I dealt with them on occasion,being a relatively poor teenager, I couldn't buy a lot, but when I needed parts and such, they always treated me well, if giving me a hard time for the long hair I had back then (I would agree to wear it that long again, if I had the hair to grow out *lol*).
Having been there and watching them deal with customers, I kind of suspected that the reproductions as original and such was saved for the customer they seemed to not like very much, the type of person who was obviously into post war trains because at the time, they were a 'hot collectible', when prices were going nuts. I know that when I asked about items, they would tell me which were original and which were redone or built by them out of parts, and I occasionally saw them try to sell the same thing to one of the get rich quick types as original, of course (they especially seemed to dislike guys coming in in suits, they seemed to think they were all lawyers, and I heard them tell lawyer jokes out loud when someone in a suit came in).
Hopefully the 1600 photos include candid shots of Carl and Lou, wonder if any of them have to be censored for rude gestures at people asking stupid questions
I'd probably buy the book, it sounds like a great deal of fun to read the full story.
