I just finished a novel set on the Southern Railway in 1940. I find no reference to the title or author on the “search” function of this forum, so apparently it has not been discussed. Perhaps others may have an interest in reading about railroads in a format other than strict history. I am not affiliated with any publisher, author, or bookseller, so I hope this brief book review may be acceptable for the forum.
The book is Pelican Road by Howard Bahr (MacAdams/Cage, 2008).
“Pelican Road” refers to the section of the Southern Railway between Meridian, Mississippi and New Orleans. The book is set during the shortest winter days of 1940, a time of steam locomotives, kerosene, telegraph operators, long work hours, and lingering poverty from the depression. A winter front is bringing cold rain and sleet, so the steam and coal smoke swirl and linger in the air. The novel follows train crews about their work, but between runs or while waiting on a siding they have plenty of time to reflect upon thier pasts, their hopes for the future, and the constant dangers of railroading. With the rumblings coming out of Europe, some of the men recall their service during the War to End All Wars.
The novel has a great deal of accuracy included and enough detail to meet a railfan’s need. One of the locomotives is described as Mikado #4512, and my Richard Prince book verifies that Southern had such a 2-8-2 in Class Ms. Here is an excerpt which can be appreciated by anyone who has been in a working roundhouse:
"The roundhouse was a monument to the age of heavy machinery. It reverberated with the clang of tools, the whine of motors, the thump of air compressors, the mechanical breathing of the locomotives. Its vast floor,and the floor of the pit, were of cinders and beds of ancient, petrified grease. Everything was under a com