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The International Steam Pages |
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International Steam Book Reviews 2000/1 |
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Keith Chester acts as Editor of our books page. Contact him on Email: webmaster@internationalsteam.co.uk Book Reviews Main Index This page contains books reviewed in 2000/1. Click as appropriate for later reviews - the main books page - 2002-5 book reviews - 1997-9 book reviews. Unless otherwise stated, all the reviews are by Keith. One of the more obscure byways of railway history was undoubtedly the Barbados Railway, and yet here we have a delightful book devoted to its brief and, to be frank, rather undistinguished story. Barbados itself is one of the smaller Caribbean islands, only 33.5km long and 22.5km wide. In the nineteenth century it was sparsely populated and its economy was, like so many in the region, distorted by sugar: a few very wealthy landowners living off a very impoverished mass of plantation workers. This was hardly a promising scenario for building a railway; indeed as author Jim Horsford observes a railway in Barbados was "from the outset, both an anachronism and a dubious financial enterprise". The inhabitants of the island were no less immune than people elsewhere to the railway manias which swept the world in the mid nineteenth century. The first railway was proposed in 1845; of an unspecified gauge between 4'6" and 5'6", it failed to raise more than 3% of the capital required. A new attempt was made in 1873. Robert Fairlie acted as a consultant and this time more realistically a gauge of 3'6? was chosen. Authorised in 1877, the railway opened in October 1881. Within a week services were suspended due to the poor state of the track. It was an ominous start. The line had been skimpily built and failed to generate sufficient revenues to permit adequate maintenance. By the mid 1890s the railway was teetering on the edge of collapse. A new consultant, no less than the indomitable E.R. Calthrop, advocated rebuilding to 2'6" gauge. This was carried out in 1897-98, but was in effect throwing good money after bad, for five years later in 1903 the company went into voluntary liquidation. Government subsidies kept the line afloat, but it was a losing battle: both revenues and the physical plant of the railway continued to decline and the Barbados Railway was closed for good in 1937. Today, apart from some earthworks, little remains to show there was once a railway on Barbados. This little railway is lovingly brought back to life by Jim Horsford, who has family connections with the island. Using both contemporary documents and oral history techniques, he recounts in all its aspects the 56 years of struggle against the odds that was the story of the Barbados Railway. The book is described as a "brief history" but do not be misled by this. This is a comprehensive account and I would doubt whether at this late stage there is much more to discover about this railway. "The Barbados Railway" is printed on glossy paper and the numerous illustrations are beautifully reproduced. Indeed the book is worth buying for these alone. For such a short railway on a rather small island, a surprising number of photos seem to have survived and these are used to good effect in the book. As we have noted before books in English on the railways of the vast region south of the USA are rare. 2001, however, has seen the publication of three such works (all reviewed here) and Jim Horsford's "The Barbados Railway" is a worthy member of this triumvirate. For my money this is perhaps the best of the Specials so far produced by Paul Catchpole's "Locomotives International" and comes strongly recommended. The Barbados Railway, by Jim Horsford Published by Locomotives International In the aftermath of the First World War, many railways were being squeezed on two sides. On the one hand, the motor vehicle was beginning to make serious inroads into their freight and traffic business; on the other, costs were rising rapidly. One way many chose to escape this dilemma was to try to achieve savings in operation costs by seeking a substantial improvement to the conventional Stephenson piston locomotive, which had witnessed no major technological development since the introduction of superheat in the late 1890s. The US chose the path of (Lima) Super Power, whilst Europe conducted a number of more radical experiments. Two of the more favoured approaches were high-pressure boilers and the application of steam turbines to a locomotive. A total of 28 turbine locomotives were constructed worldwide in the 1920s and 1030s. Some of these achieved a high profile (cf the LMSR's "Turbomotive"); of others, such as the Soviet conversion of an SO class 2-10-0), we know almost nothing. However, that so few were built reflected the fact that the experimental turbine locomotives did not live up to expectations: they were all too often unreliable and maintenance costs were high, offsetting any fuel savings and performance gains. They had also come too late. With the prospect of main line electrification (and dieselisation) already looming on the horizon, there seemed little point in pursuing the expensive developmental work. One country particularly associated with the initial development of the steam turbine was Sweden. The Ljungström brothers were extremely active in researching and promoting steam turbine technology and founded their own company to produce