Oops! [B)] [:O] [:I]
Okay, Norris. Wilco. - a.s.
#57 Steel Rails of Hawkeyeland, by Donovan L. Hofsommer. 279 pages text, plus 55 pages of notes/bibliography(!) ISBN #0-253-34515-4 copyright 2005
I must appologize. Someone on this forum recommended this book, but I don’t remember who.([:I]) Whoever it was- a big thank you to you!
This is a fairly in depth history of railroading in Iowa. Because of where Iowa lays, it had, and still has a lot to do with the western transcontinental railroads and their traffic. Because of this, nearly everything that had to do with the southern transcontinentals, and the granger roads, happened to Iowa. There is good coverage of the birth,growth, maturity, and unfortunately death, of a lot of Iowa rail lines. The stories about industry shifting, passenger decline,railroad bankruptcies, and branchline abandoodments in Iowa could be the same story for several dozen other states as well. The story is the same, all one would have to do, is change the names.
A few things I learned from the book: Iowa once was so overbuilt in raillines at one time, that it is said you couldn’t be more than 30 miles from a rail line anywhere in the state. At the time, I suppose, they didn’t think they were oever built, but times change. The 60’s & 70’s hit Iowa hard, in the railroad business. Milwaukee Road, Chicago & Northwestern, and Rock Island had the most mileage in the state. Between 1961 and 1971, Iowa lost one half of it’s railroad tracks.
You’ll like this book, if you’re into: Iowa railroads, specific railroad history(IC, MWK,CNW,RI), or just good, general railroad history.
Commodore-the life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by Edward J. Renehan
I don’t have all the price details on this book, but I just finished a copy I checked out of our local library. The book is well written, well researched and a colorful account of the life of a man who was the richest of all the robber barons. It is somewhat short, but has a good bibliography.
I only wanted to put it in here as most of us think of the New York Central when we think of the Commodore, but the author chooses to spend most of his time telling about the maritime details of his career. Only a few references to railroading, mainly a few stock deals and the means by which Vanderbilt consolidated the NYC and the Hudson River RR.
A good book and a worthwhile read but not a train book.
Hmmm, I’ll have to find that one.
Brian: I got it on an inter-library loan. It came from the Sommerset Public Library, Sommerset Iowa![:P]
#59 Stealing the General / The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor by Russell S. Bonds. ISBN 10:1-59416-033-3 444 pages, including 57 pages of notes and Bibliography.
I have heard of the Andrews Raid, the truth behind the legend of The Great Locomotive Chase, but had never really checked into it much. As a kid, I probably watche the Walt Disney movie version of it, but those tend to stray a little away from facts at times.
This book is written by a lawyer for Coca Cola, rather than by a history professor, who appears to be a history buff. The result is somewhere between Disney and hard core history.
The raid, which actually was a failure, was seen as a grand plan to put a big split in the middle of the Confederacy. Some saw it as a way to start a “conquer and divide” sort of rift in the south, leading to a hasty end to the war, which was only about a year old then. About 1/4 of the book involves the actual chase part of the adventure. The rest of the book concerns the raiders capture, imprisonment, and capture, and the Civil War history pertinent to the time frame of the narrative. I can’t say that I learned much about railroading, but I did learn a lot about the Civil War. (or the War of Northern Aggresion, if you listen to my reletives in North Carolina).
You’ll enjoy this book, if you’re into railroad legends,adventure, and Civil War history. I got this book before Thanksgiving, and read it on and off since then. Every time I picked it up, I imagined a narrator doing voice-over: “When last we left our heros…” Of the 24 raiders, 8 were hanged, 8 were eventually traded for Confederate POW’s, and 8 escaped prison before being hanged. The escaped raiders all made it back to the north, from Atlanta, deep inside t
Attn: Norris –
If you want to number these two shorties nos. 60 and 61, go ahead; or not, as you please. It’s your thread and you can do what you want to. - al
Two reviews by Al Smalling re: SAL/ACL/SCL passenger services:
[In the past two weeks a thread I started on CLASSIC TRAINS, looking for titles about these celebrated lines’ passenger service, (esp. 1946 thru April 30, 1971) resulted in some very solid recommendations. Early in the week, three books arrived in the mail from used-book vendors; here are mini-reviews of two of them. BTW the captioned thread on CLASSIC TRAINS is still active as of 1-31-08.]
