Geek mode back on, briefly:
Do you live in the “States of America”?
It’s either the “United Federation of Planets” or just the “Federation”.
[/geek mode]
Semi-seriously, Trekkers are one tribe, and Trekkies quite a different one… ;-}
I bow to your star trek geekiness. You have bested me, fair and square.
Beam me up Scotty, there’s a bunch of geeks down here. [:-^]
Yes. Yes there are.
Many railroad books are tedious, boring, and even downright brutal to read. They are nothing more than a bunch of boring loosely connected facts along with boring photos of the same locomotive from 50 different angles. And then there are the self proclaimed scholarly works that are about as much fun to read as a Japanese cookbook under a dim light. After a few pages you wonder why you bother reading any more when sticking your head in an oven and turning on the gas would be easier (and cheaper…most of these books are 85 bucks and up). Having said that though, there are some really good books out there. Someone has already mentioned “Railroads Triumphant”, and I agree (although it is now about 25 years old and probably badly out of date). Another book that I love is Omar Lavallee’s “International of Maine”, really well written, a real page turner.
Some railroad books boring? No doubt, the problemis either the author can write or he can’t. If he can’t well…
Steven Ambrose used to say the best advice he got from his mentor Dr. Heseltine was “learn how to write! You’ll never make it in this business otherwise!”
I’ve been lucky, the rail books I’ve gotten so far have all been keepers.
A
I looked for a review of this book, Ulrich, but I couldn’t find one. The complete title is Canadian Pacific to the East International of Maine Division. It was published in 2007 and copies are available.
I’m glad you liked Albro Martin’s Railroads Triumphant .
John
Only if you dislike the subject or the presentation. I like anecdotal history and first person experiences and fall asleep about how the square footage of the firebox vs the water capacity and coal tonnage on 38 inch drivers makes a difference in how the engineer should operate around a 25 mile an hour curve with a 60 car train of pig iron on a rainy night in December in Missoula; or the stock quotes for the property against operating ratios of various years in comparison with other railroads of the same length. What I am saying, is that each of us will find different books and topics and parts of books boring while the guy sitting in the seat next to you is totally immersed and in heaven. That’s why my advice to the question is to look at as many books and subjects, etc. until he finds what really interests him. Oh, I also get bored at seeing the same shape and half dozen paint schemes in 500 3/4 wedge shot pictures in a 300 page book.
Very true Henry. My personal preference is for first hand personal experiences as well; however,I can appreciate that others might prefer roster information or an exhaustive study of dynamic brakes on GP7s. Anything that combines history and railroads is perfect for me.
That’s right John, thanks for the clarification on the title. Part of what makes this book great is that the author worked for the railroad (as a paymaster in Maine I believe). You can tell that he wrote it from the heart…you won’t get a lot of roster info, but you’ll get a good feel for what it was like to work for the CP in Maine, and if you like history you’ll enjoy this book as well. I’ve read it several times… I grew up along the Quebec portion of that line, and that’s probably why I’m also interested in it. Back in the 70s there wasn’t that much to do for a kid in small town Quebec other than spend lazy summer afternoons at trackside and bike a hundred miles a day with friends.
Or the author hasn’t clearly identified his/her audience. Some historical tomes that are sold in hobby shops should come with a warning: “Don’t buy this unless you’ve got 20 thousand hours available to study it and a burning interest in this very specific subject”. Some people publish their PhD thesis’ , perhaps in hopes of cashing in on what they spent so many years working on.
I can generally tell within a few minutes of looking through a book whether it’s something I would enjoy, Paging through some of the pictures, and reading a lttle here and a little there lets me know the writer’s style, and whether I would enjoy it.
I can read a book about something that is essentially uninteresting to me, if I like the author’s writing style. On the other hand, the most interesting subject in the world can seem tedious if I don’t like the writing style.
Amen.
Captain, if you’re interested in historical reading, one book I thoroughly enjoyed is “The American Railway.” The author is listed as Thomas Curtis Clarke, but it is a compilation of articles from many different writers in the late 1880’s. One day while re-reading it, it occurred to me that it’s “The Railroad, What It Is, What It Does” from over a hundred years earlier. The writing style of the time, in which the passive voice is frequently employed and the not infrequent use of the double negative is used, is found by this reader to be not unpleasant. It’s available from Amazon at a reasonable price (I never could figure out their multiple prices).
For more technical history, I would recommend any book by John H. White, Jr., such as “A History Of the American Locomotive- It’s Development: 1830-1880.”
The American Railway Its Construction, Development, Management and Appliances is available on the internet here: