Murphy Siding wrote: I just received my December Trains Magazine. Jim Wrinn's From the Editor column is about the fact that he too, is a book nut! He points out, that Matt Rose's fvaorite book is Leaders Count, about the forming of BNSF. Has anybody read this book? Is it any good? Is it biased? -Thanks
I just received my December Trains Magazine. Jim Wrinn's From the Editor column is about the fact that he too, is a book nut!
He points out, that Matt Rose's fvaorite book is Leaders Count, about the forming of BNSF. Has anybody read this book? Is it any good? Is it biased? -Thanks
1. Yes 2. Not too good in my opinion. It does reach away from BNSF for business examples, but is otherwise 3. a commissioned work of "fee-losophy."
Why do these execs want to be Donald Trump anyway? Not worth the effort.
Based on the mention in Jim Wrinn's From the Editor Column in the December Trains, I borrowed a copy of Ron Ziel's 'The Twilight of Steam Locomotives' from the library via interlibrary loan. As Mr. Wrinn mentioned in the editorial it definitely conveyed a sense of urgency and frustration as the age of steam slipped away. It was tough to see the photos of all the late model power (Alleghenies, Clinchfield Challengers, Big Boys, Yellowstones etc) just rusting away on sidings awaiting the torch. Probably the worst part was seeing the photos of CB&Q 4-8-4 5632 in excursion service running at 80mph knowing what fate awaits it.
It wasn't all doom and gloom though. I had to laugh when I read the line about about how the UP was planning to run the 8444 in "intermittent service" going forward. Here we are 44 years later and UP steam rolls on.
Out of curiosity does anybody know why Trains and Lucius Beebe didn't care for the book when it was released? Ziel refers to Beebe several times in the book in pretty flattering terms.
--Reed
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
CopCarSS wrote:One of my favorites, Murph. It truly is a shame that Gary Benson is no longer with us. What a fantastic photographer!
MP173 wrote: Murph:It is on my list.BTW did you read Frailey's book on the Blue Streak Merchandise?ed
Murph:It is on my list.
BTW did you read Frailey's book on the Blue Streak Merchandise?
ed
I'd recommend Blue Streak to anyone. It is one of my favorites. When I first got out of the army, I worked in the Dupo yards trucking piggybacks. The Blue Streak was the first train in the morning and it came through like gang busters.
-ChrisWest Chicago, ILChristopher May Fine Art Photography"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams
#55 Rolling Thunder / A Portrait of North American Railroading by Gary J. Benson and Fred W. Frailey ISBN 0-393-02907-7 192 pages nearly as many color photos. 1991
Picture a cross between an extended lenth Fred Frailey Trains magazine article, and some of the most awesome color railroad photography you've ever seen. This book is just that. Benson, is a profesional photographer, who discovered trains one day in the late 1980's. He teamed up with Frailey to produce this book. Being a photographer first, and a railfan after the fact, his photos are different than most-hardly any 3/4 wedge shots of locomotives. Every photo has enough depth and background, that I find myself studying all the parts of the photo, not just what's featured front and center. The photos all seem somewhat *alive* with detail. In addition to writing 5 short, interseting chapters in the book, Frailey did something right out of the "stuff that I like" playbook. Every photo has an intersting, relevant caption. Some almost read as poetry. Example: " On a crisp, frosty February morning in 1988, a pair of CSX's 3.500-horsepower SD50's (both still wearing pre-merger colors of Seaboard System) has this unit train of coal well under control at Morely, Tennessee, judt accross the state line from Kentucky, on the Cincinnati-Atlanta mainline of the old Lousville & Nashville. But a few miles ahead, two helper units wait to give this train a shove over the Great Smoky Mountains toward Knoxville". It doesn't get much better than this.
You'll like this book, if you're into: Trains in general, color photography, railroading in the 1980's, etc..
#54 Henry Flagler Visionary of the Gilded Age by Sidney Walter Martin. ISBN#0-9631241-1-0 232 pages.
