Book Nuts

[M636C]

QUOTE: Originally posted by RPRiebe

Here is a cut and paste of what I asked Murph:

What I am trying to find, new or used, is some books that cover the diesel locomotives used between 1950-1970.
It is the fifties locos that probably were written about once but not for quite some time.
There is a Encyclopedia of Railroad Locomotive 1960 edition, or something like that, that the library has here, and I was too stupid to pickup at a antique store fifteen years ago, that gives a good rundown of the era of the end of steam and the beginning of Diesel, but I have never seen one for sale again.
Books such as that, would be my preference, as to buy singular locals books will add up to, I have already done some checking, to hundreds of dollars, so a general, but era specific book, is what I prefer.

It is hard to describe as there are books out now, some I have, but they all cover the well known locomotives both steam and diesel ,from that era, and really ignore many of the import-export locomotives that were specific to a region or country, or anglo builders.

I have found, out-of-print, books, usually on steam, at antique shop and some neighborhood hobby shop, but the best usually seem to go out of business.
Where do some of you gents, find the hard get, or locate books, especially at not-scalping prices.

Has anyone ever done a all EE, Vickers Armstrong, or all Alsthom locomotive book, such a work would have all the early info available, I would imagine.
Bob

Bob,

I have the following that might be of interest

"GEC Traction - Power for the World's Railways" by Rodger Bradley, Oxford Publishing 1993. This is OK rather than outstanding but has a good collection of official photgraphs and a complete UK English Electric builder's list and a "GEC Traction Ltd" list from 1970 to 1992 (which seems to follow the EE list with a gap of 1200, for previous GEC units?).

"The British Internal Combustion Locomotive 1894-1940" by the late Brian Webb, published by David and Charles in 1973. A really good book but not very detailed regarding builder's numbers in total.

"Las Locomotoras de Espana" (in Spanish) by Salmeron & Campo published by Terminus (Barcelona) in 1985. A really good book with every detail you'd want on Spanish non-steam motive power.

"Spoorweg Materieel in Nederland" (in Dutch) by Nieuwenhuis & Nahon, published by Uitgeverij de Alk BV in 1987. Good technical data but no builder's numbers.

"SBB Locomotiven und Treibwagen". The SBB do an excellent book on their own locomotives in German and French. It is periodically updated, but I have the 1990 issue. Scale drawings, photos and brief technical details of diesel and electric power.

and last of course

"Locomotives in China" (which I wrote myself) published by Roundhouse Press in 1983. This is still as far as I know, the only book in English detailing first generation Chinese diesel and electric locomotives as well as a lot on steam (and I don't have any left for sale, but some might turn up secondhand!)

An even older book of mine is "An Australian Diesel Locomotive Pocketbook" published by the Australian Railway Historical Society (NSW) in 1974 which listed all the non-industrial locomotives in Australia up to that date. Reasonable technical data but no builder's numbers.

I hope this is on topic for your request.

M636C

[Anonymous]

If you've just finished "The Tootin Louie", "The Northwestern" by H. Roger Grant would be a logical next choice. 180 pages of C&NW history right up to the buyout. Well written with pictures, maps, but mostly text.

Another along similar lines is "The Los Angeles & Salt Lake" by John Signor. This is a history of UP's LA line up to the Centenials.

I'm not sure if "The Moffat Road" by Edward Bollinger has been reprinted but it covers the Denver & Salt Lake. The author worked for the railroad and the book includes many stories covering operation over Corona Pass and later through the Moffat tunnel.

[MP173]

I would have to think that Morgan's Mohawk is the best railroad book written. Previously I had mentioned Fred Frailey's Blue Streak Merchandise, but...The Mohawk that Refused defines what the written word and photo journalism should stand for.

The title short story stills sends shivers up my spine when reading it.

Currently I am reading Confessions of a Train Watcher, Four Decades of railroad writing by David P. Morgan. It is a collection of articles he penned for Trains. I believe his last article written for Trains was my favorite, Early on one frosty mornin'.

In it Morgan recounts his encounter with NYC 5403, a 4-6-4 Hudson west of Mattoon, Illinois in 1954 as steam was becoming more and more rare. The cover of the book depicts Morgan inspecting the rarity, as painted by Ted Rose.

