Hey all. I know there are some other Wild Mary fans here; can you recommend some good books that contain lots of pictures, preferably of industries served by the WM in general and coal mines in particular? How about steam locomotives, particularly anything with clearance or erection diagrams? C&O fans are spoiled for loads of wonderful books, but Western Maryland is a bit thinner on the research front; I own Staken & Staken's Western Maryland Diesel Locomotives, is there a comparable book for steam? I also have the WM Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment, but sadly it doesn't have too much in the way of early steam era cars. Thanks much, Amanda (The Bookless)
My favorite is Western Maryland In The Diesel Era by Salamon and Hopkins, c. 1991. It's all color and features superb photographs of the railroad, and the writers also present excellent information on WM operations. There's also Western Maryland Railway by Cook and Zimmerman, c. 1981. It's all black and white and offers both steam and diesel, though there's more diesel shots then steam shots. The photos aren't razor sharp, but they're still very good. It too offers interesting insight into system operations. Although it's not a must-have, The Western Maryland Railway Story - A chronicle of the first century, 1852-1952, by Williams, c. 1952 looks like it was written by request of the WM to celebrate their century mark. There are only a few photos, but if you want a golden-era history of the road in 134 pages, it may be worth picking up. None of these are engine picture books. I'm sure there are other good WM books out there.
Off Topic: I'm pretty sure I've posted this photo on Trainboard before, but if you haven't come across it, it's of the WM's GP-40 3798 as seen in Montgomery, AL on 11/02/1987. You can imagine my joy in finding it. It was the last surviving unit on the CSX system to retain its WM paint. I'm not sure if you are rigidly adhering to a specific era on the WM, but if you are and it includes 1971, you may wish to include this historic unit.
Another WM book you should seek is Steam In The Alleghenies by Krause & Grenard by Carstens Publishing. It's a horizontal format softcover book that I think was published in 1981. I don't own it, but Carstens published an excellent series of similar format books on other roads. They're all out of print, but they were highly affordable at the time ($9.95), so used book pricing may remain sensible in this era.
