Are there any relatively current pictorial books that have been published on track maintenance gangs, work gangs, work trains, track machines?
Basically any books that show the people who keep the lines working and the machines that they use.
The logical place to start would be the major books on the subject. Simmons- Boardman have published the very well illustrated “Railway Engineering & Maintenance Cyclopedia” in many editions (mine is 1948, but the side dump cars and the Jordan spreader look very like those in Mudchicken’s recent posts). This is big book (1200 pages), and probably not cheap, but a copy might be found second hand in the usual way.
Probably harder to come by and less well illustrated is the American Railway Engineering Association Manual, but if you want to know the numbers behind railroad track, it is something to look for.
Both of these books include drawings of station and workshop buildings, as well as bridge design detail and lots of detail on track.
These books are used world wide (both of mine came from Australian sources!)
Peter
Brian Solomon’s “Railway Maintenance-the Men and Machines that Keep the RRs Runnnig” is probably the book you are looking for. Published by MBI (Motorbooks International) in 2001 @ $24.95, the book contains 127 pages filled with mostly color photos and seven chapters on nearly all aspects of track maintenance. Check their website-www.motorbooks.com
garr