Thirty four years later Morgan returns to Mattoon and finds the NYC line removed..."the Illinois prairie was erasing the Big Four just as surely as the North Atlantic had smoothed over the wake of the Mauretania and Rex and Ile de France. Transportation may be built for the ages, but more than most agencies and works of man, it had best be enjoyed at the moment, never assumed, ever considered an expendable experience. Look away, look away."

Within 2 years at age 62, Morgan would die. In re-reading that article, one understands that he is not only coming to grips with the passing of his photographer friend Hastings, the loss of the NYC main, and how time is so precious and fleeting. He wraps things up quite nicely with that last paragraph.

Substitute "Human existance" for "Transportation" in that paragraph and one comes up with a pretty good philosophy for living.

Enjoy the moment.

ed

[morseman]

I presently have 125 RR books My wife says if I buy another book
she will leave me === Gee, I'll miss her.

Most of my RR books are bought at second hand book stores
When my wife is shopping with my daughter, I, ll go into
Borders books and pickup a couple of books, Go the to
their coffee shop and spend a few hours reading, over
3 or 4 cups of coffee. and replace the books. Occasionaly
I will buy the odd book there. I notice quite a few other
people have this awful habit. My son and daughter \always give me the best Christmand and birthday presents ever == Border's gift certificates.

[Murphy Siding]

Amateur Book Review 3 #

The History of the Burlington Northern
by Bill Yenne
ISBN# 0-517-05383-7

This is a neat book. It's 128 pages of ,well,*history*. The author does a good job of hitting the highlights of GN,NP,CBQ,SPS and Frisco. Approximately (I'm too lazy to count them) 60 color and black and white photos complement the well written text.
You'll like this book if you're interested in BN,western railroads,railroad history or goats. (Just threw that in to see if anybody is reading this.)

Remember,I'm a lumber salesman,not a writer.[:)]

[BudKarr]

I do not have an extensive collection, but one source of information that I have enjoyed is from a book entitled, "The Great Book of Trains," by Brian Hollilngsworth and Arthur Cook. The publisher is Salamander Books Limited of London.

This work contains 310 locomotives and more than 160 full color illustrations and 500 photographs from all over the world. The technical information is extremely informative for those who appreciate such things.

BK

[MP173]

Do Official Guides count in the collection? Got a bunch of those.

ed

[Murphy Siding]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MP173

Do Official Guides count in the collection? Got a bunch of those.

ed

Please! Tell me about them. I'm always searching.

[MP173]

I have 24 Official Guides of the Railways, most of which are in the 60's and 70's.

The OG was published monthly and contained all of the passenger schedules. The railroads were laid out on a roughly east to west configuration in the book. Each major railroad had a map, listing of executives and listing of all passenger trains, in timetable form. In addition, the railroad would list the equipment for each train, such as coaches, sleepers, diner, etc. Most lines also listed the "freight only" lines. Short lines were also listed.

So, an Official Guide was (is) a major reference for not only passenger service, but for nearly all railroad lines in the US, Mexico, and Canada.

For instance, I can tell you right now by randomly opening my mid 50's OG that A.L.M. Wiggins was the Chairman of the Board of the Charleston & Western Carolina Railway Company and that the C&WC ran a passenger train daily from Augusta , Ga (dept 915am) to Port Royal, SC (ar 120pm) which turned and left at 245pm arriving back at Augusta at 635pm with 21 stops on the 113.4 mile one way trip. It doesnt list this as a mixed train (freight and passenger) but it possibly was.

The Guides also had an exhaustive index of communities served which was over 200 pages. With the maps, the timetables, listings of all routes, and the index, the Guides were (and are) a great tool. One can trace the decline of the passenger service quite easily.

One can purchase Guides on Ebay. At any time there are probably 10 or more listed. Typical prices are in the $10 -$25 range. If I were buying, I would purchase one from the 50's and one from the 60's. By the 70's the format had changed and with very few passenger trains left, it was pretty spartan.

Make room on the shelf if you start collecting as they were typically 1500 pages in the 50's and 60's. Also, the paper is pretty thin and fragile. Thus, I will have "working" copies that I use frequently. The one I referred to above is such. I have no idea of it's publication date as the cover (and several front pages) are gone. But, it serves it's purpose.

Murphy, as much as you enjoy detail in railroading, go buy one. It might be the best $$$ you spend on the hobby.

ed

[siberianmo]

For: MP173

One of the more treasured books in my railroad library is the Aug 1956 edition of The Official Guide of The Railways. Your accounting of them is right on the money. I also found the advertisements contained within the rather flimsy pages to be very reflective of the times. 1956 was a significant year for me - entered the military back then, and traveled by railroad quite frequently. So the timetables brings back memories and the ads remind me of those I saw in magazines and billboards. Great for nostalgia buffs. Mine was a gift from a son who found it at a flea market.

