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Steam Locomotive, The A century of North American Classics By Jim Boyd DJ
The Steam Locomotive A century of North American Classics By Jim Boyd Dust Jacket 2000 Many photos 144 Pages
For all practical purposes, the era of the steam locomotive came to an end in the late 1950s-a victim of the efficiency of the diesel-electric locomotive. It was a matter of basic physics. The steam locomotive required a great deal of manpower to keep it running, whereas the diesel was incredibly powerful and "automatic," requiring far less human attention.
But nothing could match the steam locomotive for sheer emotional appeal. During the Great Depression, dirt farmers left their fields to shovel coal on locomotives as they blazed across the prairies at a mile a minute. The locomotive engineer was the respected folk hero of America's youth in the days before hot rods and airplanes, and the appeal of the steam locomotive remains the same today as it was in the "Glory Era." Since the 1960s, hundreds of historical societies, museums, and tourist railroad groups have worked to restore the classic steam locomotives. These restored engines bring an entire era back to life. Nearly every stage of the technological development of locomotives has been recaptured-along with all the sights and sounds of those "big noisy things that go fast."
The Steam Locomotive looks at the exciting history of these impressive engines. It is lavishly illustrated with vintage black-and-white images of the original locomotives while they were in regular service, as well as the finest contemporary color photography of the reborn machines. Each locomotive is set in proper historical perspective, and its place on the "developmental ladder" is summarized in easily understandable terms. A capsule history of each locomotive's restoration and operation brings the narrative up-to-date.
You'll find the earliest one-of-a-kind experimentals built in England in the 1820s and see the rebirth of the world's oldest operating self-propelled vehicle, the original John Bull of 1831, which was also the first locomotive to be successful enough to be duplicated in kind, forecasting the huge locomotive "fleets" of the future. You'll follow the American locomotives as they run through the Civil War and into the twentieth century at 100 miles per hour. You'll also be an eyewitness as steam powers the nation's industrial growth through two world wars into the nuclear age, culminating in the world's largest and finest steam locomotives.
Contents
Introduction 6
The Early Americans 8
Turn of the Century 24
The Standard Era 48
Super Power 70
Last of the Giants 114
Index 144
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