Gerald M. Best (1895–1985) was a noted railroad historian, writer, photographer, and one of the top sound engineers in the motion picture industry.. After receiving an electrical engineering degree from Cornell, Best served in the Army Signal Corps, worked for AT&T, and then went to work for

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

in 1928, where his knowledge of sound technology was very useful as the age of talking pictures began. In 1958, he went to work for

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

, taking responsibility for Disneyland’s railroad. After retiring in 1962, he served as an advisor to the President’s Golden Spike Centennial Commission and the Golden Spike National Historic Site. Under his guidance as Engineering Consultant and National Park Service Representative, the National Park Service ordered the construction of two steam locomotives by O'Connor Engineering Laboratories as replicas of the famous Central Pacific ''

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

'' and Union Pacific No. 119, which met at

Promontory Summit, Utah Promontory is an area of high ground in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, 32 mi (51 km) west of Brigham City and 66 mi (106 km) northwest of Salt Lake City. Rising to an elevation of 4,902 feet (1,494 m) above se ...

in 1869. Best collected over 130,000 railroad photographs, negatives, blueprints and other records – one of the largest collections ever assembled. After his death, his widow, Harriet, arranged for it to go to the

California State Railroad Museum The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the state park system of California, United States, interpreting the role of the "iron horse" in connecting California to the rest of the nation. It is located in Old Sacramento State Historic ...

in Sacramento. Best wrote over a dozen books, as well as numerous articles on railroad history. In 1948, he purchased an 1883 steam engine for $250 from the Waimanalo Sugar Plantation in Hawaii, which had been using it in the harvesting of sugar cane. With the help of

Chadwell O'Connor Chadwell O'Connor (October 9, 1914 – September 5, 2007) was an American inventor and steam engine enthusiast. He is most remembered as the inventor of an improved fluid-damped tripod head, for which he won Academy Awards in 1975 and 1992. ...

, he meticulously restored the locomotive. The engine was kept for many years on the

Grizzly Flats Railroad The Grizzly Flats Railroad (GFRR) was a 3-foot () narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge heritage railway, heritage railroad owned by Disney animator Ward Kimball at his home in San Gabriel, California. The railroad had of track, and was operated ...

San Gabriel, California San Gabriel (Spanish for " St. Gabriel") is a city located in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California. At the 2010 census, the population was 39,718. San Gabriel was founded by the Spanish in 1771, when Mission San Gabriel Arc ...

, which was owned by fellow railroad enthusiast

Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honored ...

. Named the '' Olomana'', Best donated the engine to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in 1977. Partial list of books by Gerald Best: - ''American Railroad Journal, 1966'' - ''Central American Holiday: A Guide to the Railroads of El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico'' - ''Iron Horses to Promontory'' - ''Locomotives of the Southern Pacific Company'' - ''Mexican Narrow Gauge'' - ''Minisink Valley Express: A History of the Port Jervis, Monticello & New York Railroad'' - ''Nevada County Narrow Gauge'' - ''Promontory's Locomotives'' - ''Railroads of Hawaii: Narrow and Standard Gauge Common Carriers'' - ''Ships and Narrow Gauge Rails: The Story of the Pacific Coast Company'' - ''Snowplow: Clearing Mountain Rails'' - ''Sugar Trains: Narrow Gauge Rails of Hawaii'' - ''The Last Spike is Driven'' - ''The Ulster and Delaware: Railroad Through the Catskills''

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Golden Spike National Historic Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Best, Gerald M. 1895 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American historians American audio engineers 20th-century American engineers Railway historians

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