Somewhere around here is a companion book for freight cars - gives pretty much chaper 'n verse on 'em all. I'm a passenger train enthusiast, so the freight version doesn't get the attention that others might give it.

Apprecite your commentary.

[MP173]

siberian:

I love to go back to certain years that I took train trips as a kid in the 60's and relive the trip. The OG's are great for that.

There is a publication out that lists every freight car (by series). I believe it is called the Official Railway Equipment Register. I have one of those from the 90's. In the listing, it has reporting marks (by railroad and private fleet), sizes, dimensions, load limits, plate, and lots of other things.

Another big thick book printed on flimsy paper, but not nearly as interesting as the OG.

BTW...I see a OG from a couple of years (40's) listed in Trains for sale on CD. Somehow I cannot pull the trigger on it. I prefer the book instead. I think I will go to EBAY and pickup a couple more.

ed

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by M636C

I have the following that might be of interest

"GEC Traction - Power for the World's Railways" by Rodger Bradley, Oxford Publishing 1993. This is OK rather than outstanding but has a good collection of official photgraphs and a complete UK English Electric builder's list and a "GEC Traction Ltd" list from 1970 to 1992 (which seems to follow the EE list with a gap of 1200, for previous GEC units?).

"The British Internal Combustion Locomotive 1894-1940" by the late Brian Webb, published by David and Charles in 1973. A really good book but not very detailed regarding builder's numbers in total.

"Las Locomotoras de Espana" (in Spanish) by Salmeron & Campo published by Terminus (Barcelona) in 1985. A really good book with every detail you'd want on Spanish non-steam motive power.

"Spoorweg Materieel in Nederland" (in Dutch) by Nieuwenhuis & Nahon, published by Uitgeverij de Alk BV in 1987. Good technical data but no builder's numbers.

"SBB Locomotiven und Treibwagen". The SBB do an excellent book on their own locomotives in German and French. It is periodically updated, but I have the 1990 issue. Scale drawings, photos and brief technical details of diesel and electric power.

and last of course

"Locomotives in China" (which I wrote myself) published by Roundhouse Press in 1983. This is still as far as I know, the only book in English detailing first generation Chinese diesel and electric locomotives as well as a lot on steam (and I don't have any left for sale, but some might turn up secondhand!)

An even older book of mine is "An Australian Diesel Locomotive Pocketbook" published by the Australian Railway Historical Society (NSW) in 1974 which listed all the non-industrial locomotives in Australia up to that date. Reasonable technical data but no builder's numbers.
I hope this is on topic for your request.
M636C

Now we are cooking with gas!
I will assume you are in Australia.
I have found one Aussie book store, which has some books similar, if not the same as you listed.
In the past few years, especially when the exchane rate was better, I have ordered several dozen auto books from Australia, what book stores, that are on the internet would you reccomend for finding similar titles?
I used to check euro shops, but with the current exchange rate, only a extremely good find would be worth the while.

Thanks for the fine list,
Bob
PS--on a old usenet railroad site, a fellow once told me the reason the 900 series EE equipt diesel locomotives, SAR, looked so much like the PAs was a gent had input on both locos.
Is this true?

[CopCarSS]

QUOTE: Originally posted by emmar

I definitly qualify as a book nut. I have about 40 train related books and probably about 400 other books including ... Edward Abbey...

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most spectacular view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." ~Edward Abbey

That one's been on the sig. line of my e-mail address for a long time, Emma...probably since I moved to Colorado. Good choice!

[CopCarSS]

I can't even tell you how many books I have. Half of my problem is that the majority of them still reside at my Mom's house in IL. I keep thinking about bringing them out here, but then again, I keep thinking about moving back to IL, too, and don't want to move them twice...sigh...

At any rate, I have a lot of rail stuff, but a good part of it revolves around rail photography, and rail photographers. The names here are all well known: Don Ball Jr., Gary J. Benson, O. Winston Link, Richard Steinhammer, Lucius Beebe, Jim Boyd, Brian Solomon (whom I've met), etc. etc. I treasure each of the books by these fine photographers, and absolutely enjoy opening one up.

