Scroll to view Left to right Bruce Semelsberger, Roy Pickering Bob Schussler Dale Wagner processing new books Left to right Ann and Dick Ruppert Jason Drenkow, library volunteer Jim and Dawn Lundquist Larry Rose, savior of the dumpster collection Pacific Southwest Railway Museum President Diana Hyatt Richard Finch, library volunteer Richard Pennick Ted Kornweibel, past restoration superintendent Left to right Trisha Cates, Bruce Semelsberger

THIS AWARD CELEBRATES A PROJECT that's been in the making since 1946. After years of moving from place to place and not having a definitive home, a landing place was crafted in the early 2010s out of large storage containers along with a makeshift medical trailer at the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in Campo.

The comprehensive archives amass a huge collection of southwestern U.S. railroad history, including everything from physical artifacts such as tools and uniforms, to audio files of interviews and visual training videos. Having this information organized and collected in one physical place and now online allows for over 70 years of gathered information to be shared with researchers, railroad enthusiasts, and the general public alike. This is a story of grassroots historians and preservationists doing what they can to protect and share historical knowledge with the greater San Diego area and is certainly to be admired.

SOHO honors lead developer Bruce Semelsberger along with all of the Pacific Southwest Railway Museum participants with the Golden Spike Stewardship Award for cultivating the new Southwest Railway Library.