The Robert Pearson Collection 

Some of my fondest memories are spending hours pouring over old photos with my grandfather.  More than anyone, he was responsible for my love of industrial history.  Shortly after WWII, my grandfather moved from Marrowstone Island in the Pudget Sound to Puyallup Washington and then on to Auburn Washington before settling on Mount Spokane in eastern Washington in 1953.  Over the next fifty years he collected photos related to railroad, logging and mining history of the Pacific Northwest.  Most of the collection focuses on eastern Washington and northern Idaho but there are photos from all over.   As a small boy I spent most of my summers playing on my grandparent's farm on Mount Spokane, tramping through the woods and generally making a mess.  As I grew older my grandfather shared his photos with me and helped me start my own collection.  Eventually his collection was passed on to me and I am now in the process of organizing and digitizing it for others to enjoy and make use of.  Unless otherwise noted, the photos and historical materials either come from the Robert Pearson collection or my own.  It is my goal to give proper credit on all of the material on this site, if you spot a mistake please let me know.  I hope you will enjoy this material as much as I do.

Marty Johnston  mejohnston@stthomas.edu

Please note:  To keep the picture quality high many of the files are large and slow to load.  In some places both low (72 dpi) and high (600 dpi) files are posted.

Links to Material: (listed in order of latest updates)

    Locomotives (historical catalogs, shop manuals and photos) - Porter, Eimco, Universal Air Tramaire, Misc info. (Porter  updated: April 8, 2007)

    Industrial Suppliers (historical catalogs)- C W Hunt Co. (new Feb 17, 2007, updated Feb 21, 2007)

    Industrial Railroads - Dam Construction - Photos (updated Feb 17, 2007)

    Industrial Railroads - Railroad Construction - Photos (updated April 8, 2007)

    Mining - Iron Mountain Mine, Pardee MT - Photos and information (last revised Sept 23, 2006)