We have all read them. There are hundereds upon hundreds of books about the heyday of steam, recollections of engineers, firemen and brakemen, the occasional shop worker. What I would like to know is are there any books on the other end, during a steam locomotives retirement where she was unwillingly pulled into the scrapyard, and any recollections of the men that were her ultimate demise...the scrappers. Yes, it would be sad to read of such things, but it would be interesting to read about what it was like to dismantle the beasts.
Just a thought.
Acela
The timbers beneath the rails are not the only ties that bind on the railroad. --Robert S. McGonigal
Dave Plowden's Twilight of Steam. and other of his books probably more than anyone I can think of right now.
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In one of Ron Ziel's books, there are photos of Indian laborers dismantling riveted locomotive boilers with sledge hammers.
In one or another of Don Ball, Jr.'s books I think there is a long series of photographs of white-lined locomotives in a scrap yard, but I don't recall if there were any pictures of the actual scrapping.
One wonders if some of the guys who used to hang around Northwest Steel in Sterling, Illinois didn't get some pics of the unmaking of some engines. But then again, I can also understand why a scrapyard might not want outsiders hanging around when their crews are engaged in dangerous activities.
Dan
National Geographic did a documentary video in the mid-'90's on the end of steam operations in India. It's very good, but a little sad too.
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