American Steam Locomotives Alive & Still Working Today By Henry Rasmussen
Hard Cover with Dust Jacket
Copyright 1988
128 pages
CONTENTS
Childhood Memories of Missed Locomotives Introduction to Intrigue 6
A Name that Spanned the Era of Steam Baldwin Locomotive Works 9
Builder of Corporate Clout and Big Boys American Locomotive Company 15
Uniquely Geared Toward the Logging Trade Lima Locomotive Works 24
Mementos From the Era of Mastodons Main Line Excursion Excitement 27
Historic Route Offers Breathtaking Ride Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum 33
Rebirth of the Road to Paradise Strasburg Rail Road 43
The Real Thing: Soot, Stains and All East Broad Top Rail Road 54
Splendid Display of Volunteer Spirit Illinois Railway Museum 64
Recreating the Golden Age of Railroading Mid-Continent Railway Museum 73
The Georgetown Loop Lives Again Georgetown Loop Rail Road 82
The High Road to Railroad Heaven Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Rail Road 91
Retracing the Tracks of a Logging Train Yosemite Mtn & Sugar Pine Rail Road 103
A Steady Hand and a Sure Eye Holding the Reins of the Horse 109
A Measure of Muscle, Brains to Boot Feeding and Firing the Horse 112
A Penchant for Preservation of Iron Grooming and Greasing the Horse 117
Digging Up Long-Lost Locomotives Industrial Archaeology in Action 120
DUST JACKET INTRODUCTION
They were the days of America's childhood, and the railroad was the pioneer of the continent. The steam locomotive's gleaming black body and smoke plume were the signs of the times and the future of the nation.
Today, much of that history has been passed by. Time-varnished railroad depots are victims of neglect; engines and tenders rust beneath coats of dust and the patina of age.
The steam locomotive has been passed by ... but not forgotten.
With the same industry that built the railroad, crews of enthusiasts across America are resurrecting the old engines, depots and roundhouses-and the spirit of the old days themselves.
Noted photographer Henry Rasmussen has captured that spirit in the sentimental journey that is American Steam Locomotives. Within is a revival of things past, of the days of steam and the iron horses that galloped the steel rails.
Rasmussen's photographs are loving looks at railroading's greats and the dedicated few who have labored to restore the luster to these locomotives. Vintage Shay logging engines on the Yosemite Mtn & Sugar Pine Rail Road. Baldwin powers on New Mexico's Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Rail Road. Alto units of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. A whistles top at a turntable and roundhouse on Pennsylvania's East Broad Top line. And visits with the men who are the heart of the iron horses: the engineers, hostlers and firemen in their blue-and-white-striped uniforms, famed goggles and flowing red bandanas.
This is a journey of both nostalgia and respect. Remember those days of cheerful waves from passing engineers and the sweep of wind as the train rushed by? The spirit of live steam in America lives again.
