Hobo Library
Located inside a vintage Pacific Fruit Express reefer car, you will find the library at BBCRC. The library was opened in 2010 and is focused on various aspects of railroad culture and local railroad history. Over the course of the last ten plus years, the materials that the library archives has expanded to include been books, zines, audio/video equipment and resources, music and other artifacts that encompass not only railroad related subjects but also local maps, ecology, general fiction, political histories and DIY subjects. Until 2022, the reefer car also functioned as BBCRC's art gallery space. The move of art shows, starting with the End of the Line show, to the partially restored Southern Pacific Shasta car, opened up more library space in the reefer car.
In the summer of 2023, the library underwent an interior redesign by long-time resident Tiffany. With the use of her top-notch carpentry skills, Tiffany reimagined the whole layout of the library, transforming it into a more functional and inviting space to read, research and relax. North Bank Fred donated and set up a desktop computer to help organize our collection and store electronic documents. Nate, a long-time friend of BBCRC and train enthusiast who has been involved in activities at BBCRC for quite some time, took on the task of reorganizing the treasure trove of materials housed inside the historical reefer library this winter. I had a chance to chat with him recently about the library project and this is what he had to say:
"I started visiting the ol' tramp compound in 2012. Decided to come down for a work party and caught out from the Steel Bridge with a couple other kids I ran into there. We ended up in a gondola with an old-timer, who certainly seemed to have more experience than the rest of us combined. He knew all about Black Butte as a station, but didn't believe my tales of what we know of Black Butte today and decided he would check it out as well. Bright and early the next morning he announced that we blew past the siding and were stopped at Upton. As we walked back up the tracks, I asked him if he'd ridden this and that line that was long since abandoned, intrigued by his tales of how things once were. He seemed rather bemused at the collection of boxcars and dirty kids and didn't stick around too long. I have visited the BBCRC every year since, but sadly never ran into the old-timer again and have long forgotten his name and his tales. However, the library contains many such tales from many such people. Not that I have read any of them, but I enjoy the books themselves, the dirt and the weathering and wear which allude to the journey of the book itself. It was around 2016 when I started putting energy into the library, drawing some nicer labels for the shelves than the previous cardboard tabs cut from 12packs. I would take some time each visit to re-shelve the disheveled books and do some general cleaning to keep everything a bit neater. Generally, this has been a personal project at the work parties I have attended in the years since, and I was amazed last springto see that Tiffany had built and installed beautiful new shelves and had taken on the larger project of transforming the space into what it is now. I was inspired to continue with this momentum and work on the much smaller details of thelibrary.The first step was to do a thorough cleaning of the library itself. Next came dusting off and labeling each book, adding them one by one to the beginnings of a library catalog, and verifying that they were included in the BBCRC's online bibliography. This proved to be an immense task. Even more immense is the vast collection of newspaper clippings that exist in the library, online, offline, offsite, photocopied, falling apart and in whatever other form, which also needed to be added to the catalog and bibliography. In time these will be easier for viewing, but at present it is still rather muddled.
Upon my recent arrival, I envisioned creating a catalog where one could search for such titles in the library on the library computer and see where in the library to find them. In the case of newspaper articles this would include both the original (a physical copy), as well a PDF to view on the computer. Even getting the articles alphabetized was a formidable task, but I feel compelled to dive in again and bring the library up a bit closer to a true library where one can find what they are looking for.
As well as a place where one can find what they need, whether it be a specific obscure travel zine or merely an outlet and a comfortable chair, I would also like this library to be a place where one can find ways to improve upon it. Books can not put themselves back on their own and dust tends only to find its way into the library, never out. North Bank Fred has done a fabulous job maintaining the online bibliography, and Brakeshoe seems to have an endless supply of titles to research and yellowed newspapers to explore in his esoteric archives, and it takes a lot of energy to keep it all orderly and properly archived. There are so many more stories to be found and added to our library, so many that could still be recorded. Not that everything should be contained, but it would be nice to expand our collection just a little more and make it a little more accessible."
If you are interested in scheduling a visit to BBCRC to check out the library, contact us at info@bbcrc.org or head over to bbcrc.org to find out about upcoming events. Please also be in touch if you have books, articles, zines or other archival materials you would be interested in donating to our collection. We are also interested in new entries for our online bibliographies. While we have many hundreds of listings, we have undoubtedly missed many-and new materials are being published all the time. Thank you!