an "Ångturbinlok", a steam turbine loco. This was fitted with condensers. It was completed in 1921 and tested on the SJ. Extensively rebuilt it was tested again in 1923 with positive results. This was followed by a number of orders for various railways around the world. All were destined to have short working lives. The non-condensing turbine locomotive proved a more successful avenue of development. In Britain, for example, the Turbomotive worked the west coast main line for a number of years. It was, however, in Sweden where the turbine loco was to achieve both reliability and success. Between 1931 and 1936 three Ljungström 2-8-0s were put into service on the privately owned TGOJ, an iron ore railway in central Sweden. For two decades, until they were made redundant by electrification in 1953, they hauled heavy ore trains to the port of Oxelösund. All three locomotives have been preserved, one of them in working order. "Ångturbinlok" by Bernt Forsberg is the story of the steam turbine locomotive. The author is a Swede and concentrates appropriately on the development work of the Ljungström brothers and the three TGOJ locos; but turbine locos constructed elsewhere are also considered. The book includes a short chapter listing every turbine loco ever built. "Ångturbinlok" is well printed and profusely illustrated. The text is in Swedish, but the need to confront that language is alleviated somewhat by an English introduction and extensive picture captions in English, which enable the non-Swedish reader to follow the story. I am in no position to comment on the text itself, but it would seem exhaustive. Don't be put off by the language barrier, this book is of the greatest interest to anybody who cares for the steam loco in general and the unusual in particular. Recommended. "Ångturbinlok" by Bernt Forsberg Published by Svenska
Järnvägsklubben. Available from Frank Stenvall
Förlag (address: Föreningsgatan 12, Box 17111, 200 10 Malmö, Sweden) or, in the UK,
from Railbooks.com, Ian Allen Bookshops, Motorbooks and leading preservation societies. My first visit to Austria in 1972 was memorable for several reasons: the slog of the rack tanks up the Erzbergbahn, the first trip over the Semmering, that first sip of Puntigamer beer, but for nothing as much as my first visit to the narrow gauge Steyrtalbahn. This quickly established itself as one of my favourite railways and in the next ten years I returned to it as often as I could. What was the attraction? Well for one, the Steyrtalbahn was among the very last all steam-worked narrow gauge railways in Europe and ran through the charming valley of the river Steyr. The real motivation, however, was the motive power: the U class 0-6-2Ts. Developed out of the 0-6-2T designed in 1888 for the opening of the Steyrtalbahn, the first true "U" was put into service in 1894 on the Murtalbahn - the "U" derives from Unzmarkt, the junction station for the Murtal. So satisfactory was the design that in 1897 the state railways in the Austrian half of the Monarchy adopted it as their standard narrow gauge type and between then and 1913 no fewer than 43 were acquired. Yet more were delivered to private railways in Austria and several variants were developed. In its way, perhaps not such an untypical story. Yet this class has become one of the best loved among steam enthusiasts in Europe - Austrian gricers positively drool at the mention of a "U" (well, they would, wouldn't they?) and I must confess to my moments too. In part this may be explained by the aesthetics of the loco, well proportioned and sufficiently of another era to look just right at the head of a rake of four-wheel narrow gauge coaches. Part of the explanation also lies in the sheer longevity of the class and the fact that so many have survived into preservation. Roland Beier's "Reihe U" ("Class U") is the latest addition to the "transpress" series "Fahrzeugporträt" ("Motive Power Portrait"). With the exception of a slim and rather undistinguished volume in the "Bahn in Bild" series, this is surprisingly the first book devoted to these classic narrow gauge locomotives; to the shame of Austrian publishers it has appeared in Germany. It is also likely to be the standard work for many years to come. Roland Beier describes the genesis of the "U" and its several variants. Much of the book is naturally enough devoted to those locos built for service in Austria and their work on the various state and private lines there. One of the great strengths of the book, however, is that he fortunately casts his net further afield. After the First World War the class was widely distributed throughout the former Monarchy - as well as in Austria, these 0-6-2Ts were also to be found in Czechoslovakia, Italy, Jugoslavia and Poland. Their service for their new owners in each country is described in detail and with clear maps. There are also sections on their period in DRB livery in the Second World War and their life and times after 1945. The book concludes with a summary of the "U" family in preservation - a total of 44 survive. Roland Beier is one of the most knowledgeable writers on Austrian locomotive history today and, apart from a detailed technical description of the class, there is probably not much else left to say on the class. "Reihe U" is well illustrated in colour and with an amazing selection of black & white photos of great historical interest. My one complaint concerns the locomotive lists. These are fashionably rendered in a not particularly attractive blue. More