Contents of this section.

• About the National Railway Bulletin
• Purchasing Back Issues of the National Railway Bulletin
• National Railway Bulletin Style Sheet
• National Railway Bulletin Submission Procedures
• Annual Activities Issue Information and Submission Procedures for Chapters
• NRHS Bulletin Index - 1986 - through 2000 (includes Volume 1, 2001). (Warning - some of these files are of significant size and may take up to two minutes to download).
  

To contact the Editor, use our e-mail form and choose National Railway Bulletin as the subject.

About the National Railway Bulletin

The National Railway Bulletin is high-quality, glossy, professionally produced magazine. The "Bulletin" is produced for the members of the National Railway Historical Society by our all-volunteer, all member staff. Articles published are provided by the members of the Society and are well-written, detailed, and factual presentations of railroads and history. These articles are illustrated with material from the author, Bulletin staff contributions and material from the NRHS archives. A sample of brief articles from recent editions of the Bulletin in available in our Rail History Spotlight section.

• In 2007, The Bulletin is in its 72nd year of publication.
• The Bulletin is published five times a year, four issues plus a chapter activities issue that provides a complete directory of Chapters and an activities summary of most Chapters.

Interested in being published? The National Railway Bulletin is always on the lookout for useful, informative, and well-written articles. Please restrict your zeal to 10,000 words' or less. If you can't, contact the editor to discuss specifics. If you're not sure if we will accept an article idea, contact us with your proposal, even if you are not an NRHS member.

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Purchasing Back Issues of the National Railway Bulletin

Selected issues of the National Railway Bulletin are available for sale for $3.00 per issue starting with Volume 68 (cover date 2003). The price of Volumes 67 and earlier 68 (2002 and earlier) will remain at $2.00 per copy. Issues published prior to 1970 are no longer available for sale from the NRHS. However, photocopies may be made of articles for a nominal fee.

We do offer discounted rates for orders of 20 or more copies of the same issue. This is to encourage museums and other organizations with a gift shop to order bulk copies of issues they feel will be of interest to their visitors for purchase. A discounted rate of $2.00 for Volume 68 and beyond and $1.00 for issues prior to Volume 68 will be in effect for these volume orders, subject to availability.

Back issues may be ordered from the NRHS National Office in Philadelphia. If you are interested in purchasing one or more back issues, we suggest that you first telephone or e-mail our office manager at our National Office. Your order can then be mailed to the National Office and marked "Attention: NRHS Back Issue Sales." We accept check or money orders payable to the "National Railway Historical Society." We also accept credit card orders (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, for orders of $10.00 or more). Please make sure you include complete return address information as well as a phone number should we need to contact you regarding your order.

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National Railway Bulletin Style Sheet

This section outlines the writing style that should be used when submitting material to the National Railway Bulletin for publication.

As a matter of record, when conflicts in spelling or style arise, we settle disputes with the Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 3rd Edition, and The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law,(2000 edition); the AP Stylebook is available on Amazon.com for approximately $13.20 per copy.

• abbreviations (B&O, CN not B.&O., C.N. or B & O, C N).
• No periods or extra spaces in company or agency abbreviations (GE, EMD, ICC not G.E., E.M.D., I.C.C. or G E, E M D, I C C or G. E., E. M. D., I. C. C.).
• No periods or extra spaces in abbreviations such as: mph, hp (not m.p.h., h.p. or m p h, h p or m. p. h., h. p.).
• In general no periods or extra spaces in abbreviations of proper nouns or derivatives, or call letters (NRHS, CTC, WCAU-TV). There are exceptions, such as U.S., U.S.A., D.O.T., etc.
• The words "railroad" or "railway" are not to be abbreviated as "RR," "R.R.," "Ry.". They should be spelled out, and capitalized if necessary.
• Words that are part of place names should be written out the first time they are mentioned (White River Junction, Vt.; not White River Jct.). Names of states are to be abbreviated, unless standing alone (do not use postal zip code abbreviations - O. not OH, Ind. not IN, N.Y. not NY, etc.).
• When referring to locomotives, etc. the abbreviation "No." should be used for "number," not the symbol (#).
  
  

• Titles of individuals are only capitalized when preceding the person's name (Chapter President, John Smith; John Smith, chapter president). Exception: Titles of high-ranking officials are always capitalized (the President of the U.S., the Pope, the King).
• Steam locomotive types are capitalized (Mikado, Consolidation).
• The word "chapter" is only capitalized when referring to a specific NRHS chapter (the Jersey Central Chapter operated two trips).
• Lower case should be used in proper names now in generic usage (diesel not Diesel) with certain exceptions (Pullman).
• Geographic areas should be capitalized (the South, the West, the Midwest, the South Atlantic states). Adjectives like "southwestern" are not capitalized.

• Official names of all trains or ships, past and present, are to be in italics (Banner Blue, Broadway Limited, Lusitania), as are railroad car names (Dover Harbor, Hickory Creek).
• Names of newspapers, magazines, newsletters, books, etc. are to be in italics (but not movies or plays). In the case of a newspaper, only the name itself (New York Times) is italicized. If you do not have the ability to italicize your copy'such as when using a typewriter rather than a computer, please underline these names.

