This book goes into great detail on the large Mallet engine on the Norfolk ...
591063
This book goes into great detail on the large Mallet engine on  the Norfolk & Western.  You also get a feeling for the pride of Roanoke Shops in development of the Y class engine.
784587
This is a very good book about Southern Railway passenger steam engines in the 20th Century mainly up to their complete replacement in regular service by diesels in 1953.  Although there has been some criticism of this book, primarily of its organization, not its accuracy, I found the book profitable, enjoyable and easy to read.  While locomotives dominate the presentation, consists (cars making up the trains) and geographic settings are also treated in Tillotson's pictures and text.

 My positive evaluation also extends to a companion book by Tillotson on diesel locomotives (Volume One: 1950-1982, but, really covering road diesels back to the beginning for the Southern).  Both books are structured in a similar manner.  The major difference is that the pictures in the book on diesels are mostly those taken by Tillotson whereas this book is made up of ones taken almost exclusively by others.  Nonetheless, the author stresses that they were all carefully chosen - most never published before.  Most are black and white - but clear, well framed and sharply focused.

As I said in my Amazon review of Tillotson's diesel book, I'm retired with a interest in railroad history including model trains.  Although I don't have a permanent layout, I have been involved in setting up temporary displays featuring model trains in homes, building lobbies and other semi-public spaces.  A recent project centered on the Southern, not a primary interest of mine, so I did a little self-study starting with three books: Tom Murray's general history Southern Railway, and the two Tillotson books cited here.  All were highly satisfactory in bringing me up to speed on the Southern.

The criticism of Tillotson's book on steam engines, that might also be applied to the diesel book, is that Tillotson's approach of covering most of the major variations of each locomotive type by using one, or a few exemplary photographs each accompanied by a short, but "complete" narrative specific to it leads to some repetition and even redundancy of the features discussed across the many "picture-essay sets" that make up these books.

If one tries to read this book cover to cover like a novel, this feature might possibly make the going tedious.  A solution that the author himself hints at, is after reading the Introduction (and Acknowledgements page that has some good background information) treat each of the next six chapters selectively by "enjoying" a "page through" of the photographs first, then returning for selective reading of the short narrative essays tied to each one - something like reading an art book where the art prints are the primary feature of the book.
3692595
This book has gorgeous photographs of locomotives, but Ken did not stop there.  The interesting material on the history of these steel giants adds so much to the story.  It is hard to grasp the hours he spent traveling to so many places around the country to get these images, then all the additional hours developing them into the works of art you see here.  It is a wonderful record of the life's work of an outstanding photographer.
220179
I have collected nearly all the books on the various railroad companies written by Tom Murray. I write articles on old farm tractors and machinery and the various small companies across the Midwest that made the tractors and machinery.  One of my favorite devices in these articles is describe in as much detail as possible the transfer of the tractors and machinery from the factory to a warehouse (sometimes called "blockhouse") and then to the local dealership. Since most of the farm machinery and tractors about which I write dates from the 1930s through the 1950s, I am interested in steam powered trains and the early diesel era.  Furthermore, I am interested in freight more than passenger trains and continually need more information on how freight was moved by rail during the steam and early diesel eras.  Toward this end, Tom Murray has never let me down.  I continually refer back to the appropriate book for more informtion as I write a particular article.

This particular book on the Chicago Northwestern Railway written by Tom Murray in 2008 was of particular interest to me, because I have referred to it so many times.  Many of the small towns in the Midwest where much of the "shortline" farm equipment(companies that made farm equipment without making farm tractors were referred to as shortline companies, e.g. the New Idea Company, the Owatonna Manufacturing Company) was made in towns served by the Chicago Northwestern Railway.

It is my continuing hope that Tom Murray will write more books on railways, especially a book on theu Soo Line.  This would be an apropriate book for him to write as, according to his biography, Tom Murray used to work for the Soo Line.

