The Electric Way Across The Mountains; Stories Of The Milwaukee Road Electrification

RICHARD

Steinheimer

Signature Press, Wilton, CA

Cloth with dust jacket, 176 pages, 8.5x11, 230 photos (93 in color), 12 maps and drawings, appendices, bibliography, index. "The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway was well described by its slogan, 'Around -- Not Thru Chicago.' For most of a century, it was owned by United States Steel, and was a critical freight conduit for both U.S. Steel's Gary Works and its South Chicago Works, but also served many other shippers along the line. In addition, it interchanged with fully 35 railroads around Chicago, carriers from the north, west, east and south, making it a busy interchange and transfer road also. "The focal points of operations on this 130-mile railroad were the two major yards at East Joliet and Gary (Kirk Yard). Locomotive servicing as well as heavy freight switching typified these facilities, and both local freight service and inter-road transfer runs operated from these yards. Along with a complete railroad history, the steam locomotive roster is illustrated and presented in this book, along with the same information for the diesel era. Probably the most distinctive 'signature' motive power of the EJ&E was its Baldwin center-cab transfer diesels, of which they owned 27 units, more than all other railroads combined. "This fine volume of history, enriched with 230 photographs (93 in color), most never before published, and 12 maps and drawings, along with detailed equipment histories and several summary chapters about EJ&E freight cars, is the most complete account of the history and operation of the EJ&E ever published. "Pat Dorin, a well-known rail historian, worked for the EJ&E at one time, and has drawn on company records and employee interviews for this history of the road. In addition to operational details, complete descriptions of both steam and diesel motive power, and of the freight car fleet, are included. The dust jacket watercolor is based on a photograph by Russ Porter."

Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway

Patrick C. Dorin

<p>496 pages, 8.5" x 11", hard covers; 604 photos, 21 maps and drawings, bibliography, index. "The largest and oldest of SP's General Shops, Sacramento built or rebuilt hundreds of steam and diesel locomotives, and thousands of freight and passenger cars, along with extensive work on passenger and official cars, in its history from 1868 to 1990. This was one of the largest and most productive railroad shops in North America. In the 19th century, many new locomotives for Central Pacific and Southern Pacific were produced at the Shops, along with much rolling stock. From 1890 until the 1920s, SP turned primarily to commercial builders for rolling stock and locomotives, but an outgrowth of assembling a few locomotives during the USRA period was a new spurt of locomotive building, until 1937. After the end of steam, the Shops were reconfigured for diesel locomotive repair, and in 1969 an immense rebuilding program commenced which was to renew during the 1970s and 1980s more than 500 diesels for further service. Closure of the Shops came in 1990. Author Bob Pecotich has extensively researched the Shops and many of its products, particularly locomotives and official cars, as well as the story of the many thousands of craftsmen who worked there through the decades. The result of thorough study, this is a complete, detailed and well-illustrated history, with many previously unpublished images of work in the Shops and of the many locomotives and rolling stock which the Shops produced, repaired, or rebuilt. Coverage in this book ranges from the earliest days, before the driving of the Gold Spike at Promontory, through most of SP's history, to the final closure. Containing 496 pages, the book contains over 600 photos, along with 21 drawings and maps, and has both a bibliography and an index. The dust jacket image (at left) is a 1930s image of the Erecting Hall at the Shops."</p>

Southern Pacific's Sacramento Shops: Incubator of Innovation

Robert A. Pecotich

"Merchants Despatch traced its origins to a railroad express service begun in 1855, with a connection to the American Express Company. From its earliest years it operated over the lines of the New York Central, and by 1871 its stock was owned by Vanderbilt Lines railroads. However, it was an independent part of the NYC family. As such, it outlived the Central, and this book carries its history to the year 2000. "Initially the rolling stock of Merchants Despatch was box cars to carry railroad "fast freight," but by 1878 refrigerator cars were included. The MDT fleet would eventually become almost entirely refrigerator cars, maintained (and many first built) at the sprawling Despatch Shops in East Rochester, NY. "Through much of its history MDT leased cars to railroads other than NYC. Lessees also included a variety of private shippers. By the 1950s the fleet included insulated box cars (bunkerless) and would subsequently include autoracks =, a category of rolling stock which enabled MDT to survive the Penn Central and Conrail mergers. Once Conrail went to CSX and Norfolk Southern in 1998, MDT reached the end in 2000. "298 photos, most previously unpublished, 44 drawings, 50+ period documents and graphics, extensive rosters and tables of car data and company info. This thoroughly researched, authoritative, well illustrated and complete history of Merchants Despatch presents both the long and complex corporate history and information and details about the design, construction, maintenance and operation of the vast car fleet. "Anyone interested in North American freight railroading from 1870 to 2000 will find this book a valuable addition to one's library."

Merchants Despatch: Its History and Equipment

Roger C. Hinman

This book presents the complete history of all Southern Pacific locomotives with ten drivers, the heavy duty workhorse engines found on the railroad's entire far-flung "Golden Empire." They were assigned to districts where there were heavy grades, on both the "Pacific Lines" from El Paso to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Ogden and Portland, and the subsidiary Texas & New Orleans "Atlantic Lines" from El Paso to San Antonio and New Orleans. Coverage includes all classes of these engines, from the 1884 El Gobernador 4-10-0, the T&NO Decapod 2-10-0s, and the F class 2-10-2s, to the SP class Gresley valve-geared three-cylinder 4-10-2s.

Southern Pacific Ten-Coupled Locomotives: From El Gobernador to 2-10-0, 2-10-2 and 4-10-2

Robert J. Church