Our library called yesterday and informed me they ordered "The Diesel that Did It" the story of the EMD FT.
Also said they would call when it arrives.
Ed
I have some:
The Historical Guide To North American Railroads:
Histories, Figures and Features of more than 160 Railroads Abandoned or Merged since 1930.
By George Drury H - May 31, 1985
The Southern Pacific
1901-1985
Hardcover - August 31, 1986
By Don L Hofsommer
Hardcover - November 15, 2007
By Brian Soloman
Anyone heard of these?
The late Jim McClellan's autobiography My Life with Trains is really good - https://iupress.org/9780253044952/my-life-with-trains/
Lots of "inside baseball" info on the creation of Amtrak and Conrail, along with Southern's merger daliances with MP and ICG in the late 70's. The best part of the book delves into the Southern-N&W merger and the fight between NS and CSX over Conrail during the 1980's and 1990's. The book nicely complements Rush Loving Jr's The Men Who Loved Trains.
Ed, Glad you found the Brosnan book useful.
Here is another book, that in my opinion provides a better raison d'etre for Wabash's 4th district across Nothern Indiana than some of the other theories I've seen advanced.
The guy is not a great storyteller, so it requires a motived reader to "tough out" some of the narrative. But the reward in the end is a ton of useful discovery
I finished v2 of Brosnan about a week ago. Well over 600 pages in each volume. V2 covered his life from early 60's to his death in early 80s with considerable personal information.
Brosnan had the foresight and the fortitude to effect major change on the rail industry with his Southern leading the way in innovations. He did have a tendancy once the office of President was achieved to coast. Perhaps that was his due, after the hours spent earlier in his career. The author stated more than once that Brosnan was seldom in his office. no, it wasnt due to being out on the rails inspecting, it was often on very long vacations (subsidized by General Motors, a big supplier of GP and SD locomotives) or extended stays at his Asheville residence or one of the resorts Southern owned.
Graham Claytor followed as President once Brosnan retired (just prior to 65th birthday which was mandatory by Southern) and provided a bit of stable influence after the volitabilty of Brosnan's tour. Brosnan stayed on the Board of Directors and was the recipient of many of the perks he enjoyed as President. Claytor slowly diminished the use of resorts, corporate aircraft and other perks, but it was a struggle.
Brosnan and EHH had quite a few similarities. One must wonder...
I would suggest both Rush Loving books, "The Well Dressed Hobo" and "The Men Who Loved Trains". Both are well written very interesting books covering the recent history from the '60s forward of nearly all the big developments in railroading nationwide.
I would recommend "Burlington Route" by Richard Overton. It sets the standard for railroad histories.
I'd like to recommend "Tehachapi" by John Signor. I picked up a used copy of this gem at a model train store in Montreal a couple of weeks ago.
Just finished V1 today, returned said volume to the public library and ordered V2. The supplying library was Hillsdale College in Michigan. Noted inside the book that it was "gifted". Hopefully V2 is also on hand. These are rare books, as far as i can tell, and very much worth the effort to locate.
I seriously doubt if our library will purchase these, but would be well worth it for railroad historians and fans.
Volume 1 covers Brosnan (and family) up to 1964, including ancestors. Brosnan's father "Chief" was quite a charactor and was Fire Chief in Albany, Ga...legendary in fire prevention and also a legend in his mind. Wife left him and lived alone in poverty for nearly 50 years....but they never divorced. Chief had a companion who lived with him.
The book does a very good job of detailing Brosnan's ascention to President of Southern Railway, covering most (if not all) of his stops along the way. He used his engineering background to innovate, primarily thru MOW equipment. He moved from labor to machines in numerous MOW functions. He understood the importance of intellectual property and kept his patent lawyer busy for years. One royalty (or sale) check was over $2.2million (in 1950s $$$). The author suggestions that he had considerable help on developing these patents, but is silent on the sharing of the spoils.