- Seaboard Coastline in Florida by Bob Warren and Fred Clark:
SEABOARD COASTLINE IN FLORIDA is widely available from online used-booksellers for about $7 to $10 not including shipping. Published by Carstens in 1985 (about the time of the CSX merger), it’s a good solid 115 pages of useful detail and fact prepared by former SCL employees (I would hazard a guess historians or career railroaders, not publicists). Note that the focus is on the post-1967 merger and features freight, SCL passenger ops only having lasted about four years, from 1967 merger to Amtrak’s assumption of passenger services on May 1, 1971. Although not quite in my (passenger) area, SEABOARD COAST LINE is a good solid book to own, foundational in its discussion of equipment and well-composed, with plenty of photographs (practically all of them B&W, though). Dimension-wise, this specialty book is about half the size of a more typical paperbacked art or “coffee-table” paper, the perfect-bound side not as tall as the tome is wide. All this implies that the very cheapest copies may be too dog-eared and worn to be appealing; but owing to its ready availability, I had the relative luxury of ordering SEABOARD COASTLINE IN FLORI
I sometimes buy books from a discount bookseller, that sends me big, newspaper-like catalogs. Sometimes, I can find a good railroad book on the cheap, and other times…
I received my copy of Brian Soloman’s book The American Train, the other day. When I open it up, I was (somewhat) amzed to find I already had the book. Funny thing is, the book is titled The American Train, but it’s all about diesel engines.
Tonight, I went up to my third floor book piles(!) to look for the other one. To my dismay, the other one is titled The American Diesel Locomotive. No need to write a new book, just change the title of one you have already written.[B)]
One of the more recent additions to my modest 569 hardbound book collection on trains is (Vista-dome North Coast Limited) by Kuebler is well written and worth the read for anyone who has the time for this excellent work. In addition to to hardbound books all by the way on trains I have over 1000 softbound titles all rail related. Not to mention the binders with my own research that number over 30 all 3". I keep this entire collection in my home office on listed on CDs with copies at my office updated as I receive each new book or DVD on rail is added to my collection. I have five Barrister bookcases for the hardbound books keeps them neat, orderly and dustfree. My softbound books are kept in a closet with shelves and glass doors built in my home office and my DVDs are stored in glass fronted storage cases as well. The reason I keep two CD copies of my collection up to date is if the one at home is destroyed by fire I have the backup for insurance purposes at my business office. Once a year when I renew my homeowners policy I send a new copy of the CD to my insurance agent. One never knows. I cannot urge glass fronted storage enough as it makes the books so easy to see and more importantly keeps the humidity out and virtually dust free. Until a few years ago when I began purchasing Barrister bookcases it was a case of constant dusting which resulted in some damage to the paper dustjackets. Now I just leave them on the shelves and once or twice a year put the vacuum hose on blow and go over them one shelve at a time. The glass gets cleaned every other week what could be easier to maintain a valuable collection.
Is there anything out there bookwise that covers the Texas & Pacific? I find myself more and more interested but I can’t find anything about it.
#60( by me,at least) Nature’s Metropolis by William Cronon
ISBN#0-393-30873-1 530 pages, including 100+ pages of notes and bibliography
This is a book that MichaelSol had recommended on another thread. ([:D]) It is basically, an economist’s history of why Chicago became what it became. It’s no surprise, that the library got it on an inter-library loan from a state university.
Who would believe, that an economist could write an interesting book, with chapter names like: “Annihlating space:Meat” ? It covers the main sources of Chicago’s economic history, involving location, transportation,grain,lumber, hogs and commerce. There is a good chapter about the railroads and Chicago.
You’ll like this book, if you’re into: economics,railroads, Chicago, or American History.
Amateur Book Review: Nothing Like it in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 by Stepen Ambrose
This was a book recommended to me by MC in the CNW Non-Transcon thread (one of my all-time favorites). It proved to be an excellent read of a truly magnificent story. I think every railfan – and every American for that matter – has some knowledge of the transcontinental story, but I think very few realize just how amazing an accomplishment it was. It truly is a story of high drama.