• All numbers ten and below are written out, higher numbers are not (seven, 15, 25,000). In stating figures in the millions or billions, it is preferable to use the form $25.7 million rather than '25,700,000 dollars' or '25.7 million dollars'. One exception is dates: February 26 not February twenty-six.
• All compound adjectives, nouns, etc. should be hyphenated (high-speed, multiple-unit, agent-operator). However "mainline" is one word. Hyphens are to be used whenever the reader's comprehension is improved by their use.
• Dates are not to be abbreviated, and the month should be spelled out. When the day is coupled with the month no "th" form should be used (the February 9 meeting, the meeting of February 9, the meeting was set for the 9th).
• An ampersand (&) should be used in railroad abbreviations instead of the word "and" (D&H, GM&O). It is also preferable to use this form in any railroad name (Gulf, Mobile & Ohio) although the railroads themselves don't always do this.
• Care should be used in the placement of apostrophes. An apostrophe should not be used in such cases as: the1970s, the 30s and 40s.
• Use correct contemporary spelling where possible (buses, not busses; travelers, not travellers; today, not to-day).
• Sentences should not begin with numerals (Four hundred peopIe attended, not 400 people attended).
• Pronouns used in place of railroads, companies or other so-called "collective nouns" are singular (B&O used its finest equipment, not their finest equipment).
• Data is the plural for datum. It is correct to say 'the data were forwarded' not 'the data was forwarded'
• Unnecessary punctuation should be avoided; commas should not be placed where they are not needed. Devices such as >8 should not be used in text. Spell out 'greater than eight'.
• Unnecessary punctuation should be avoided; commas should not be placed where they are not needed. Devices such as 8>) or should not be used. A dash (-) is the best means forsetting off an auxiliary phrase with extra emphasis. (The Broadway Limited - all three sections of it - was running full every night).
• In general, the term, "Mr." is not used when referring to Society members. In Chapter reports, it is good form to refer to members by their first name ("Joe Williams presented on of his own films. Joe also followed up with a slide program". Do not say "Mr. Williams also followed up . . ."). Outside guests, however should be referred to as Mr. Jones or Dr. Smith. Don't use the journalistic device of using the person's last name only. Example: 'Mr. Williams said' not 'Williams said'.
• NO hyphens or spaces should be used in diesel locomotive models (GP9, C420 not GP 9 or GP-9), with certain exceptions (B36-7, GP40-2).
• The symbol "%" should be spelled out as the word "percent" in text. ('The fuel efficiency was 70 percent' not 'The fuel efficiency was 70%...'). Use the symbol in an entry in a table or equation.
  

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National Railway Bulletin Submission Procedures

ALL COPY SHOULD BE TYPED AND DOUBLE-SPACED, except when submitting on computer disk or via e-mail. When submitting on computer disk, please note the file name of the computer file and submit it in ASCII format ".txt"(text) and or ".RTF" (Rich Text Format). Please include a printout of the article when submitting via computer file. When submitting via e-mail, include the article title in the body of the e-mail. Submissions should be sent to National Office at the address listed on the page.

I. The Article

• ALL COPY SHOULD BE TYPED AND DOUBLE-SPACED, except when submitting on computer disk or via e-mail. Please no handwritten submissions, if at all possible. If you must submit a handwritten article, please contact us first.
• Please don't use a 'dot-matrix' type of printer if at all possible.
• \When submitting your article on a computer disk, please note the file name of the computer file and submit it in ASCII-based text format: ".txt" (text) or ".mcw" (Microsoft Macintosh Word) NOT '.doc', '.dot', 'rtf', '.pdf', etc.
• We can accept either PC or Macintosh media (floppy disks, CD-ROMs, etc).
• DO NOT COMPRESS YOUR FILES (PKZIP, WINZIP, Stuffit, etc).
• Please include a printout of the article when submitting via computer file.
• If you are submitting your article via e-mail, cut-and-paste the entire article into the body of the e-mail message, itself. Do not send the article as an 'attachment.' Unfortunately, not all e-mail systems will deliver an attached file in a usable form.
• Submissions should be sent to National Office at the e-mail address listed on the Contact Us page of our web site (http://www.nrhs.com).
• If you're using a computer to type your article you probably have a spell checker feature. Please use it. Also, please check the proper spelling of the name of any person place or thing, and be consistent in how you use it in your article. Don't rely on us to know the proper spelling (Smith, Smithe, Smyth, Smythe 'which is right?').
  

