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HOME / WHAT WE DO / PUBLICATIONS
Books, Maps, Linotype & Stats:
A History of BSRA Publications
by Michael R. Prescott, Publications Director
(Adapted from Rollsign, March/April 2009 Issue)
The publications department of the Boston Street Railway Association has become a primary revenue source, funding everything from office supplies to this website. But the success of the current publications operation—in which we primarily "re-sell" books and DVDs from other vendors—began with a simpler purpose in the BSRA's early years. The sale of publications, written and produced by the Association itself, was to provide funding for the maintenance and restoration of Type 5 car No. 5706, and help with the operating costs of the fledgling organization.
In an effort to fulfill the Association's role as an educational nonprofit organization, the BSRA has published its own series of books, maps, and memorabilia relating to the history of public transportation in Boston, around Massachusetts, and all over New England. The topics of these publications have ranged from the history of Boston's Tremont Street Subway to trolleys in Newport, Rhode Island.
Much as Rollsign has evolved from a simple flyer to a color magazine, our publications have advanced in response to new innovations in technology. Our first publication, PCC Cars: Boston Elevated Railway and Metropolitan Transit Authority, was produced in 1961 using linotype and stats (plate negatives of photographs and graphics)—common techniques in small-scale publication at the time. By 1975, for Trolleys Along the Turnpike, we utilized cold type and stats, and in 1981 we welcomed the computer age by using computer type, along with stats, to produce The Boston Rapid Transit Album.
This practice continued until 1997, when Tremont Street Subway—A Century of Public Service integrated electronic pictures with text, paving the way for our largest and most successful publication to date, Streetcar Lines of the Hub—The 1940s: Heyday of Electric Transit in Boston, which was produced entirely electronically. And in 2009, Boston Transit Equipment: 1979-2009 took it one step further, becoming our first all-color, all-digitally-produced publication. As we prepare several new titles for production, further publishing and graphical innovations and computer software will surely add to the quality and capabilities of our publications for many years to come.
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