Another little chunk of my collection involves the Penn Central, and its financial collapse. Two of my favorites are "The Fallen Colossus" by Robert Sobel (really enjoyed this one), and "The Wreck of the Penn Central," by Daughen and Binzen (not quite as interesting as Sobel's narrative, but many many facts).

Lately I've been looking at picking up vintage Railroad books...stuff dating back at least 50 years. It's interesting to see contemporary views of railroading. Don't have any great suggestions here, but if I get any I really like, I'll pass them your way.

Interesting thread, by the way!

Chris
Denver, CO

[Murphy Siding]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MP173

I have 24 Official Guides of the Railways, most of which are in the 60's and 70's.

The OG was published monthly and contained all of the passenger schedules. The railroads were laid out on a roughly east to west configuration in the book. Each major railroad had a map, listing of executives and listing of all passenger trains, in timetable form. In addition, the railroad would list the equipment for each train, such as coaches, sleepers, diner, etc. Most lines also listed the "freight only" lines. Short lines were also listed.

So, an Official Guide was (is) a major reference for not only passenger service, but for nearly all railroad lines in the US, Mexico, and Canada.

For instance, I can tell you right now by randomly opening my mid 50's OG that A.L.M. Wiggins was the Chairman of the Board of the Charleston & Western Carolina Railway Company and that the C&WC ran a passenger train daily from Augusta , Ga (dept 915am) to Port Royal, SC (ar 120pm) which turned and left at 245pm arriving back at Augusta at 635pm with 21 stops on the 113.4 mile one way trip. It doesnt list this as a mixed train (freight and passenger) but it possibly was.

The Guides also had an exhaustive index of communities served which was over 200 pages. With the maps, the timetables, listings of all routes, and the index, the Guides were (and are) a great tool. One can trace the decline of the passenger service quite easily.

One can purchase Guides on Ebay. At any time there are probably 10 or more listed. Typical prices are in the $10 -$25 range. If I were buying, I would purchase one from the 50's and one from the 60's. By the 70's the format had changed and with very few passenger trains left, it was pretty spartan.

Make room on the shelf if you start collecting as they were typically 1500 pages in the 50's and 60's. Also, the paper is pretty thin and fragile. Thus, I will have "working" copies that I use frequently. The one I referred to above is such. I have no idea of it's publication date as the cover (and several front pages) are gone. But, it serves it's purpose.

Murphy, as much as you enjoy detail in railroading, go buy one. It might be the best $$$ you spend on the hobby.

ed

This sounds interesting,but,are you saying EACH monthly magazine had 1500 pages?

[MP173]

Yes.

Each monthly publication was LARGE. The number of pages depended upon the timetable listings for the railroads. It is interesting to look at the 1950's OGs and compare them to the late 1960's. The passenger train was in full retreat. Also, a number of railroads were starting to disappear. The Wabash and Nickle Plate were swallowed up by NW, Erie and Lackawanna merged, etc.

I would not call them magazines. They were trade publications. Every depot in every little town had an OG. That was how the railroads knew how to book a ticket.

Lets say in 1964 (as I did), one travelled from Olney, Illinois to Pueblo, Colorado for a family vacation. Looking back at a 1964 OG, I can reconstruct our trip:

Lv Olney 11:24am on B&O #1 National Limited
Ar St. Louis 2:00pm

Lv St. Louis 4pm on train #11 Colorado Eagle
Ar. Pueblo 7:30am MST the next morning

Not bad...St. Louis to Pueblo was 901 miles in 16.5 hours for 54.6mph.

The ticket agent in Olney lined up our trip, no doubt using the OG and then calling Missoui Pacific for joint line tickets.

BTW, one of the lingering memories of the trip was waking up (coach seats of course) and looking out the window. We were stopped at a depot in Hoisington, Ks. The next morning I commented to my dad that I thought I saw two clocks at a depot. One clock read 3:00 and the other 2:00. The conductor smiled and told me that at Hoisington the time changed from Central to Mountain time and the depot had 2 clocks on the outside...side by side. Looking back at the Guide, I see we arrived in Hoisington at 233am and departed at 148am.

Murphy, I checked out Ebay tonight and there are 21 Official Guides for sale. If you buy one, do so in the early to mid 60's or even earlier. My guess is you can pick one up for about $10. Where else will you get over 1000 pages at that rate and countless hours of reliving transportation history?

