I'd like to start a thread on books and other publications about narrow gauge equipment. Reason for this, there seem to be small publishers who have interesting looking books. But all too often I find out about these by sheer chance. And thus, I wonder how many more there are that I am missing. The one series I found out about today is by Quick Pic Books: http://quickpicbooks.homestead.com These may be of interest to other narrow gauge afficionados, I think. But they also have a number of publications on standard gauge which I did not look into. By the way, I have no connection whatsoever with any publishers or the like. Rather, I'd appreciate any comments about these books, if you already know them. And I hope to get to know more of what is around or about to come out. [ March 06, 2005, 10:12 AM: Message edited by: swissboy ]
Well, am I really the only one on this forum who has an interest in such books? Walthers has an interesting b&w book on sale: Rio Grande Narrow Gauge The final years Alamosa to Chama. Item 622-304 $22.98 instead of $28. If you don't already own the book and love that area and railroad as much as I do, get the book. If only to convince yourself how much today's Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad still conveys of that long gone period. The only parts that are completely missing today are those dual gauge tracks, and of course, Antonito instead of Alamosa CO is the starting/end point of the line now. Well worth a visit and more than a short ride, as you probably already know.
Opps, been offline for over a week and somehow missed the initial post I know I have a few and will get them scanned soon. Neat Idea...
Robert- What operations were you wanting to discuss? US? North America? World wide? I find the Maine Two Foot railroads very interesting. Boxcab E50
I didn't think of discussing operations. My idea is to make members of this forum aware of books that some other person finds interesting, mainly new books, but also specials. And, as I mentioned in my initial post, it would be a chance for all of us to get to know small publishers whose books might otherwise be known only to the few initiated ones. Or there may be an out-of-print book that someone is searching, and another person has a suggestion of where it might still be available. The idea came from a birdforum that I also look at. Depending on one's interests, it is often very helpful to know as many publications as possible. So when I accidentally ran into that QuickPic site, I began to wonder what else might be around that I am not familiar with. The books may very well deal with any narrow gauge railroad of the world.
I didn't think of discussing operations. In fact, I had sent a post to administrators suggesting a separate forum for books and the like. So this thread is only a makeshift way of going about it. If there were a separate forum, it could then be divided, e.g. geographically, or with respect to modelling books, narrow gauge etc. My idea is to make members of this forum aware of books that some other person finds interesting, mainly new books, but also specials. And, as I mentioned in my initial post, it would be a chance for all of us to get to know small publishers whose books might otherwise be known only to the few initiated ones. Or there may be an out-of-print book that someone is searching, and another person has a suggestion of where it might still be available. The idea came from a birdforum that I also look at. http://www.birdforum.net/forumdisplay.php?f=200 Depending on one's interests, it is often very helpful to know as many publications as possible. So when I accidentally ran into that QuickPic site, I began to wonder what else might be around that I am not familiar with. The books may very well deal with any narrow gauge railroad of the world. </font>[/QUOTE]
Hi Robert- I wasn't thinking of discussing the actual operations of the railroads. I substituted the word operations as a synonym for railroads. We do have this forum where narrow gauges can be discussed. Wish there was more such action here! I have never really been heavily into the Colorado narrow gauge scene. Although that is not to say they aren't fascinating. They certainly are. The Maine Two Footers catch my fancy the quickest. Amongst favorite current books, are Narrow Gauge In The Sheepscot Valley: Volumes 1,2,3. A must for any M2F fan. And even moreso the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington RY. Many folks who follow M2F railroads, also enjoy the similar sized Welsh narrow gauge companies. As well as those others on the mainland of Europe. Boxcab E50
No problemo, it is always fun to dig up some older threads. My favorite: Pino Grande by Polkinghorn about the Michigan-California Lumber Co Would love to pick up a copy of El Dorado Narrow Guage, I believe by Mallory Hope Ferrell, about the Diamond & Caldor. Seems they go for a pretty penny on ebay though.
Here are some more, I am outing myself as an addict to the former Rio Grande narrow gauge, of course: Cumbres & Toltec, by Sam Furukawa 2007, ISBN 978-0-9790113-0-6 Rio Grande Narrow Gauge in Color Vol. 1 1947-1959, by Thomas A. Brunner 2005, Morning Sun Books The Thunder of Their Passing, by Robert D. Turner 2003, ISBN 1-55039-129-1 The first one shows the C&TSR as it operates today, with many pictures when there were still some other types steaming than the K-36. Striking shots, quite often! The second one has lots of those extremely rare color pictures from a time when things were still in their original working condition.
One book that I have that's really interesting (at least to me) is "Mexican Narrow Gauge", by Gerald Best, published by Howell-North Books. Unfortunately, it was published back in 1968 and is long since out of print. But copies occasionally show up on ebay. It has 180 pages, some maps, lots of photos (all B&W), and roster information. About 10 pages each on the two major narrow gauge systems, the Mexican National Railway and the Interoceanic Railway, shorter writeups on the principal regional narrow gauge lines, and he gets down to about a paragraph each on a lot of small industrial lines. It's the major info source for anyone interested in narrow gauge railroading in Mexico. Regards Ed
Thanks, that is exactly the kind of information I had in mind when I started this thread. I'll try to find this book, sounds very interesting.
Wow, more luck than I may deserve; two of them were on eBay just waiting! I bought the one I could get without bidding. Thanks again, Ed, for this hint.
I have a couple of the Quick Pic books - a very detailed volume each on the UTLX narrow frame tank cars and another on the DRGW 3000 series boxcars. Another interesting one, though sadly out of print, is Rails, Sagebrush, and Pine by Mallory Hope Ferrell. It's about the Sumpter Valley Railroad.
I like the QuickPic book too. They were actually the reason I started this thread as I thought they might be of interest to others who did not know they existed. And I was sure the same would hold for me. The Mexican Narrow Gauge book is one of them that I got to know thanks to this thread.
Narrow Gauge The late Espee had a narrow gauge line that at one time was about 300 miles long. The las of the line was abandon and removed during the summer of 1960. There are a few books on it. Slim Rail Through the Sand by George Turner and Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge by Mallory Ferrell There is the Illwaco Rail and Navigation in the book Railroad That Ran by the Tide by Ray Feagans Those are some that I'm aware of.
Got this book in the meantime, and I'm delighted. Thanks for this suggestion! No info on the Uintah/Sumptner Valley NG Mallets, though. But I just realized they went to Guatemala not Mexico. Plenty of interesting reading and illustrations anyway. My book says 2nd printing 1971. So don't anybody get fooled if you are looking for the book and it does not say 1968 but 1971 instead.
Glad you liked it. The last section of the book (about from page 140 through 160) includes a number of photos of trains in Cuautla, including shots of the yard and station. The only remaining operational narrow gauge steam locomotive in Mexico is in Cuautla. Right now they only have about 1/2 km of track refurbished and operational, but they fire up #279 every second Saturday and do short back and forth trips. There are several shots of this locomotive in my "Railfanning in Mexico" sub-album in my RailImages album. Best regards Ed
