I have noticed that many people ask questions regarding various locomotives, both Steam and Diesel. There are so many books in print (and also out of print), that one could go broke looking for the best or most informative book on locomotives. Books such as, " the first 50 years of Diesel Locomotives" are out of print, and command a relatively high price from Amazon, and there are countless other good books I am sure.
So I am interested in hearing from those that have what they regard as “the best” book on locomotives. Some may be the best for photo shots that show what each locomotive model looked like, other books might delve into the design, the power plant, etc, others may deal with statistics such as tractive effort, and some books may incorporate some of all of the above.
That’s an extremely tall order, what defines best? For me, i’m a devoted mid twenties era SP branch operater in S scale, this requires much scratchbuilding of motive power and rolling stock, my prize books are the official company erection and line drawings, never intented for public distribution, they command a premium price, mint copies and rare subjects can set one back several thousand dollars. Recently,I aquired the maintaince of way equiptment line drawings circa 1927 for a fair price due to water dammage.
DAVE: Your answer is just fine. I purposely did not specify any Scale because this forum deals with all Scales, and, as an example, if I wanted to model the early 20th century from 1900 to 1930, it wouldn’t matter which scale I model, I would be interested in some good books that deal with Steam locomotives of that period. To refine it more, books that might deal with the RR that I am modeling, although that it not necessarely a prerequisite, because the same locomotive designs were run on many railroads.
This is meant to help a wide range of modelers, from any scale, and any period, not me alone. I hope this clarifies things a little more. Thank you for your reply Dave,
Best general interest steam locomotive book in my opinion is Kalmbach/Model Railroader Cyclopedia I, Steam Locomotives edited by Linn Wescott.
For diesels Kalmbach’s Diesel Spotter’s Guide series is good. Also, the Kalmbach/Trains Our GM Scrapbook has many builder photos of various EMD models.
Back to steam locomotives, I like The Locomotives that Baldwin Built by Fred Westing. Many steam lcomotive fans will like Artculated Steam Locomotives of North America by Robert LeMessena in my opinion.
There are locomotive books for various railroads that will be good reference for specific prototypes:
Steam Locomotives of the Burlington Route by Coybin and Kerke.
Iron Horses of the Santa Fe Trail by E. D. Worley
Pennsy Power and Pennsy Power II by Stauffer
New York Central Early Power and New York Central Steam Power Vol. 1 by Staufer.
B&O Power and C&O Power are good books too.
A favorite Diesel for many railfans is the Alco PA. The book, Diesels of the Espee, Vol 1, Alco PA’s has many terrific action photos of those locomotivs.
I also have a couple of books on electric locos. One is GE and the other is Westinghouse.
What’s the best? A lot depends upon particlar interests of each railfan of course. Again, the Linn Wescott cyclopedia on steam engines is the best because it’s informative and has plenty of drawings for model railroaders.
Totally agree on the Kalmbach Diesel Spotter’s Guides mentioned above…
“The Second Diesel Spotter’s Guide by Jerry Pinkepank” was published in 1973 @ $10.95 with 459 numbered pages.
“The Contemporary Diesel Spotter’s Guide” by Louis A. Marre & Jerry Pinkepank was published in 1989 @ $18.95 with 336 numbered pages.
I found the first one at a local hobby shop 30 years ago for $10.00, and; the second was for $10.00 including shipping on eBay.
The books include annotated descriptions and clear photographs, all diesel versions and their distinguishing characteristics, truck designs, horsepower, how many built and year purchased by what railroad, diesel version upgrades, how many and year purchased by what railroad, and; with diesels from experimental to gas electric doodlebugs to F/E/PA to industrial units to trainmaster to geeps to Amtrak.
I rely heavily on my Canadian Pacific Diesel Locomotives by Murray W. Dean and David B. Hanna, Railfare 1982. It is invaluable for the CP diesel modeler up to the early 80’s.
There are lots more but they have already been mentioned.
i am looking for a 1980’s book front cover says six model railroads you acn build with a 4 by 8 layout with a mana nd a boy on it. i am interested in the last layout which is a l shape over and under figure eight and the st louis terminal on it.
Three books which I have that are good about a specific loco type are PFM’s The Northerns, The Mountains and the Berkshire and Texas Types. These list every engine made of these wheel arrangements and give data when built, driver diameter, weight, and tractive force along with a few pictures and a history.
I also own some of the other books already mentioned.
Also, Mainline Modeler magazine did extensive articles on all the USRA types along with almost every early diesel ever made.
As you know my preference is steam and to cover all my needs I have a number of books and periodicals: I have about 5 years of Locomotive Quarterly. Lots of wonderful photos and to the point write ups. As well I have the series of books on Canadian National Steam in Ontario by Ian Wilson. A couple of Steam Encyclopedias including the Kalmbach one, Two books by Ron Ziel and a host of others I don’t have with me including Magnetic North by Zimmerman and … sorry the name escapes me.
There is no such thing as BEST. One needs different books for general classification purposes then they do for detail work. One needs different books whether they are interested the turn of the 20th or 21st century. One needs different books depending on which railroad they are dealing with. One needs different books depending on which manufacturer they are dealing with. To get the best book for your needs, all the above questions have to be answered in some detail. I see you have narrowed down the time period.
I have one called Santa Fe’s Big Three by Farrington. It is the best and a must have for people interested, modeling, or researching these three classes steam locomotive of the Santa Fe from about 1912 until 1956. It is only a general reference for comparison purposes and therefore practically worthless for anyone else.
Thats easy, The Guide to North American Steam Locomotives by Kalmbach. Great book, gives rosters and info for all the railroads from 1900 to the end of steam.