I picked up this book at an estate sale for $3, because it looked interesting. Flagler built the Florida East Coast Railroad, including the *extention* over the ocean waters to Key West, Florida. As this is a biography, it includes his whole life, and only about 10% of the book involves railroading and the extention.
In a nutshell, ol' Henry seemed to make his fortune with Standard oil, in the 1880's. He then spent the rest of his life spending it, on hotels and railroads in Florida. I suspect, if he hadn't been filthy rich, he never would have built the extention to Key West. That is an interesting project on it's own, but in this book comes off as something ol' Henry wanted to do, because it was his money, and he wanted to do it.
You'll like this book, if you're into railroad history, or just enjoy reading biographies.
Amateur Book Review: Rails, Don Ball, Jr.
Still making my way through the Pennsy Book, but I thought I'd take a quick glance through this one, as it's probably the least read of my Don Ball, Jr. books. I really can't tell you why, either, as this is probably the book that most closely calls to my railroad interests. So without further adieu, my review:
Rails is not your typical Don Ball, Jr. book. While his other books (with the notable exception of Railroads which is similar to Rails but in color) are generally photographic works, they all have a decent amount of text prefacing and accompanying the photos. Rails is different in that, apart from a brief introduction from the author and an even briefer one from the editor, the only text in the book is the title of each photo.
This book is really amazing to me as well. I've been critical of Ball's photography ,and have generally felt that most of the great photos in his other books have come from the top notch photographers that he has surrounded himself with. That is most assuredly NOT the case with Rails. Each and every photo is a work of the author, and each is a B&W shot that I would be proud to hang on my wall.
I'm not sure what caused the difference in photographic style from his other works (even the similar Railroads lacks the photographic impact that Rails delivers), but I'm really glad that this work has been presented to the ages. This is THE book where Ball's photographic skill matches his talent for prosaic accompaniment in his other books. The fact that the former exists essentially without the latter only adds to the magic.
Really and truthfully, I can only compare this work with masters like Steinheimer and Link. It really is that good. If you want to know how B&W railroad photography is done and done well, you really should study this work. It's simply awesome (and that word isn't thrown in as a bit of contemporary hyberbole...I really was in awe of the photographic work in this book).
There you have it. BTW, like Murph, I'll leave the disclaimer that I'm a concrete estimator and not a writer!
Still making my way through the Pennsy book (what a delightful read that has been so far!). I'll probably be placing an order for a couple of the Jim Boyd books this week.
I'd also like to add something on the Rio Grande Southern as well. There's a lot of stuff out there on this subject, and some of it is kind of pricey. Do you guys have any recommendations on something under $75 that really tells the story of this most fascinating of all CO Narrow Gauge lines?
Thanks in advance!
Wasn't it Monty Python who did an audio dissertation on Australian table wines? I remember the quote "aboriginie's armpit" coming up.
I have six Don Ball books in the dungeon, as well as one by Gary Benson.
Haven't been able to afford Jim Boyd books recently, but I've been to one of his slide shows--something not to miss, especially his demise at the end!
I bought the Infrastructure book (#51) based on Murph's recommendation, and will spend a lot of time with it, I can tell! He really thinks railroads are primitive, though. Hard to disprove him, when discussing the aspects he refers to--but how would we sway that opinion, and what should railroads be doing?
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Murphy Siding wrote the following post at 09-25-2007 1:57 PM:
Chris: Don't you wish there were more people like Don Ball Jr. out there?" border="0" width="15" height="15" /> Curious-which one of his books don't you have? I've tried to find the one on the PRR, but with no luck (yet).
There are 16 copies on abebooks.com, ranging in price from $24.00-75.00, with shipping around $4.
Murphy Siding wrote: Chris: Don't you wish there were more people like Don Ball Jr. out there?
