Robert S. McGonigal

I have to stop buying all these special issues that Kalmbach keeps putting out but they're fun to read. I can even remember some of these trains they talk about in here as well as the tail end of steam!

There are two bylines that would be remiss if I didn't mention them. David P. Morgan talks about the N&W and why it stayed with steam as long as it did and then made the deliberate change to Diesel. The story has been told a million times but Morgan makes it seem like a matter-of-fact event and not some sappy "oh my steam is gone".

William Middleton was a man for all seasons when it comes to metal wheels on metal tracks. I first read his works on Interurbans and then railroad electrification. Here he talks about the start of piggyback service on the SP, the start of what is now our 40 foot containers and the Post WWII streamliners in the twilight of their existence. Talk about being able to cover everything, make a technology easy to understand and still not lose the significance of events; William Middleton knew how to do it.

So if you are bored with long books on railroads and other types of transportation and want a series of fun, short reads, pick up a copy of [Trains of the 1950s].… (mais)