Brosnan waged war on the ICC...as V1 ends the jury is still out. One gets a very good view of the ICC and its role in transportation regulation during the 50's and 60's. Brosnan recognized the need for feed grain to move to the south to support cattle and poultry. Prior to "Big John" the author suggested that cattle were shipped live to the midwest for sufficient feed to fill out. I had never heard that. Brosnan wished to slash rates by 60% and move grain in covered hoppers in 5 car lots...rather than boxcars. Most grain at the time moved by barge or unregulated trucks (backhauls). Brosnan recognized the market and went after it.
He fought labor tooth and nail, primarily over "firemen". When the Kennedy administration forced Southern to keep hiring firemen, Brosnan instructed his locals to hire Black men, primarily over 65 to that position, exposing the Union's anti Black restrictions.
This book is an excellent study in management style (brute force and intimidation). There are numerous personnel profiles (and company photos) of most officers and managers. All were white, all were male...not a surprise for the time and place.
Volume 1 ends with Brosnan's purchase of a company jet. He travelled extensively during this career till 1964 by private car, but a trip with the CEO of Coca Cola (on the Coke jet) convinced him the days of passenger trains were not for him.
As mentioned earlier and above...lots of personal details...probably too much. But, to the author's credit he dug deep to write these volumes. Want to know how much his mother's funeral cost? Want to know how much his son made during his medical internship? Want to know how much Brosnan's house cost in Washington? Want to know about his five week vacation to Europe and how General Motors supported that trip? etc. It is there.
Times have certainly changed. Ethics rules and diversity are in place...not saying they are followed (ETX as an example). This volume gives probably the absolute best history of the boots on the ground and management challenges of that era.
Brosnan is difficult to stomach at times...but Graham Claytor and Stanley Crane are warming up in the bullpin and we all know how those two worked out.
The high point of the Brosnan book, IMO, was when all the good ol boys were giving Brosnan the "You'd have to be a real railroader to understand why this will never work" shinola, when he was determined to make "piggy back" work.
Brosnan correctly deduced that this did not mean that it couldn't be done, but rather that he just might have the wrong men working on the project.
OvermodI thought he clearly wrote
YES, but.....
It seemed equally evident that the purpose of this thread was a solicitation for book suggestions he might recommend to his local library, as part of a collection restoration. So, I took that to mean he was going to borrow a copy FIRST, to verify in his own mind that the book was worthy of his endorsement.... Hence, my curiosity.
The book, IMO, is a fantastic insight into an intriguing person. And just as the OP mentions, it does go a little bit deep into the geneological aspect of the making of the man. But some of that is golden, as well. Brosnan's father, a public servant if I properly recall, was clearly the block that little Bill was a chip off of.
I wish I had gone the route MP173 did, and borrowed one volume at a time, because getting both together, and having 2 weeks to absorb it all, was a bit of a crunch.
I'd be interested in knowing the source library that the interlibrary loan originated in. If it is from a university library on the South central Eastern Seaboard, there is a good chance he's holding in his hand the very same book that I had 5 years ago. And when I borrowed it, I had to wait weeks for it to become available.
And that is the real purpose of my inquiry. It woud be progress, IMO, to get an additional copy onto library shelves, available for borrowing.
Convicted OneDoes this mean that it passed muster to justify a recommendation to your library to acquire a copy?
MP173Regarding "Brosnan"The Railroads' Messiah"...I ordered a copy of Volume 1 from our library's Inner Library Loan (ILL) and have been reading it almost non-stop the past 24 hours.
Glad to hear that you are enjoying 'Brosnan' as much as I did, Ed.
Does this mean that it passed muster to justify a recommendation to your library to acquire a copy?
Regarding "Brosnan"The Railroads' Messiah"...I ordered a copy of Volume 1 from our library's Inner Library Loan (ILL) and have been reading it almost non-stop the past 24 hours.
V1 is over 600 pages and I will order v2. Quite a history of railroading thru William Brosnan's perspective, primarily from the 1920s to the 60's.