The late Mr. Ambrose is a somewhat controversial figure in literary circles and I’m not entirely fond of his writing style (mostly I disagree with his overuse of colloquialisms) but he does manage to tell a good story. What a cast he had to work with, too! Judah, Huntington, Stanford, Hopkins, Crocker, Dodge, Durant, the Ames brothers, the Casement brothers, etc., etc. all come to life. Somewhere in the first few chapters the reader begins to realize what a challenge these men (and a few women) faced and just how important to this country their success was. Add in a little flavor from side stories of Hell on Wheels establishments, nitroglycerin, Indian problems, and the Credit Mobilier scandal and it makes for a great story.
I really recommend this book to anyone who wishes to delve deeper into the story of the first Transcontinental. It’s a great read and the importance to railroading and to America goes so far beyond just knowing that the UP and CP met at Promontory in 1869. History will come to life when you read this one!
I agree with the above assessment. Mr. Ambrose has plenty of faults, not only the colloquialisms, but he sometimes states legends as facts and sometimes gets his facts wrong.
But I have a copy on my bookshelf and consider it a great read, an excellent story, and well worth the price. I’d also recommend it.
In addition to the above, I am reading Follow the Flag by H. Roger Grant, a history of the Wabash RR. Prof. Grant did his usual thorough study and I am enjoying the book enormously. Not a lot of photos or maps, but it has a very cohesive text.
Wabash was a family RR in that two of my uncles worked for them, and continued through the N&W years. There are plenty of copies on Amazon at reasonable prices and I recommend it highly.
Amateur Book Review: Narrow Gauge in the Rockies by Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg.
This is one that’s been sitting on my shelf for years that previously had not been read. As a Colorado Railfan, it seemed almost irresistable to me when I bought it. There are a lot of fantastic pictures, including some shots of locomotives that I’ve had the opportunity to shoot (C&S 9, DRG 346, RGS 20).
The accompanying text, however, was disappointing. I think Beebe had a tendency to go over the top with his prose at times, and this book is a prime example of that. I think what irks me the most about his hyperbolic ramblings is that he never really got into the meat of the matter. He spent far too much time trying to create similes between each of the narrow gauge lines to classical mythology that he forgot to tell their stories adequately.
Ignoring that issue, the book is a nice way to get a little taste of Colorado narrow gauge railroading from the 1870s to the 1940s or so. While all railroading fascinates me, I’ve really been drawn to the local stuff since I moved here. Narrow Gauge in the Rockies gave me a good jumping off point and I plan to start filling out my book collection with more volumes on Coloradoan railroading, especially the narrow gauge lines.
’ Been a while…
#60 Regional Railroads of the Midwest by Steve Glischinski (c)2007 ISBN# 13:978-0-7603-2351-9. 160 pages, chock full of color photos.
I’ve had my eye on this book for a while, and finally broke down and bought it at a train show. (Merry Christmas to me…[;)])
Imagine a well crafted, 12-part, magazine series. This book has 12 chapters, each about a different railroad. They include:CC&P, DM&E, ES&L, Indiana RR, IC&E, Iowa Interstate, Kyle, Red River Valley & Western, TP&W, Twin Cities & Western, WC, and Wisconsin Southern.Each chapter tells where the road came from, it’s history from startup, power, and sort of a ‘where they are today’ snapshot. Each railroad chapter features a system map, except RRV&W. I guess Rodney Dangerfield isn’t the only one looking fo respect. It says something about the changing nature of railroading, when (darn near) 4 out of the 12 are gone now.
You’ll like this book, if you’re into: Regional Railroads, Railroading in general, or Midwest Railroads. Note that the midwest now seems to include parts of Kansas and Colorado(?)
I’d like to see a similar, follow-up book, about other regionals, and perhaps one about smaller railroads too.
Amateur Book Review: Derailed by Joseph Vranich
I’ve owned this book for several years. I made it about half way through once, but stopped for some now unknown reason. I picked it up again last week and buzzed through it in the matter of a couple days.
