Born in 1928, Scribbins dedicated a substantial part of his life to chronicling the railroad that in 1948 hired him as a ticket agent. He worked in the company’s Milwaukee depot until the advent of Amtrak, then moved on to other jobs within the company until retiring in 1985 with 37 years on the payroll.
Scribbins is survived by his wife of 58 years, Barb, with whom he shared a love of travel and bluegrass music. Arrangements for a January memorial service are pending.
Few writers and photographers of the postwar generation can equal Scribbins’ achievements. His masterpiece, “The Hiawatha Story,” a history of the Milwaukee Road’s famed passenger trains, was first published by Kalmbach in 1970 and went on to several printings, most recently by the University of Minnesota Press. He also wrote a complementary volume, “The 400 Story,” about rival Chicago & North Western’s passenger fleet, released by PTJ Publishing in 1982 and also now available from University of Minnesota. There were other books, too, including “Milwaukee Road Remembered” (Kalmbach, 1991), “Milwaukee Road in its Hometown” (Kalmbach, 1997), and “The Milwaukee Road: 1928-1985” (Heimburger House, 2001).
Scribbins was an indispensable contributor to the Milwaukee Road legacy, says Mike Schafer, a longtime friend and colleague of Scribbins and editor of The Milwaukee Railroader, the publication of the Milwaukee Road Historical Association.
“Jim Scribbins was the ‘encyclopedia of the Milwaukee Road,’” Schafer says. “It didn’t matter what era of the Milwaukee’s history, what region, what operation — freight or passenger, steam or electric or diesel — Jim knew the specifics. He was a lifelong champion for the railroad.”
In 1971, Scribbins won the Award of Merit for Distinguished Service from the Wisconsin State Historical Society for “The Hiawatha Story.” In 2013, the Railway & Locomotive Society honored him with its Gerald M. Best Senior Achievement Award, as part of its annual Railroad History Awards series.
Scribbins also amassed scores of bylines in Trains and Classic Trains magazines and earned hundreds of photo credits in a host of publications. He usually stayed close to his favorite subject: passenger trains.
For one of his most memorable Trains stories, Scribbins secured a cab ride aboard Illinois Central train No. 1, the City of New Orleans, to cover its fast dash across the IC’s Champaign District from Champaign to Centralia, Ill. The resulting “100 mph Aboard an E9” in the March 1966 issue was a remarkable combination of operational detail and you-are-there excitement.
Scribbins also was an accomplished photographer, especially of the principal roads that crossed his home state of Wisconsin: the Milwaukee Road, the C&NW, and the Soo Line. A retrospective of his photography appeared in the Winter 2007 issue of Classic Trains. His collection of thousands of negatives and slides has been given to the Milwaukee Road Historical Association.
Although he worked for the Milwaukee Road during tumultuous times, he never lost his enthusiasm for his employer, even after its bankruptcy in 1977. Although the advent of Amtrak meant a move out of passenger service, he remained with the Milwaukee, first as a freight agent, then in the railroad’s public relations department in Chicago, where he worked for Wallace W. Abbey, the veteran public relations man and former Trains managing editor.
For years after his retirement, Scribbins volunteered hundreds of hours to the Humanities Department of the Milwaukee Public Library, cataloging a large portion of his employer’s corporate archives.
The family asks that memorials be made to the Milwaukee Road Historical Association.
After receiving my copy of "The Hiawatha Story" upon its publication in 1970, it was always my opinion that Jim Scribbins raised significantly the quality standards for books about railroad history and operations.
I can just here Jim, with his somewhat monotone voice, reciting statistics about the Milwaukee Road. He "was" a walking encyclopedia. The Hiawatha Story was one of the first railroad books in my collection, and I remember devouring it from cover to cover.
Having read Mr. Scibbons books on the Hiawatha and the 400, I was very pleased when UW-Washington County in West Bend offered a special program on the history of Wisconsin railroads featuring Jim Scribbons. I attended along with my young seven year old son, and we were both amazed at the information and photos offered. Mr. Scribbons then invited us to visit his retirement community to see the model railroad that was built by several of the residents. Very fond memories of a walking encyclopedia of railroad history who reached out to a railfan and his young son, who twenty plus years later still accompanies me chasing trains. We both are looking forward to witnessing an operable Big Boy #4014.