The author, Charles O. Morgret, a former Southern Railway Public Relations Officer, had access to considerable paper records and conducted over 200 interviews. He goes into a little more detail than I would prefer, but the changes described (I am currently around 1952) are well documented. We are told more than we need to know...considerable detail of Brosnan's family, primarily his father. We are also provided with some personal issues which didnt need to be included (brief affair with a co-worker) and communications with a former student (female). It appears than no written letters or memos were avoided.
Brosnan rubbed most fellow Southern railroaders the wrong way...either those above him or subordinates. He was a man to be feared and admired.
How about "The Men Who Loved Trains" by Rush Loving? Not only is it a good rail history but a very engaging business history as well.
Adn once started it's hard to put down. How many business historys can you say that about?
Here are two.
Writen by an Indiana native about an Indiana railroad: "Monon Route" by George W. Hilton.
"Sunset Limited" by Richard Orsi. It's focus is on how the railroad enabled the settlement and development of the territory it served. It's about the role the railroad played in those activities.
https://www.amazon.com/Sunset-Limited-Southern-Development-1850-1930/dp/0520200195/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1665551311&sr=1-1
Paul of Covington Have libraries been implementing their own version of PSR?
Have libraries been implementing their own version of PSR?
In a way, I kind of feel their pain. Space is not unlimited, and if you want to bring in a new book, something else has to go.
I'm sure there are other hobbies that are experiencing similar circumstances. If no one has checked out the book on underwater basket weaving in 10 years, do we really need to keep it on the shelf?
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Our Library here in Ft Wayne did a massive purge about 6 years ago, and the outcry ended up costing the executive director her job.
Her defense was that they had hired a consultant who determined that "evolving trends" indicated that contemporary borrowers seek items such as camping gear and portable 3D printers, more so than the antiquated materials sitting down in storage. She further tried to explain that "our" library was a "popular" library, as opposed to a "research" library, which belonged at universities.
Ultimately she was serenaded out of town by our torch and pitchfork committee.
About 20 years ago our library purged a lot of books and bookshelves, and put in a lot of computer stations. The were well used a first, but now they have wifi with most using their own smartphones, and the computers mostly sit idle. They seem to push interlibrary loans.
Fifty years ago I worked at a library for a year, before going to grad school. Things change.
ATSFGuyThat was a dumb move on the library's part.
There is a lot of DUMB in the world.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
That was a dumb move on the library's part.
ns145:I have read both of those...a big complaint of mine is the library purged these during COVID. Both are really great reference books for the rail industry's mergers.
Enjoyed both.
Two essential books for any railroad library:
Merging Lines (https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780875807355/merging-lines/#bookTabs=1)
Main Lines (https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780875803166/main-lines/#bookTabs=1)
Both books were written by Richard Saunders Jr. I stumbled across his orginal book, The Railroad Mergers and the Coming of Conrail (subsequently revised into Merging Lines), while attending Illinois State University in the early 1990's. I read the book straight thru one weekend. I couldn't put the book down, it was so engrossing. I learned so much about the railroad mergers that had occurred and why and, most interestingly to me, the mergers that had been seriously contemplated but never occurred.
I was loaned some 40 years ago a copy of the book on BROSNAN by a former Southern Railroad official -- he told me the book only gave an idea of what it was like to work in upper management under BROSNAN -- if you can find a copy of the book it is a great read
Some general interest stuff, like books on Pullman cars, and railroads in general (ie, general information on trains and what makes them up). Topics that will pique the curiosity of those without a direct interest in railroads.
Thanks for the recommendation on Brosnan. Will put in ILL request.
Brosnan: the Railroad's Messiah would be my recomendation. I had to get mine via inter-library loan, very few even available, had a long wait to get it, and it was non-renewable.
So, trying to absorb 1200+ pages in 2 weeks was a chore. Just having another copy available in the grand scheme would be a plus.
The cool thing about Brosnan was that he wasn't the kind of guy you could tell "that's not the way we do things" and expect to remain employed very long. He was vey big on fresh ways to view goals and objectives.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.