I think Mr. Vranich is a controversial figure among railfans, and it’s easy to see why. There are no bones about it – he wants Amtrak GONE. Personally, for me, it was kind of enlightening to see a little bit of “the other side” of Amtrak since I’ve mostly been exposed to the railfan perspective.
While it was good to get a little taste of “the other side of the story,” I don’t buy into a lot of Mr. Vranich’s ideas. And his dogmatic approach to implementing his plan to kill Amtrak gets kind of tiresome, as does comparisons between the speeds of various Amtrak trains and trains in other countries. He makes a point about some Amtrak trains being slower than trains in Lower Whatchamacallitstan, but having to have that point brought up over and over again gets tiring.
In the end, this book made me think a lot and changed my perspective a bit, so I have to say that I enjoyed it despite some of my reservations.
I’m a DL&W nut, so the Tabers’ three books are there along with two editions of Shelden King’s Phoebe Snow, Lowental and Greenberg’s DL&W in Northern New Jersey and Casey’s Lackawanna Story. My favorite, Clear the Tracks by Bromely. Then there are Erie Power and Men of Erie and Mott’s tome, too. Several other EL, DL&W and Erie books. NY and Harlem is there along with Steel Rails to the Sunrise. Beebe and Clegg’s early books, Ball’s books. Fogg…and W.S. Young’s Starrucca, Tunkannonck, and Short Line books. I have over 100 non fiction railroad books and almost two hundred rail fiction books: from Lathrop and Chapman and Beach to some very strange contemporary rail fiction including Maxwell’s Train. All the mystery books from Murder on A Train (Christie) and Orient Express (Greene) to Murder at Union Station (Truman). I continue to find fiction books to add to my library several times a year.
Encyclopedia of North American Railroads-2007 1282 pages
Moving Mail and Express by Rail by Edward DeRouin-2007 223 pages A very good book on the Railway Post Office
Logging Railroads of Weyerhauser’s Vail-McDonald Operation by Frank Telewski and Scott Barrett-out-of print.354 pages
An awesome book to read.This book also covers the Chehalis Western, which operated on the old Milwaukee Road lines in Washington state.It has a complete roster of the entire Weyerhauser company railroad,including the Chehalis and Western.
No More Mountains to Cross-The Milwaukee Road in the 1980’s by Robert P Olmsted 1983 out of print A great book on the Milwaukee Road from Chicago,IL to Portage,WI
The Southern Pacific in Oregon by Ed Austin and Tom Dill -Out of Print 322 pages Lots of maps,and photos of the SP in Oregon
American Car and Foundry,ACF Tank Cars,Billboard Refridgerator Cars,and Pullman-Standard Freight Cars1900-1960 all by Edward Kaminski. These are all awesome reference books on freight cars.
Rails to the Rosebud. The Chicago & North Western Branch Line to Winner, S.D. by Dr. Vernon E. Linnaus ISBN 978-0-942035-77-3 80 pages, dozens of B&W pictures, maps, and 6 pages of footnotes(1)
Elenor Rigby.
That’s what was going through my mind as I read this neat, little book. Written by a college prof., this book tells the story of the birth, life, and death of a CNW branchline in northern Nebraska/ southern South Dakota.(2) It could be the story of a 100 other grain branchlines on nearly any railroad in the county. All you would need to do is change the names. The rest of the story fits a familiar template.
Boosters try to convince a railroad, any railroad, to build into an area. The railroad finally builds a branchline, in this case CNW. Farmers prosper. Towns pop up and flourish. More people settle in the area. More growth, followed by more prosperity. Things change. Transportation changes. The economy changes. Life on the farm changes. The line starts to whither. Eventually, the line is pulled up. Thirty years pass. Most everyone forgets about the line. Somebody writes a book.
Elenor Rigby, picks up the rice in the church where her wedding has been…
Footnotes:
(1) The most vivid thought from the book, is that the new rail line took business away from the riverboats. These riverboats operated on the Missouri River from Omaha and Sioux City. They were paddlewheel boats, powered by horses on treadmills!
(2) I went to college with quite a few gals from this area. They seem to have had a bumper crop of cuties born around 1960.