irritatingly, locomotives are listed in the appropriate place in their history. This means shortish lists are dotted throughout the book. The overview is lost and it is sometimes troublesome to track down a specific loco. It would have been helpful if a complete list had been provided in addition to the part lists. The book is in German but highly accessible and comes highly recommended to all steam buffs, especially the narrow minded (ho! ho!). "Reihe U", by Roland Beier Published by transpress Verlag ISBN : 3-613-71152-4 126 pages Indian Narrow Gauge Steam Remembered Those of us with an interest in, and affection for, the Indian narrow gauge steam railways will, no doubt, own the various excellent reference books written by Hugh Hughes and published by the Continental Railway Circle. Otherwise the subject has not to my knowledge been covered in a systematic way although it has featured in a number of photographic albums of the sub-continent in which necessarily the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has usually featured prominently. Lawrence Marshall has made no less than twenty five visits since 1970 and the majority of these were concentrated on the narrow gauge because it was here that the greatest variety of steam power and some of the oldest locomotives were to be found. In particular, he organised a series of eight great Indian train journeys for small groups of enthusiasts. While these visited almost every far flung corner of the country, they became famous (some would say notorious) for the outrageous way in which locomotives were tarted up and presented. When I came to look at the book I was apprehensive that this would present the subject in a somewhat artificial light and indeed there are many pictures of freshly painted and sometimes over-decorated locomotives, often specially posed for the photographer either individually or on a well-sited bridge, oozing the perfect amount of smoke. As with Mr. Marshall's recent Spanish books, the locomotives are the stars and often since the trains were run specially for the visitors, some 'local colour' is missing. However, it would be grossly unfair to dismiss this book on those grounds. For a start it is almost totally comprehensive, with just one or two exceptions it includes every known narrow gauge steam operation in India, active in 1970 or thereafter. Thus every one of the zonal railways is covered in full, which means there are pictures of systems which few visitors would have reached like that between Bangalore and Bangrapet on the Southern Railway one of whose Pacifics I saw while passing through Bangrapet (without alighting from the train) in 1975. Similarly there are pictures of some of those branches on the Western Railway with 'standard power' and which both had a skeleton service and were hard to fit into a tight schedule. It is in the minor lines that I found the greatest pleasure in the book. Visits to three other public railways outside the state system, five industrial railways and no less than nine sugar mills and their railways are presented. How many of you know where the Nizam's Sugar Factory was, let alone visited it? Yes, there are a dozen pictures of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (including a real freight train in 1970) but there are almost as many pictures of Coal India in Assam some of whose locomotives came second-hand from the DHR. There are maps of each area together with much information on the origins of the locomotives. The 216 pages include 48 (full page) colour photographs and 218 black and white pictures some full page and some half page together with some background to the railways and the visits made. Classic gricing it is not, but it represents what must be a unique record of an era that has almost totally passed and all narrow gauge steam enthusiasts should consider getting a copy. (RD) Indian Narrow Gauge Steam Remembered by Lawrence Marshall Tales of Asian Steam: The Last Decade VERSION A We all, I'm sure, have memories from our travels with steam which we treasure, magic moments we shall never forget. Most of mine seem to come from Asia: riding the last working Shay in the world through moonlit sweet smelling sugar cane fields in the Philippines; footplating a D52 2-8-2 on a heavy coal train in South Sumatra or a WP on an express in India; watching the procession of QJ hauled freights climbing up out of Zhongwei; bargaining a price for a worksplate…the list could go on and on. Some of the best gricing I ever did was in Asia in the 1980s. Finally here is a book which recaptures all those memories. "Tales of Asian Steam" is the work of two young Germans and a Swiss who made frequent trips to Asia in the 1990s and have now put together a photo album conveying in pictures and words the final full decade of steam working in the continent. This beautifully reproduced full colour album covers in greater or lesser detail 15 countries where steam still survived, mostly in regular service, though some resort is made to charter and special workings; inevitably the section on China is the longest and most comprehensive. In their introduction the authors write that when they first planned the book, they set out to produce a photo album that was different and in their stated aim they have succeeded. The pictures in "Tales of Asian Steam" are consistently of the highest quality; most albums reproduce a few excellent shots and a majority of competently exposed and composed but really rather ordinary, unimaginative views - in "Tales of Asian Steam" these proportions are reversed. But not only are the photos good, there is also a wide variety of shots. Here are three photographers not only looking for good, interesting images of steam locomotives, but who also understand that there are many paths leading to Rome and who make extensive use of a wide range of photographic techniques: one style of photography, however outstanding the individual images it produces, does not make for a successful book. This is why Gifford's legendary "Each a Glimpse" works so well and why on mature reflection "Extreme Steam", reviewed here recently, is on balance not an entirely satisfactory book. "Tales of Asian Steam" would then be worth purchasing for its photos alone. Its real strength, however, lies in its texts. Each picture is given an informative, extended caption, whilst each chapter is provided with a useful background introduction and a short essay on some aspect of photting steam in Asia: how to night-phot in Hai Phong harbour, the highs and lows of getting/just missing that master shot and so on. There's a wonderful piece describing working as a fireman on a QJ over the Jingpeng pass - one job vacancy I certainly won't be applying for. The authors succeed very well in conveying the atmosphere in Asia, what it is (soon to be was) like to be there photting steam. Above all they treat the Asians they encounter with respect: Asia here is not a bizarre, Disney world backdrop to what they are trying to achieve. The texts are given in both German and English, the latter in a rather idiosyncratic translation which doesn't always hit the mark; indeed, I noticed several complete mistranslations. My only complaint about the book is that the authors - and in this they are not alone - sometimes blur the difference between a regular and a special working. To suggest that the Saturdays and Sundays only tourist train operated out of Kanchanburi in the late 1990s constituted "regular steam" is stretching credibility. A number of photos are obviously of special or charter trains; this is not always made clear in the accompanying captions. Other photo albums reviewed here might have individual pictures superior to those found in "Tales of Asian Steam", but few can match it for its overall consistently high standard. This is probably the best photo album reviewed here and one of the most satisfying I've seen for many a year. Recommended without reservation. VERSION B Buy it! Tales of Asian Steam: The Last Decade By Cyrill Basler, Florian Schmidt and Bernd Seiler 271 colour pictures on heavy art paper, 290 x 270 mm (12.4 x 10.6 inches), 196 pages, English & German text Published by Eisenbahn Kurier Price £35.00/U$49.00 (plus postage where appropriate) ISBN : 3-88255-282-4 In the age of steam, there were many builders of steam locomotives who often developed their own distinctive housestyles. More distinctive than most were the products of Manning Wardle of Leeds in northern England. The company was founded in 1858 and between then and its closure in 1926 produced over 2000 locos, mostly 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 tank locos with the uniquely styled Manning Wardle saddle tanks. It would be hard to mistake most Manning Wardle locos for anything else. Manning Wardle production was at its peak between 1870 and 1890. Thereafter it declined and one has the feeling that Manning Wardle somehow remained in a timewarp of those years. Certainly its production methods did not change. To the end, most locos were individually manufactured with hand-crafted components. No nasty mass production here. The result was indeed a "locomotive of quality", but an increasingly exspensive one. Moreover there does not seem to have been much technical innovation or even change to the external appearance of the loco. By 1926 when Manning Wardle turned out its last engine (fortunately now preserved on the Severn Valley Railway in the UK), its products were looking rather old-fashioned. But no doubt the early demise of the company and its distinctive engines explain the enduring popularity of its products amongst lovers of the steam loco. "Locomotives of Quality" by John E. Simpson is the third book devoted to Manning Wardle locos to appear recently (Fred Harman's part work has already been reviewed on these pages). It describes itself as a pictorial history. And this is what it is: 145 b/w photos of various Manning Wardle with extended captions. Many of the photos were taken by the author who was, to our great fortune, interested enough in obscure light and industrial railways in the UK to seek them out in the 1930s when they still abounded. Some wonderful machines are portrayed here. But the author has also cast his net far and wide and made extensive use of materials from other collections. Photographic reproduction is of the highest order. The book is divided into eight sections, including a brief history of the Boyne Engine Works in Leeds. Manning Wardle exported a large number of locos and these are well covered in the book. I noticed a number of small errors in the text, which is at times rather superficial. This, however, is not a book for detailed information, but rather a collection of photos of delightful Manning Wardle locomotives. At GBP 8.95 it is also very good value for money. "Locomotives of Quality" Apart from the lemming-like charge to Cuba every spring, the Caribbean is a region almost totally ignored by railway enthusiasts. Now there is no longer any real excuse for this as