Isn't that the truth. Another Photog/Author who is no longer with us that I really miss is Gary Benson. The Art of Railroad Photography was a defining book for me. When I look at Mr. Benson's pictures, I know that Railroad Photography can transcend into the ranks of Fine Art Photography (well, OWL and Steinheimer proved this, too, but I think Gary Benson was the greatest of his generation).
I've been looking at some of Jim Boyd's stuff, and I think that I may start picking up more of his books. I've long been a fan of his photography (much of which appears in Don Ball's books) and I don't know how I've neglected his stuff so long. The IC book you referenced above, and his book on the Lehigh and Hudson River Rail look to be next on my purchase list.
Curious-which one of his books don't you have? I've tried to find the one on the PRR, but with no luck (yet).
I'm missing Decade of the Trains: The 1940's. And despite my misgivings about it being a bittersweet moment, I just placed an order for one on Amazon. Speaking of which, there are 30 of the Ball Pennsy books available used at Amazon right now. Pricing starts at $22.95 (or they have new ones starting at $33.50 if you prefer new books).
I'm not sure which sounds better, the book, or the Australian Shiraz, whatever that might be-a beer?
Close. Shiraz is a wine variety closely related to Syrah. Australia seems to produce some very good Shiraz/Syrah. I went with a bottle of 2003 Penfold's Kalimna Shiraz. A little young, but still a delightful wine. One of these days I'm going to pony up and buy myself a bottle of Penfold Grange...of course I've said the same for Opus One and even a bottle of 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac too...the last one being someday when I win the lottery! .
Not really a book review yet...more of a bit of reminiscing:
I just received one of my favorite books ever in the mail yesterday. I finally acquired a copy of The Pennsylvania Railroad: The 1940s-1950s by Don Ball, Jr. This was one of two books that I'm pretty sure the Aurora (IL) Public Library must have thought never went out to anyone other than me (the other being America's Railroads: The Second Generation also by the late Mr. Ball).
I don't know why it's taken me this long to purchase the Pennsy book, but after sitting down with a nice glass of Australian Shiraz and paging through it last night, I realized why I loved it so much. The Pennsy was a really, really cool railroad and this book does it photographic justice.
The amazing thing is that the book is comprised of color photographs. In the 1940s and 1950s, Kodachrome was still young and it was also dreadfully slow (I think the original Kodachrome was rated at ASA 6, IIRC). Needless to say, there is a lot of motion blur in some of the pictures. Still, even if the photos aren't technical masterpieces (and a good majority of them are!), they definately tell a story.
While I'm not a huge fan of his photography (I like it, but sometimes he tries a little too hard), Don Ball, Jr. often includes work from some of the very best photographers of his era (O. Winston Link, Jim Boyd, TJ Donahue, and Richard Steinheimer come readily to mind). This book is no exception. Some of the names are new to me, but the photography is still top notch.
This book also means that I have only one more Don Ball, Jr. book to pick up before my collection is complete. I'm not sure when that will happen, as I think it will be a bittersweet moment for me. There are newer photographer/authors that have produced really great books, but I don't think any have come close to having the effect on me like Don Ball, Jr. has. Maybe it's partially an effect of remembering the halcyon days of my youth and my budding interest in railroads and railroad photography but I think there's more to it. I think reading a Don Ball, Jr. book is an excercise in learning what it is to be a railfan.
I plan to read through the Pennsy book very carefully, and sit and think about the photos. When I finish that process, I'll probably post some more thoughts.
Murphy Siding wrote: doghouse wrote: In light of recent flare-ups ...What did I miss? Note the date; 8-19. About 4-6 weeks ago, there was heated discussion about what *was* and *wasn't* worthy of being a thread topic, according to various posters. I say "heated", because there was a fair amount of flames involved. It seems we've all calmed it down a bit now, and are all playing nicely in our little sandbox once again.
doghouse wrote: In light of recent flare-ups ...What did I miss?
In light of recent flare-ups ...
What did I miss?
Thanks, Murph.