Brian Wayne Wells
1876857
This book is a must-read for train lovers. In the Southeast, where I grew up, Clinchfield is a famous name, but I honestly never knew much detail about the Clinchfield Railroad or the No. 1 before reading this book. The authors have done a superb job finding little-known, yet interesting facts and stories about the locomotive and its history. Humorous anecdotes and a variety of photos complement the text, which covers the many chapters in the trains life. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the authors merged the mechanical/economic history of the train with mini-biographies of hardworking (and sometimes famous!) people who played a role in its rise to prominence.
482047
The author is one of America's finest railroad and transportation historians and he is at his best in writing about his home territory in Minnesota, Iowa and the Upper Midwest.  I was curious about the M& St. L from seeing as a kid its locomotives featured in Lionel's O-gauge catalog and this book will satisfy any rail fan or railroad professional's curiosity about this "fallen flag."  Don does an excellent job in bringing the railroad to life.  Although not having enough photos to my liking, Don makes up for it in a subsequent volume "The Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway: A Photographic History."  This volume will be a classic and is well worth the price and 5 stars.
214703
Growing up beside the Clinchfield Railroad, the annual Santa Train and the excursions with No. 1 were a big part of my formative years.  The story of the restoration of the engine was informative, providing me with new information and insights.  The recounting of the excursions was like going home.
I read the Kindle edition.
346274
So many questions on the standard operating procedures of mechanically operated railroads in the United States have been answered by this book. To any railroad fan interested in railroad operations before the days of Centralized Traffic Control, I highly recommend this book.
4918803
Amazing insights into railroad equipment maintenance ca1920s.  Lots of clear diagrams and pretty good photos giving more details than I had imagined about maintaining and repairing locomotives and railroad cars.  (I hve the Lindsay reprint edition of the book).  This is a book that I will read a little at a time as I wonder about how certain parts of a train were repaired or maintained and what tools were used for the job. This book will probably be especially interesting to a railroad enthusiast with an interest in machine shop work.
3171176
I am a history buff and I enjoyed reading this book. It was easy to read and entertaining but also presented all of the historical details of the development of America's rail network as it expanded from the Mid West to the Pacific Coast.  Clearly the author spent an incredible amount of time and energy researching the background behind all of the "mini stories" that woven together make up this epic tale of railway building.  The book is nicely structured and one chapter flows nicely into the next.  This is a fine book for anyone interested in history of the development of railway transportation in the US or anyone interested in US history in general.
4206983
As the English say, this is an excellent "soup to nuts" biography of an engine that was both a technical dead-end and potentially an engineering pinnacle.
The authors pay homage to the roots of the Crecy with the story of Harry Ricardo and acknowledge the desire for, and the promise airborne diesel engines. After the chapters on the design/development there are chapters covering contemporary reports including a report by Sir Hooker complete with margin notes written by another unknown RR employee. Visual aspects of the engine are also well covered with plenty of charts, illustrations and photographs, and the engine photographs themselves being of pretty decent quality. The authors point out the Crecy suffered from the exigencies of war only to be overcome by the turbine engine. As a reader, I have to wonder what would have happened if RR had not acquired Power Jets along with the ascent of the turbine? Is it reasonable to assume the Crecy would have been more successful than the Napier Nomad? Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in aircraft engines or Rolls Royce.
1078433
This is a great book for Railroad Enthusiasts and nostalgic Rhode Islanders, alike. Dr. Heppner's writing is engaging, informative and laced with humor (as well as food tips). I was looking for information about PA railroads, but when this popped up in a search I had to buy it. I learned quite a bit about the intricacies of US economic history, as well as details about railroads in general. I was a student of Dr. Heppner's in 1970 and left RI in 1974, but this book makes me want to go back to RI and seek out some of the places described. Great train stories; great reminder of all the maunufacturing firsts in Little Rhody.
2204369
This is a very comprehensive study of the Great Northern. A good read, with several hundred black and white photo's... and a lot of color one too, that covers the history of the Great Northern from the first set of rails laid down, to the merger into Burlington Northern. This book is a MUST for any GN fan!
4505875
Brian Floca did a fantastic job of bringing the original iron horse to life in Locomotive. The illustrations are stunning and the information covers all aspects of the first trains and how they impacted American life. This is a longer read and I don't know how well it would work as a read aloud to a larger group of students but independently or with just a small group this would be very helpful when covering Western expansion or just for fun.
4937124
It's amazing how much information is contained in this book.  The photos are wonderful, the type easy to read, and the glossy pages make it feel like a much more expensive coffee table book.  Some descriptions of historical hardships get bogged down with too many details like people's names who were in charge of bankruptcy proceedings etc which, I found, confuse the backgrounds.  But that's a nitpick.  Overall, this gives railfans and model railroaders a wealth of information on so many hard-to-remember fallen flags that you'll find yourself re-reading the book in no time; there is THAT much interesting to read.  Well done TRAINS!
1836132
I love this book!  I am learning much about the Norfolk sampler "style" of motifs.  The photographs are excellent and the commentary very interesting.  I highly recommend this book to antique sampler enthusiasts.
2489660
This large format book gives a complete history of the different manufacturing companies that built steam traction & stationary steam engines, which took farms & industry out of the horse age. Aside from the very complete written histories of the various companies, this book adds great value with the wonderful collection of black & white photos. Not only does one see the engines, but we see their use with the people that worked with them & what these machines were able to do. The book is printed on good paper stock which helps with the nice photo reproductions & photo captions. At the end of the book is a chapter of photos of gas engines & gas tractors that came of age during the later part of the steam traction era.

Any one who likes steam or machinery in a quality book, should enjoy this one.