I, and indeed my whole family are indebted to Jim. We lived in Chicago from 1973-74, and in February 1974 I took the early morning St Louis train to Joliet to watch the trains there. I met Jim on the station platform. The temperature was mid 20s at best but we engaged in animated conversation. He was eager to give me a grounding in US railroading in general, and its passenger trains in particular. Most memorable event was a westbound RI freight led by an F7 lurching across the dilapidated diamonds. I got a soft spot for the RI. I'm sure we talked about proper F7s (the Milwaukee type), but I don't remember a word. I asked him where it would be good to travel. He took my Amtrak timetable and marked the portions of the routes that he said were of high scenic interest. We rode back to Chicago together on the Southwest Limited, a transformative experience in itself-the old ATSF style was still there. He sent me some old pre Amtrak timetables unbidden. That changed the course of our stay in the US. By the end we had visited 37 states, most all by train, and developed a lifelong attachment to long distance US Rail Passenger travel, shared with our children. We are still planning to come back for more. It's odd how chance meetings and small personal contacts can change your life. I would like to think that his example of generous sharing and enthusiasm has encouraged me to do the same.
To comment upon Mr. Smith's speculation regarding the role of Jim Scribbin's saving his 5632 fan trip…yes it may have been, but more importantly, Jim Scribbins represented a long-departed concept, that of doing the gesture to make a customer happy…a small thing for the ticket agent (a quick call, telegraph, telex, etc. in the dark ages), but a thing looming large for the customer. One must not forget the fact that Jim Scribbins represented a fine road indeed, but one of many who served many. And the CB&Q, perhaps the Milwaukee's most formidable competitor, ran the fan trips which the Milw. could have and should have, had she saved some of the goods. So, that makes the scrapping of 5632 even more absurd.
While I can't be positive, I believe it was Jim Scribbens who made it possible for my friend and I to connect with one of the Burlington Steam specials in the late 1950s. We lived in Milwaukee and had secured tickets to ride behind CB&Q 5632 out of Chicago. To get there we needed to board a Milwaukee Road train in Milwaukee to connect with the excursion train at Chicago Union Station. When we went to the ticket window in Milwaukee we found out the Milwaukee train was running late and would not get into Chicago until after the departure of #5632. To say that we were disappointed would be an understatement. At the time I didn't know who Jim Scribbins was. The Gentlemen at the ticket window (Jim?) was very reassuring and sold us the tickets to Chicago with the guidance that we really hustle to get from the Milwaukee tracks at the north end of the station to the Burlington tracks at the south end. We boarded the Milw Rd train with much apprehension. Well we arrived in Chicago about a half hour after the advertised departure of #5632. Well………..something happened in Chicago that was well beyond the power and imagination of two train loving teenagers. When we got into CUS a uniformed Burlington employee met us at the Milwaukee train and escorted us to the waiting #5632 train. Burlington held their train for the late train from Milwaukee. Clearly, the agent in Milwaukee had significant power and knowledge on how to make things happen in Chicago. In later years, after reading Jim's books and hearing of the many accolades sent his way by all those who knew him, I can only conclude that he is who made it all happen that day in Chicago. The trip behind #5632 with open vestibule door high speed running a cross northern Illinois was wonderful. It was my hope that one day I would meet Jim and compare notes. Alas, that is not to be. As I reflect on the experience, something tells me that pretty often Jim Scribbins made magic happen for lots of Milwaukee passengers. Thank you Jim for all the lives you touched.
Gordon Smith
Logistics Coordinator
Transit Solutions Group, LLC
Operator of Nashville's Music City Star
Rail Commuter Service
Mr. Scribbins was a gentleman in the true sense of the word, who gave of himself without remainder, and with whom one wished to be able keep on talking forever. The story is told that David P. Morgan, perhaps in search of conversation, would walk over from Kalmbach to the old Milwaukee depot when he knew Jim Scribbins was working. Did those conversations ever "Slow to 90"?