Murphy Siding wrote: In light of recent flare-ups on the board, about what is, and isn't *good enough* to be a thread topic; I'll suggest that, if this isn't your cup of tea, please feel free to not read this thread. On the other hand, if you don't like these kinds of threads, but you opened it anyhow, you're not being very honest with yourself. ( ) #51:Infrastructure-A field guide to the Industrial Landscape by Brian Hayes ISBN#0-393-05997-9. 536 pages, peppered with lots of color pictures This is not a railroad book per se. Most railroad fans will find it very interesting anyway. This book has 14 chapters about the visible infrastructre of industry that you would see while driving down the road. Covered are:mining, waterworks, farming, oil, powerplants & grids, commumications, bridges & tunnels, waste & recycling,roads, shipping, avaiation, and the railroad. It's that last chapter I mentioned-the railroad-that would interst the average railfan. The chapter is only 40 pages long. The author states that he spent 15 years years developing this book, and it shows. He seems to have done his homework! Mr. Hayes give a littl disclaimer, that says that most railfans would find his explanations too simple. He then goes on to describe lots of things in detail, using language simple enough that even I can understand. He fairly well covers history, track structure, swithes, crossings, signals, locomtives, rolling stock, and yards. Also included, is a preety good essay on electrified railroads and passenger trains. You'll like this book, if you're into railroads, and all other big, industrial things on the horizon.
In light of recent flare-ups on the board, about what is, and isn't *good enough* to be a thread topic; I'll suggest that, if this isn't your cup of tea, please feel free to not read this thread. On the other hand, if you don't like these kinds of threads, but you opened it anyhow, you're not being very honest with yourself. ( )
#51:Infrastructure-A field guide to the Industrial Landscape by Brian Hayes ISBN#0-393-05997-9. 536 pages, peppered with lots of color pictures
This is not a railroad book per se. Most railroad fans will find it very interesting anyway. This book has 14 chapters about the visible infrastructre of industry that you would see while driving down the road. Covered are:mining, waterworks, farming, oil, powerplants & grids, commumications, bridges & tunnels, waste & recycling,roads, shipping, avaiation, and the railroad. It's that last chapter I mentioned-the railroad-that would interst the average railfan.
The chapter is only 40 pages long. The author states that he spent 15 years years developing this book, and it shows. He seems to have done his homework! Mr. Hayes give a littl disclaimer, that says that most railfans would find his explanations too simple. He then goes on to describe lots of things in detail, using language simple enough that even I can understand. He fairly well covers history, track structure, swithes, crossings, signals, locomtives, rolling stock, and yards. Also included, is a preety good essay on electrified railroads and passenger trains.
You'll like this book, if you're into railroads, and all other big, industrial things on the horizon.
#53 When the Railroad Leaves Town by Joseph P. Schwieterman ISBN #0-943549-97-3 (Eastern version)copyright 2001 350 pages. 100+ B&W photos.
This is not the book I thought it would be. I had envisioned a book about all railroads, *sort of* leaving all towns. I was looking forward to reading about how railroads affected everythings about towns and cities at one time. I had envisioned a good read, about how the railroads influenced nearly every facet of American life 100 years ago. That would have been followed by a serious history lesson about railroads, and their dwindling importance in everyday life in America since that time. How towns and cities changed (for better or worse) after the railroads fell from such high importance, would be followed by a look at the future of railroads. *Experts* could give us insights, as to what the future relationship would be, between railroads and the rest of the country. Maybe, I was wishing for 100+ color and black & white never-before-published photos. Unfortunately, that book hasn't been written-yet.
That being said, When the Railroad Leaves Town, is a really good, readable book that I enjoyed. The premise of the book, is that it is broken into 64 mini chapters. Each is about a town that used to have a railroad, but no longer does. Starting with the history of the town itself, Schwieterman moves through the coming of the railroad, the heyday of the railroad's importance in town, and the aftermath. The headings he uses are:Historical Perspective,Changing Times,Abandonment's Legacy, and Epilogue. This book, is the first, and it covers towns east of the *gateways*. The second book, which I'm looking forward to, covers towns west of the *gateways*, and will probably be more interesting to us in the midwest,upper plains area.