David Rollinson has produced an excellent book on this neglected topic. Entitled appropriately enough, "Railways of the Caribbean", the book provides in 11 chapters a survey of the historical development, locomotive history and present situation of the railways (which all too often means the date of closure) on the various islands and island groupings which constitute the Caribbean. The author includes here Guyana and Belize, which he argues, though technically not part of the insular Caribbean, share much in common with it. A further three chapters comprise a general historical introduction, a look at tramway systems in the Caribbean and one on Caribbean railway operations, which discusses such matters as the history of the locomotives and rolling stock, types of pw used and so on. Railways were built for various purposes in the Caribbean: as common carriers, for tourists and to develop mineral wealth. But if one common denominator for the existence of railways on these often quite small islands can be found, then it was sugar. Sugar was what originally brought white Europeans and their black African slaves to the Caribbean and sugar was what sustained its at times fabulously wealthy economy. By the nineteenth century, the Caribbean had lost its predominance in the field; that and the industrialisation of sugar making saw ever greater concentrations of the production process in ever larger "Centrals", centralised sugar factories which needed to be supplied with enormous quantities of sugar cane on a regular basis. In the pre-lorry age the railway was the answer. The result was a rich tapestry of railways, ranging from a few short feeder lines on islands such as St Lucia or Aruba to the dense network of common carrier and sugar railways familiar to everybody who makes the annual pilgrimage to Cuba. Some of the railways described had but brief lives, many more disappeared in the 1950s & 1960s, but a surprising number still cling to life, though, with the exception of Cuba, these are now all diesel worked. David Rollinson describes all this very well indeed. He writes interestingly and clearly, and succeeds in conveying a considerable amount of information in very few words. Appropriately in a work of history he devotes more to the why than to the what. The book is very much a labbour of love. The author is very knowledgable on his subject and on the Caribbean as a whole, and has evidently dug deep and wide in his research. For some of the smaller islands with just a few short industrial lines, there is probably little more to be said on the subject and to my mind the great strength of the book is the account of the history of the railways of the medium and small islands. Cuba is something of a problem, partly because it has such a dense network and partly as its railway history has already been well researched (see our review for Garcia & Zanetti's "Sugar and Railroads. A Cuban History"). To his credit David Rollinson manages to restrict himself to 20 pages on Cuba. Clear maps are provided for each island discussed and the book is profusely illustrated in both black & white and colour. Some of the b/w photos are real gems and would have benefitted from a larger format. By way of contrast, some of the colour photos are given full page treatment and one wonders at the logic of this. The colour material is of the commonplace modern scene. Yet in a historical survey such as this, it is what was and what has now disappeared which is of the greatest interest. Or is today colour simply de rigeur, because it is there and because it is what everybody expects? By and large the colour photos in "Railways of the Caribbean" don't add a great deal to the book, indeed they are a rather indifferent selection. All in all though David Rollinson and his publisher MacMillan (not a name usually associated with railway books) are to be commended on an excellent book, a worthy addition to world steam railway history. "Railways of the Caribbean" "The Railways of South America" Many years ago when still at school I eagerly borrowed from my local public library a copy of Dusty Durrant's "Steam Locomotives of Eastern Europe". I was fascinated by what I saw and it sowed the seeds for 30 odd years of skulking behind bushes and avoiding overzealous policemen in Eastern and Central Europe. When, however, I reread the book a decade later, I was rather frustrated by it: there was simply too much material for the space available - a veritable gallon squeezed into a pint pot - and too much had had to be left out. I have rather the same feeling with Trevor Rowe's new book, "The Railways of South America". This devotes a chapter apiece to each of Latin America's ten countries and two short ones to the Falkland Islands and the Guianas. Together these outline the development (and sadly all to often the decline) of the national railway systems in each. Where appropriate, private and industrial railways are also dealt with. Attention is also paid to the locomotive history of each country. The approach here is the broad sweep and those searching for lists of locomotive numbers will go away empty handed. Interspersed with all this are personal anecdotes from Trevor Rowe's many visits to Latin America, a part of the world he evidently loves. I am assured by those whose knowledge of the region is far greater than mine that the information within the book is accurate, bar the few inevitable slips (and no matter how often you check material, these always crop up). Trevor Rowe writes his