This will get you started on so many topics, we should make it thru the winter!

ed

[gbrewer]

Ed,

I thought I was the only one doing that. Only a few months ago I was researching a trip I took back in 1964 using the same Guide I used at the time. I have five editions on my shelf from the '50s to the '70s, and yes, they get much smaller toward the '70s.

My trip was from Houston by the Sam Huston Zephyr to Dallas, over to Fort Worth and back via the Santa Fe Texas Chief. All done in one day. Dining car service on the Chief was really something to remember.

You mentioned starting in Olney, IL. I wonder if anyone else here recalls the significance of that name. Richard Olney was the attourney general of the US who sent federal troups to Chicago at the time of the big Pullman Strike. This was after Gov. Altgeld refused to send in the national guard. I had my facts a bit backward at first; I doubt the town was named after this Mr. Olney.

[MP173]

Olney has been around for about 150 years. So that wouldnt be the case. In a bit of railfan fantasy, sometimes I will pick a hotspot and then list all the passenger trains passing that spot in a day.

Oh, for a roll or two of good slide film and a time travel machine back. Where would you go in that situation. Perhaps I will post it on a new thread.

ed

[espeefoamer]

I have about 8-10 ORGs. The oldest is 1947 and the newest May 1971.The 1947 Guide is absolutely humongous[:)].They stayed thick through the 1950s and got progressively thinner through the 60s[:(].I have both April and May 1971 ORGs showing just how much we lost with the coming of Amtrak.

[Murphy Siding]

Amatuer Book Review # 4

The Milwaukee Road East
by Patrick C. Dorin
ISBN # 0-87564-538-3

This is a book that feels old. Published in 1978, it has 175 pages,a dozen or so maps,and perhaps 300 photos-all in black and white. Each of it's 10 chapters start with about 4 pages of text. Then the rest of the chapter is filled out with well captioned pictures-lots of them. This is mainly a lite history book about the part of the railroad east of Harlowton. You'll like this book if you're into the Milwaukee Road,midwestern railroads, or railroad history. Bonus!-the book has a happy ending! The author makes the case that the Milwaukee is in great shape, and is in for a bright future ![;)][sigh]

Remember: I'm a lumber salesman,not a writer.

[Murphy Siding]

RPRiebe: I may have found something that would interest you:

Amatuer Book Review #5

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Modern Locomotives: A technical directory of major international diesel,electric and gas-turbine locomotives from 1879 to the present day. >( present day meaning 1983)<
by Brian Hollingsworth & Arthur Cook
ISBN# 0-517-412675

"208 pages....over 260 photographs,120,000 words....150 ....locomotives." ( Easier just to use the blurbs Mr. Publisher put on the back cover.) This is a neat book. It has info about locomotives from:Germany,USA,GB,Italy,Austria,Switz.,Chile,France,India,Sweden,Canada,Denmark,Spain,S.Africa,USSR, Japan,Romania, Netherlands,Argentina,China,Poland,E.Africa,NZ,Finland,Australia,and Rhodesia!

The book does cover electric,but most is about diesels. You'll like this book if you're into locomotives. Did I mention it's all color photos and drawings?

Remember: I'm a lumber salesman,not a writer.
[:)]

[siberianmo]

QUOTE: MP173 Posted: 10 Oct 2005, 12:19:18
siberian:

I love to go back to certain years that I took train trips as a kid in the 60's and relive the trip. The OG's are great for that.

There is a publication out that lists every freight car (by series). I believe it is called the Official Railway Equipment Register. I have one of those from the 90's. In the listing, it has reporting marks (by railroad and private fleet), sizes, dimensions, load limits, plate, and lots of other things.

Another big thick book printed on flimsy paper, but not nearly as interesting as the OG.

BTW...I see a OG from a couple of years (40's) listed in Trains for sale on CD. Somehow I cannot pull the trigger on it. I prefer the book instead. I think I will go to EBAY and pickup a couple more.

ed

Ed - I found it! It is The Official Railway Equpment Register, Vol. LXV . . . No. 3 . . . January 1950. This book, done in the same style as the passenger edition, porvides freight car data by car numbers, marked capacity, length, dimensions and cubical capacity for the railroads of the U.S. - Canada and Mexico.

It too is a great "browser," and the route maps .........

See ya!

Tom

[Murphy Siding]

QUOTE: Originally posted by up829

If you've just finished "The Tootin Louie", "The Northwestern" by H. Roger Grant would be a logical next choice. 180 pages of C&NW history right up to the buyout. Well written with pictures, maps, but mostly text.

