Books ? ? ?

[mersenne6]

You can never have too many books. On the railroad front my favorite genre are the first person accounts of working for the railroad. There are hundreds of titles to choose from but most are rather obscure and many are vanity press publications. The writing quality is all over the map - everything from fantastic word pictures to barely literate. If you are interested in this aspect of railroading I'd recommend the following as a good place to start:

1. Railroad Avenue - Hubbard - 1945 - collection of short accounts of working
2. A Treasury of Railroad Folklore - Botkin and Harlow - 1945 - another collection
3. Brownie the Boomer - Charles Brown - Roger Grant ed. A first person account of working for the railroads. Covers the period from about 1890 to around 1914. I think this is the single best book of this type out there. Brown apparently wrote the way he spoke. It takes about a chapter to get used to his run on sentences and slang but once you get accustomed to it his story is a real page turner.
4. Railroadman - Del French - He too was a boomer and I'd rate his book second only to Brown.
5. Thirty Years Over Donner - a signalman's first person account
6. Unauthorized Train Stories - Amtrak conductor
7. Working for the Western Maryland - collection of railroad worker stories
8. From Cab to Caboose -fireman/engineer
9. Little Engines and Big Men - Lathrop - Rio Grande RR worker
10. Railroad Voices - modern railroad workers

[northern_blues]

Books are one of the pillars of civilization and the notion of having too many books should be, well, dismissed.

Starting out in Model Railroading, I've found that my LHS is very well stocked in literature and I was able to pick up my first weighty "TOME" on local RR history

[tup]

[locomutt]

Books? Wouldn't know what to do with out them.
I have plenty of them,but is there such a thing as having too many?

[Jetrock]

Books, I've got plenty...last week I picked up a used copy of Signature Press' book on PFE refrigerator cars, and this weekend I bought a book of 1920's home designs (to base residential structures on) and some Lucius Beebee at an antique store!

Right now I have pared down my book collection to four full-height bookcases and three half-height bookcases, not counting the boxes of MAXIMUMROCKNROLL magazines I have in the garage or the boxes of books out there I plan on selling someday...

[jrbarney]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jrbarney
Tatans,
IIRC, there was a cover story in MR a while back of a layout based on this railroad.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

Tatans,
High Iron 2003ar's comment allowed me to find the citation in the Index of Magazines:

Modeling the railroad that went to sea Model Railroader, February 2001, page 60
Florida East Coast's Key West Extension in HO scale ( "ALLEN, ROSS", FEC, LAYOUT, TRACKPLAN, "WINTER, CAL", HO, MR )

Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[Anonymous]

Well I admit, I don't read books as much as I should. I get bored real quick if something dosent interest me, I dont understand it, or using hard to pronounce words way too many times.

I just got done reading Sam Posey's "Playing with Trains". I thought it was excellent. It felt like I couldnt put the book down. Read on here how some people only really liked the 2nd part of the book, but I liked both parts. Definatly a good book if ya got the time to read it. I bought it along with John Armstrong's book on Track Planning for Realistic Operation. I barely made it through that book. It was helpful at times, but also really confussing and slow and dull at the same time. Felt like I was reading a paper written by a college professer which I guess you call John, as he was one of the greats of the hobby.

I went to my local public library last week and was shocked to find not that many up to date books on trains. The books they did have were really old and had a smell to them and the only recent books I found were in the childrens section. Not my cup of tea.

Steve

[DSchmitt]

I don't know how many books I have. But know it is well over 400 on railroads and modeling topics. At least 3 of them are on the FEC .

Speedway to Sunshine by Seth H Branson cc1984 (reprinted with revisions Jan 2003) has a 1931 track diagram for the entire railroad. This revised book covers the history of the RR from predecessor lines to the year 2000.

[fec153]

tatans- yes to both questions.
Flip FEC153

[Anonymous]

Love books, have many, many! Couldn't live without my books. Wife is the same way. I read every night before I go to sleep. My collection of books covers many subjects. However the vast majority are on trains, boats and planes. I read the Flaglor book last winter and also Stephen Ambrose's book "Nothing Like it in the World" about the 1st transcontinental RR.

[tatans]

jhof310------I think bukwrm has answered your question, thanks to all for the information,another question: is the highway built on top of the old railway bridges ALL the way or does it parallel it in some areas? Now I'm going to have to drive all the way to Florida(from Western Canada) to find out eh??

[eastcoast]

Yes, excellent book. I have it in my library.
I do have an extensive library of train books
that I find from virtually everywhere. Some I
pick up from clearance racks in horrible condition.
But I find an inspiration from all my books. I am fond
of the Flagler System and what it has done for the
railroads. Florida could not function without the FEC.

[Anonymous]

MR had a layout based on the "Railroad that went to the Sea" in one of the issues.

Flager had to overcome great deal of problems to get the railroad to open up Florida and tie it to the United States.

[IRONROOSTER]

I agree that this was a good book to read. Flagler was largely responsible for the development of southern Florida. This site http://www.flagler.org/ has some information.

Enjoy
Paul

[Anonymous]

Look here for the book....
http://tinyurl.com/6u3hd

My other hobby is book collecting, Sinclair Lewis, Bill Mauldin (Willie & Joe WWII cartoons), Studs Turkel, murder mysteries and now apparently books about lost railroads.

[jhoff310]

this sounds like a book that I would be interested in reading
Can you post the ISBN number
jeff

[jrbarney]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tatans

. . . Now wouldn't this make a great layout??? nothing but water and miles of straight bridge, hmmmm.

Tatans,
IIRC, there was a cover story in MR a while back of a layout based on this railroad.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[cacole]

The Florida East Coast Railway's bridges and causeways are now a highway to Key West. And it was far from being straight. If you look at a map of the Keys, they turn in a 90 degree curve Westward toward Mexico, so Mr. Flagler's bridges nearly all had a gradual curve to them. It really was a remarkable accomplshment for its day, when you consider the technology that was available at the time.

It has also been said that wanting to see completion of the line to Key West is what kept Mr. Flagler alive into his 80s.

[tatans]

Does anyone read anymore? thats those things in libraries, Maybe we need a forum on book reviews. Just picked up a b o o k on the Key West Railroad, called "Last Train To Paradise" this railroad was built over 153 miles of open ocean- a feat beyond even the challenge of the Panama canal and destroyed in 15 minutes by the strongest storm ever to hit the U.S. It's the story of Henry Flagler, apparently some of the bridges are still standing, let us know. By the way it is truly a great book. Now wouldn't this make a great layout??? nothing but water and miles of straight bridge, hmmmm.