added as well.

    Although we don’t get a lot of comments, the website traffic logs indicate that a lot of people are visiting the Frisco Archive every day. As the website grows and more and more content is added it will become an even more exciting destination. Remember, you can also register on the Frisco Archive in order to be able to comment. We get a few comments on Facebook but we want comments to be posted directly to the Frisco Archive.

    I am at a bit of a quandary on how to go forward financing the site. Although some of you folks have contributed a lot of money, we are now out of money. I have carefully spent every penny donated on good content (and you will see good content coming). However, there is a lot more out there to get.

    I’ve already gone on and on about how there is a one-time shot to get most of the content that is available. People are buying content for their private collections (for reasons I don’t understand at all) and that is probably going to be the last time anyone will ever see it.

    We are dedicated to keeping the Frisco alive and sharing with others through a comprehensive website (which is what we are trying to do). The biggest problem is that it will take a constant influx of funding to keep it going.

    If 50 people could contribute $10 per month that would probably do the trick, but contributions are not at that level.

    As I say every month, we need both contributions and material. A few images were contributed in July and more are needed. Images, documents, anything relevant is needed to continue to add to the site on a daily basis.

    We appreciate all support and invite you to continue to tune in daily!

    Regards,

    Charlie
     
  8. paul slavens

    paul slavens Member

    Charlie, I don't mind contributing money along the way, because I love this site. But I still don't understand why we don't sell the slides after they are uploaded? Once they are on the site, there here to stay and can be downloaded to everyone's computer files if they desire, and kept as long as desired. Why do we need to keep the physical slides? For instance, I don't need the real Mona Lisa to enjoy the painting.
    I sell items on ebay and I'm sure others on this site do as well. I don't mind posting and listing them on behalf of the group. I have donated a few hundred bucks over time, and sometimes I feel like my donations are adding content to someone's personal slide collection.
     
  9. TAG1014 (Tom Galbraith RIP 7/15/2020)

    TAG1014 (Tom Galbraith RIP 7/15/2020) Passed Away July 15, 2020 Frisco.org Supporter

    Good idea Paul, monies from the sales could be: (1) plowed back into buying more slides and (2) help defray costs of buying new slides. Also, I don't think the purchases should be limited to just slides, buying quality photo prints should also be considered (Disregard the last sentence if photographs are part of the materials already being considered).

    Tom G.

    PS: Some of the members of our own Frisco-Dot-Org chat group might even be interested in buying some of the slides that have been posted??
     
  10. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Paul,

    We may sell them someday but I can assure you that donations do NOT add to anyone's collection. Right now Bob Dye and I collectively possess all of the slides. As stated earlier, I do not own a slide projector or scanner. I am only interested in the slides as they relate to the Frisco Archive.

    Charlie

    Sent from my SCH-R950 using Tapatalk
     
  11. paul slavens

    paul slavens Member

    Okay Charlie, I'm not trying to play hardball but let me ask you again, What is the point in keeping the slides that are purchased from group donations? I donate to add content, not to fill up a dusty box full of slides. If the site is broke then sell the slides and generate new revenue.
    I have a proposition for you, if you know of a slide collection for sale, forward me the info and I will pay for the slides, then after you guys upload them to the site you can send the physical slides to me and I will resell them on ebay and reclaim the money. I may lose some of the money along the way, but its better than donating and seeing the money become dead. That proposal is a win win for the site.
     
  12. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    Paul,

    I will get back with you on this tomorrow. Getting late here in the east...

    Charlie
     
  13. paul slavens

    paul slavens Member

    Ok Charlie, have a good evening. Tom I like your idea of offering the slides to our members first, that way we all get a shot at them and it eliminates the ebay process on some of the material. Paul
     
  14. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    As stated several times, I (personally) have no use for the physical slides after they have been scanned. I consider all of the slides to be property of Frisco.org. We are getting really good scans from Bob and these are what I think most people want.

    If the folks here (especially those that have donated) want to sell the slides to raise money to buy more, I am not opposed. We just need more people to weigh in.

    There is no doubt that we need more money to purchase more content! I have all of the slides at my house, with the exception of those pending scanning (and I just sent Bob another box with approximately 150 slides yesterday).

    Charlie
     
  15. William Jackson

    William Jackson Bill Jackson

    I have give several times and somewhat don't care about who has the old slides. Would hate to see someone pass, and have them thrown out with the rest of the trash. We may have use of them, in the event, something happens to this site.
    I like having our own site and will support it.
     
  16. FriscoCharlie

    FriscoCharlie Administrator Staff Member Administrator Frisco.org Supporter

    I have mentioned this before but I have left instructions with my wife to contact the other administrators in case something happens to me to turn over anything I have on hand. That's not just slides but my collection of documents, etc.

    It's nice to know that we have a library of slides, but two points in favor of selling slides as suggested:

    1) They are not doing anyone any good in a box
    2) We do need money

    Charlie
     
  17. paul slavens

    paul slavens Member

    Well it appears that nobody really cares if we sell them or keep them so I wont pursue the issue any further. I will still support the site. Im going to start looking for slides at the local train shows and such and hopefully I can find some useful material to forward to the group. :)
     
  18. magistrate

    magistrate Member

    I think the reason no one responded, at least this is my reason, is that we recently had this discussion on another thread and a number of us weighed in on both sides of the subject of selling or keeping the slides. I personaly am against selling them but have no problem if the group decides otherwise.
     
  19. gstout

    gstout Member Frisco.org Supporter

    If I might, Lou Marre and I have both written books for Morning Sun called "Frisco in Color." Some few months ago there was a discussion in this forum about the possibility of doing a "Frisco in Color, Vol. 3," but, as I think I pointed out at that time,I/we would need access to previously unpublished images in order to create a third volume. I don't suppose it would be possible (would it?) to use the slides that have been acquired by the Archive to assemble a third volume? That way, there would be a second act for these slides and once we are done with the book, we could still sell them AND we would have another book. Does this seem reasonable, or just another of my weak ideas?

    GS
     
  20. magistrate

    magistrate Member

    I think using them for a book is an excellent idea!
     

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