You'll like this book, if you're into railroad history.
Anybody read a good railroad book recently?
Ah, there is your book review. I will have the local library pull it in for me on the lending program.
Fred Frailey is an editor for Kiplingers, a personal finance magazine and usually has an article each issue.
He is the best railroad writer out there today.
#52 Twilight of the Great Trains. by Fred Frailey 192 pages, lots of photos ISBN#0-89024-178-3
Having read a several boring and/or downright books of late, it was great to find a good one! To me, a good book is interesting to read, makes me think about the subject matter, and makes me want to go learn more about the subject. This book satisfies all those requirements for me, and then some.
This book is, basically, the answer to the question "what happened to American passenger trains in the 50's/60's?" Each chapter is more or less about 1 railroad's passenger business spiral during that period. Starting with the trains, the people involved, and how the line adapted to the death of the passenger trains. The book ends with the intro to Amtrak. By then, you understand the whys and what fors that lead to there being an Amtrak.
I would also mention, that part of what makes this book good, is the author,Fred Frailey. His grasp, and explanations of things is wonderful. The average reader (me) can understand what he's saying. That's not always true in a lot of books. Mr. Frailey is so good, that I think I'd even enjoy reading non-railroad books written by him.
You'll like this book, if you're into:passenger trains, railroad history,railroad business, or railroad nostalgia.
I was tempted to mention the book Infrastructure on this thread some time back but I was afraid it might be viewed as an attempt at thread hijacking. I concur with Murphy Siding - it is a great book and it really gives you an appreciation of things in and around the railroad setting. On more than on occasion while railfanning in and around a heavy indsutrial setting the knowledge gained from the book gave me an understanding of the why of the industrial vista framed in my viewfinder. As near as I can tell, the only mistake in the railroad section is on pp.352 where he identifies a structure as a grain elevator - I'm almost certain it is a coal elevator. My biggest problem with the book is that I have to keep it firmly out of my mind when I'm driving because it is far too easy to see something you recognize from the book and start thinking about it instead of the traffic in front of you.
#50 To Hell in a Day Coach by Peter Lyon (1968) 324 near worthless pages.
Well.....This book should be subtitled A whole bunch of semi-acurate railroad history by a crabby man who hates railroads. The bookjacket, apparantly wtitten by the author, uses the words love,intelligence,brilliant,clear,thorough,irony,hilarity. and wit. Unfortuneately, the book seemed to have none of this.This fella, a "well-known magazine writer" gives a concentrated history of American railroads, from his nasty, anti-railroad perspective. To hear him explain it, everything the railroads did was soley to rip off the shippers, passengers, investors and the government. Most railroad personalities are described to be something along the lines of Al Capone. I did not see anywhere in the book, where I thought the author said the railroads did anything right. Most of the book is written in an "Aha! See- I told you so!!" sort of tone, that gets old fast.
Now, I do enjoy reading authors that have differing opinions on things. Some of the best books I've read, are by people who have opinions and values opposite of mine. Everyone has an opinion, and it never hurts to hear someone else's. But.....I laughed right out loud, when Mr. Lyon described William MacAdoo, who headed the US take-over of the railroads in WW I, as a near genious! He seemed to think there wouldn't be a railorad *problem* (in 1968, when the book was published), if the Government had just kept the railroads, and put Genious MacAdoo in charge of them. It reminded me of an old Saturday Night Live skit, that portrayed then President Jimmy Carter as genious, who could trouble-shoot mechanical problems on post office mail sorting machines over the phone, but couldn't seem to do much else very well.
At a loss, as to how to end a book that carps on and on about 150 years of railroad history, Mr. Lyons writes a couple chapters carping about passenger trains in the late 1960's. You begin to wonder about a guy, who believes, that what went wrong with the railroads, is that they put too much emphasis on freight. They should have downplayed freight, and concentrated on what would have been the sure-fire salvation of all railroading:passenger service. This guy probably stroked out, when PennCentral/Conrail happened.
