Notable railroad books of 2015

Despite proclamations from the tech industry, printed books are far from dead. While it may be easier to read the latest novel on an e-reader type device, the printed page is still the preferred media for railroad content. The closing year brought us a number of significant and railroad books, and here are some of my picks for you:

First up is Railroaders Without Borders, by H. Roger Grant, chronicling the history of the Railroad Development Corp. (Indiana University) and its worldwide operations. While best known to U.S. railfans as the parent of the Iowa Interstate, RDC has played a significant role in Europe and South America. A little-known fact about RDC: it was formed to acquire the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, and when that transaction fell apart it eventually formed the Iowa Interstate.

November 2015 marked 75 years of Trains Magazine and to mark the occasion former Editor Kevin P. Keefe collaborated with Wendy Burton and Jeff Brouws on Railroad Vision: Steam Era Images from the Trains Magazine Archive (The Quantuck Lane Press). The hefty 200-page hardcover book presents 139 images from the David P. Morgan Memorial Library with an introduction by Keefe.

Up next is Classic Railroad Signals: Semaphores, Searchlights, and Towers, by Trains Magazine author Brian Solomon (Voyageur Press). The hardcover book highlights the variety of railroad signal hardware that is fading from common use and compliments Solomon’s railroad signal feature story that appeared in the January 2016 issue of Trains.

No look at 2015 would be complete without mention of Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 No. 611, which returned to steam earlier this year after more than 20 years. That look is provided by Norfolk and Western Six-Eleven, 3 Times a Lady, by Timothy R. Hensley and Kenneth L. Miller (Pocahontas Productions). The 96-page, hardcover book covers the locomotive’s rich history, including both of its returns to excursion service, and includes a foreword by Preston Claytor.

Keeping with the steam theme, also released in late 2015 was Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, revised edition, complied by longtime Trains Magazine librarian George H. Drury (Kalmbach Books). The 336-page volume expands on the previous edition released in 1993 and is the standard reference for steam locomotives across the industry.

Freight car lovers were not left out in 2015. A new volume on boxcars, American Car & Foundry Box Cars, 1960-1981, by Edward S. Kaminski (Signature Press), gives readers a look at one of railroading’s more colorful eras with a variety of builder’s photos and in-service views mixed with company diagrams and advertising.

I’ll also include an honorable mention from 2014: 72-82: Western Pacific’s Final Decade, by Ted Benson, Dick Dorn, Dale Sanders, and Dave Stanley (White River Productions). The hefty 240-page volume presents the railroad’s last decade with beautiful black-and-white images supplied by the heavy hitters of Western railroad photography. The book was even the subject of a presentation at the Center for Railroad Photography & Art 2015 conference, where the authors talked about their times on the railroad.

Be sure to look for new book reviews on www.TrainsMag.com throughout 2016!