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Edward Eckes was a mechanic at the Northern Pacific Railroad Company's Auburn (Wash.) roundhouse and husband of Ruth Trueblood Eckes, railroad historian and author.

Ruth Trueblood Eckes grew up in Tacoma (Wash.). Her father, Leo O. Trueblood, was working as a brakeman on the Northern Pacific Railway when she graduated from high school in 1943. The Northern Pacific hired her in January 1944. Her first job was at Kanaskat (Wash.) in the Cascade foothills. After working many other jobs for the Northern Pacific, she met and married her husband, Edward Eckes, a machinist in the Auburn (Wash.) roundhouse. She is the author of "Rail Tales", "Blow the Whistle Softly", "Call of the Rails", "Down the Tracks", "Sparks, Smoke and Cinders", and "A Lester Scrapbook".

David Emerson was a lifetime resident of the Spokane Valley, WA. Mr. Emerson was employed by Kaiser Aluminum as an inspector for over 22 years. He enjoyed a longtime interest in Spokane area railroads in general and the Great Northern Railway in particular. He belonged to both the Inland Empire Railway Historical Society and the Great Northern Railway Historical Society for many years.

James Merlin "Jimmy" Fredrickson was born to Martin and Addie Biner Fredrickson on December 19,1926 in Tacoma, Washington. He graduated from Stadium High School in 1945. By that time he had already begun working as a call boy for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company while still a high school student. He moved up the line of progression to telegraph operator, train dispatcher, chief dispatcher, and finally Transportation Assistant for the Burlington Northern Railroad Company. His love for the railroad and his artistic eye with a camera made him one of the foremost authorities on railroading. He was also the author of three books on life on the railroad, with each page featuring a railroad photo and a personal story to go with it.