Another along similar lines is "The Los Angeles & Salt Lake" by John Signor. This is a history of UP's LA line up to the Centenials.

I'm not sure if "The Moffat Road" by Edward Bollinger has been reprinted but it covers the Denver & Salt Lake. The author worked for the railroad and the book includes many stories covering operation over Corona Pass and later through the Moffat tunnel.

How's this for ESP? I ordered "The Northwestern" on an inter-library loan. It came in today![:)] I see that I ordered it Oct. 5th.[(-D]

[edkowal]

I'd like to second the choice of John W. Orr's SET UP RUNNING about his father's career.

His father was an engineman with the Pennsylvania RR and had many long and detailed conversations with his son all throughout his career. From his recollections of these conversations, John Orr does a stunning job of recreating the concerns and achievements, and the workaday details of an accomplished railroader on a world famous railroad. What was most interesting to me was his father's attention to the fine points of fuel and water economy, which was primarily driven by a desire to get his trains to the terminal in the shortest reasonable manner.

This book is extremely well written and a very interesting read. I was lucky enough to find it at our local central library in Buffalo, NY.

-Ed

[Murphy Siding]

Something only a book nut could do: One of the books that I ordered on an inter-library loan because it looked interesting, is one I already own![D)].

[Murphy Siding]

Amatuer Book Review #6

Milwaukee Road West
by Charles R, and Dorothy M Wood
no ISBN # (must be to0 old-1972)
192 pages.

This book is pretty much the west version of review #4, a couple posts back. It does cover the electrified lines fairly well too.


Remember, I'm a lumber salesman,not a writer.

[Murphy Siding]

Amatuer Book Review #7

Burlington Northern and its Heritage
by Steve Glischinski
ISBN # 0-7603-0236-7


I found this gem at the public library. This book is 192 pages,with about 100 wonderfull, color pictures! Chapters cover the predecessor roads,merger and divisions of BN. It's all clearly written,interesting to read, and the photos! You'll like this book if you're into: BN,GN,NP,SPS,Frisco,western railroads,railroad history or rail photos.

Remember, I'm a lumber salesman, not a writer.

[nanaimo73]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Murphy Siding

Amatuer Book Review #7

Burlington Northern and its Heritage
by Steve Glischinski
ISBN # 0-7603-0236-7


I found this gem at the public library. This book is 192 pages,with about 100 wonderfull, color pictures! Chapters cover the predecessor roads,merger and divisions of BN. It's all clearly written,interesting to read, and the photos! You'll like this book if you're into: BN,GN,NP,SPS,Frisco,western railroads,railroad history or rail photos.

Remember, I'm a lumber salesman, not a writer.

I photocopied the maps in that one when I had it from the library. They give the years that BN abandoned the lines in each division.

Mr. Lumber Salesman, not a writer, could you please give a review of Main Lines. Is it just like Merging Lines, with lots of maps ? Are you going to buy your own copies now ?
When did you start ordering Interlibrary loans ?
Is there a University in your area ? Usually you can register and take books out of their library as well.
I thought you were the one who asked lots of questions.

[Murphy Siding]

n-a-n-a-i-m-o-7-3: Ding! Ding! You win the prize![:)] I've probably read every railroad book in our library's system. I hadn't considered interlibrary loans until you mentioned it. I guess I hadn't considered that the library would be hooked up with the state University libraries. It turns out, they're hooked up with library systems and Universities throughout the lower 48 states![:)]. This may have created another monster! I'm now browsing card catalogs all over the state. I have a new found friend in the lady at the reference desk at the library.

About Main Lines. It's a current overview of America's Railroad system. A very good book,written in sort of the format as Merging Lines. I had to take it back already.[sigh]. The library police charge $1.00 per day fine on overdue inter-library loans.[:O] I plan on looking for it used,after I catch up on every book in about 500 libraries.[;)]

[Anonymous]

I have two books which I consider outstanding:

One Man's Locomotives, by Vernon Smith is autobiographical and covers his career from being a fireman on a locomotive in an iron mine in Minnesota to being Chief Mechanical Officer on the Belt Railroad of Chicago. This book covers some of the technical aspects of locomotives not covered elsewear.

Twilight of the Great Trains, by Fred Frailey covers the postwar decline of passenger trains on several railroads and what the railroads did and didn't do to deal with the situation.

Although they were actually a Periodical (Magazine) the Official Guides are also fastinating, the reprints are as good as the originals.