II. Photographs

• We would prefer that all photographs be in sharp focus with excellent contrast ratios. But, before you discard one that isn't, let us decide its merit. It may better illustrate your story than a 'pretty'\' one that doesn't do as well.
• We can use color or black and white photos. If your color photo is old and the colors have faded, send it anyway, we can always use it as a black and white illustration.
• Please send positive prints (not negatives) when possible. But, don't let that keep you from sending something because you only have a negative. * We can't legally use photographs from unknown sources, so please don't put us in that spot.
• If you are not the actual photographer, please submit a release allowing us to use the photo from the photographer in writing, and tell us who took the picture so we can properly credit him/her. If you can't get a release from the photographer, please give us the contact information (name, address, phone, etc.). We might be more successful.
• DO NOT PAY A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER FOR ANY 'RIGHTS-TO-PUBLISH' on our behalf. We won't be able to reimburse you.

III. Electronic Photographs & Images

• When submitting electronic images, please use '.bmp', '.tif', or '.eps' formats. DO NOT COMPRESS A GRAPHICS IMAGE FILE.
• Also, do not submit a 'screen capture' or a photo saved from a web site. These images are very glossy and reproduce quite poorly. If you feel that the particular image is important, and can't get a photograph or better quality copy, tell us where to look. Maybe we will be more successful.

IV. General Illustration Considerations

• Articles that are all text are deadly. If you don't have illustrations, we might in our extensive photo library. If you know where we might get the needed illustrations, be sure to let us know.
• Do not submit any copyrighted or trademarked material (such as a photograph or railroad logo) without a release form. If you can't get permission, please inform us who to contact and we'll try.
• Please clearly identify the contents of each photo, slide, and/or drawing. A suggested caption would be useful, as well. If the photo contains more than one person, please identify them (Joe Glutz, first from left), etc. If that person has a title, please tell us what it is.
• DON'T WRITE ON THE BACK OF A PHOTOGRAPH. IF you press hard enough, it will come through and make an otherwise useful photo totally useless. Instead, tape a piece of paper containing the information to the BACK of the photo. It's ok for the paper to be bigger than the photo.
• DON'T USE A FELT-TIP MARKER OR 'SHARPIE' ON THE BACK OF A PHOTO. These have been known to chemically 'bleed' onto anything they're laid upon.
• Separate all illustrations with a sheet of blank paper.
• Mailings don't always arrive FLAT!! A crease can render an otherwise usefull photo totally useless. Protect them with cardboard on top and bottom.
• DON'T TAPE ANYTHING TO THE FRONT OF A PHOTO EVER!!!!
• If you submit a drawing, make it clear. You don't have to make a 'camera-ready' drawing. Just give us enough information that our art director can use to create the final artwork.
• If you are sending us a photo/slide, and it's the only copy you have, make a duplicate for your files before you send it. We would prefer to keep it in our photo library for future needs.
• If we have to return your photo, please remind us in writing. In any event, it won't be returned until after the issue is mailed to our membership. We have to have it on hand in case there's a last-minute foul-up in production.

V. Final Notes:

• Being a historical society, many of our readers (and staff) might like to visit a site, locomotive, restored station, etc. that you mentioned in your article and see it for ourselves. Please tell us if you know that something in your article has been preserved, or stored, and where it resides. If you don't know, don't let that stop you from submitting the article. Maybe we know, or know someone who knows.
• Today's news is tomorrow's history. Articles on contemporary events will be valuable resources for future editorial needs. Don't let 'newness' deter you from submitting an article.
• Remember, many of our readers will not be familiar with the events and/or places in your article. Please don't omit details just because 'everybody knows'. Frequently, they DON'T (that's why they're reading your article in the first place).
• The editors of the National Railway Bulletin reserve the right to edit any and all submissions for content, size, etc.
• The editors of the National Railway Bulletin reserve the right to select those illustrations that are used to enhance the article in the space available. We frequently don't have the space available for every photo. Be sure to send us more than we can use so we can pick the 'best' ones.
• Under the terms of the U.S. Copyright Law effective January 1, 1978, and the copyright laws of many other countries, journal publishers are required to obtain written confirmation from authors to acquire copyright rights for papers published in their journals. We ask your cooperation because it is of vital importance for the widest possible dissemination of your efforts. We must have your written confirmation to authorize libraries and other information centers to use this material and to perform other appropriate publishing functions.
• If your manuscript is not published within a reasonable period of time after acceptance, upon written request, NRHS will promptly return the rights to the manuscript to the author(s).
• The National Railway Bulletin is a copyrighted publication. You will be expected to sign a 'Transfer of Copyright' form before publication. No manuscript will be published until the appropriate form has been returned. Please contact us in writing for permission to submit your contribution elsewhere. This permission is normally granted, it's professional and legal to ask us first.

Chapter Activities Report Submission Procedures for Annual Activities Edition of National Railway Bulletin

Each year one edition of the National Railway Bulletin is devoted in part to information about the activities of each Chapter of the Society during the previous year. Each Chapter is given the opportunity to submit a photograph and written summary of its activities for the previous year. Also included is basic information about each Chapter, including a list of Officers, Meeting Location, contact information, and a description of the types of activities the Chapter participates in. The Directory serves as a great-hardcopy reference to Chapters.

Activity reports are to cover the previous calendar year's activities and accomplishments only. Discussion of future plans or activities is not appropriate and should be omitted. It is not necessary to mail a hard copy of your report.

Attention Chapters:

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