I bought this book at a used bookstore, so I'm only out a couple of bucks. If anyone wants it, let me know. I'll mail it to you. You'll like this book, if you're into hating railroads, or, if you're in solitary confinement in prison, and have some time to kill.
The return of the most boring thread on the forum......
#49 Reader's Digest The Heritage of North American Steam Railroads, from the first days of steam power to the present. By Brian Solomon ISBN#0-7621-0327-2 2001, 256 pages, 100+ photos and drawings.
Every now and then, someone addicted to books will grab something on the quick, just because it looked interesting at first glance. This is just such a book. What you get here, is the history of railroads in North America, from about 1790 to 2001. Except, you get the *condensed* version. Everything is covered very lightly, with no depth at all. It's almost like the Reader's Digest version of it all. In a way, I'm kind of disappointed in Brian Solomon for writing a book like this. He is much better than this book. It was like he was under some contractual obligation, to spend a weekend, and write this book from memory. On the other hand, this book was only $2 on the close-out shelf, at my favorite used bookstore.
You'll like this book, if you're into *light* railroad history. If, however, you've read a few railroad books before, you'll agonized over the lack of depth in the subject matter. This is the kind of book I should leave in the waiting room of my mechanic's shop. Maybe it would inspire a new railfan somewhere. The truth is, I'd mail this book to anyone who expressed any interest in it.
Read any good railroad books recently?
Jock Ellis Cumming, GA US of A Georgia Association of Railroad Passengers
#48 Landmarks on the Iron Road by William D. Middleton ISBN#0-253-33559-0 194 pages.
Here is an all around interesting book about all the building of things to make a railroad work. All the emphasis is on the first, biggest, best, and most famous, of over 100 railroad related, civil engineering projects in North America. Chapters include info about bridges,mountain crossings,tunnels,docks, and lost landmarks. Of the 100+ landmarks written about in the book, I have been to exactly one-an iron ore dock in Duluth, Minnesota. One down, 100+ to go. The most interesting thing to me, was learning about the Cooper E10 system, for designing bridge loadings.
What I like about Middleton's writing style, is that it's boken down into small, self-contained sections. I like to read a little, then stop and think about what I've read, so this works well for my analytical mind. You'll like this book, if you are into: railroads, railroad history, civil engineering,bridges, tunnels,mountain crossings, and railroad landmarks.
About ten years ago I stopped collecting just any railroad book - that decision prompted by my then-position working in or close to the California State RR Museum Library. I'm no longer in California, but have continued book buying in general, and my railroad book buying and collecting is now narrowly focused to my own interests. I will still buy a book, new or out-of-print, if it's on California redwoods logging practices or history or related redwood logging railroads - for refrence purposes, mostly. I am now writing my own book, the definitive history of the Union Lumber Company of Fort Bragg and San Francisco, CA, so other reference books are often useful.
Lately, however, I landed a copy of Thoroughbreds, the wonderful book of New York Central's steam power, and only bought it because of my onging fascination on NYC&HR's famed promotional experimental 4-4-0 No.999. I have been gathering material for a more interpretive magazine article I've been writing on this locomotive, and the chance to pick up an underpriced copy of Thoroughbreds at Powell's City of Books here in Portland was too good to pass up. I don't often go to Powells (too much trouble to get into there) but whenever I do, I nearly always come back with at least two or three books - which means I must get serious about building permanent book shelves in my home one of these days! The last haul from Powell's was on garden design and planning, since I've become an avid spare time "garden nut" and have 1/4 acre to redo. I'm not presently thinking of a garden railroad, but you never know...
Last time I looked, I owned maybe 200-odd books, and about half of those are railroad, logging or steamship specific. I've owned more than that in years past, but have decided to keep it better under control.
~Kevin
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