story well and with authority. He first visited South America in 1968 and has kept going back. His knowledge of the sub-continent is wide and this shines through in the book. South America is, however, a large place and at times the book is a bit of a gallop to get everything in: it might not be a gallon, but it's definitely a quart being squeezed into a pint. The author handles his material well, but sometimes there was clearly too much of it for the confines of one chapter and the end result is a rather superficial treatment. Before I began the book, I was hoping it would be able to tell me something about a couple of railways in Brazil and Peru I was interested in, but was frustrated to find just one or two paragraphs devoted to each. I was also a little disappointed by the picture selection: too many diesels for this steam buff and as for the steam, there is a preponderance of official works photos and pictures of preserved engines. I was surprised at how few of Trevor Rowe's own photos appear. He was one of the very few gricers active in Latin America in the 1969s and 1970s and I would have liked to seen more views from what I'd imagine is a fairly unique record of the final phase of steam operations in South America. Reproduction too is a bit muddy at times. "The Railways of South America" is an ambitious book on the railways of a part of the world largely ignored by enthusiasts, authors and publishers alike. It definitely fills a gap. It is an excellent introduction to the railways of South America and ideal for somebody like me whose previous knowledge of the region was minimal. I was able to learn a lot from it. I read the book with pleasure and it left me wishing I had made more than just the one steam bash to Latin America. What more can a book do? The book is not without its faults, but these lie principally in the attempt to mix, at times uneasily, railway history, locomotive history and personal anecdotes into one volume. There are basically three different books here all vying for the limited space on offer. A friend recently described the book to me as "fascinating but frustrating". The observation is, I feel, a fair one. Nevertheless I would warmly recommend "The Railways of South America" to anyone with a (general) interest in the railways of South America. "The Railways of South America", by D. Trevor Rowe ISBN : 1-900340-10-0 Published by Locomotives International: The Trans-Siberian Railway on Early Postcards The Trans-Siberian railway: few cannot have heard of it, a lucky few will have travelled over it and even fewer will probably have more than the vaguest of notions of the railway itself and the land through which it ran. Siberia conjures up images of unending frozen wastes, gulags, primitive settlements and so on. The reality was of course far more complex. Over the last decade or so a number of books on the Trans-Siberian have been published in the West, either as academic studies (great on facts but not so good at conveying the atmosphere) or coffee-table books, which tend to overdo the happy peasant in headscarf side of things. Two new books on the Trans-Siberian and Siberia privately published by the author, Philip Robinson, go someway to redress the balance. The format chosen is that of reproducing old (pre 1918) postcards featuring both the railway and Siberia and providing them with well-informed captions. These cover the construction of the line, its locomotives, rolling stock, MPDs and stations, signals, prominent engineering features and so on. Taken together these convey a wonderful impression of both the enormous difficulties facing the constructors of the railway, their achievements and of operations prior to the Soviet era. Above all one is left with the idea of small locomotives pulling short trains from one isolated community to another through a vast empty and often desolate landscape. Of the two books, "The Trans-Siberian Railway on Early Postcards" is devoted solely to images of the railway itself. "Siberia on Early Postcards" is a more general work. Whilst it does also include views of the railway, it primarily looks at life in all its aspects in Siberia 100 years ago, contrasting, for example, a magnificent race-course at Blagoveshchensk, epitomising civilisation and the twentieth century, and the large, dirt market at Nikolaevsk-na-Amure, which had probably changed little in a thousand years. There is also a rather ghoulish and voyeuristic section of images from a commercially produced set of postcards devoted to penal colonies and prisoners (pour encourager les autres?). Siberia was, and no doubt still is, a land of stark contrasts. The two books neatly complement each other. Both the colour and black & white postcards are reproduced to a very high standard. To keep down costs, binding is by means of a ring binder. Philip Robinson is to be commended for his enterprise and personally I hope he will be encouraged to produce similar volumes. Recommended. Keith adds (1st December 2001): Philip Robinson has now produced another book featuring postcard views of Siberia. These include a number of views of the famous Trans Siberian Railway, but like his previous volume, "Siberia on Early Postcards", these are in a minority. Nonetheless this is a fascinating book and if you enjoyed his previous two offerings, then you will surely want to have this one too. The Trans-Siberian Railway on Early Postcards All books are available from the author at GBP 12.50 each (including
postage worldwide) from: "Mariazellerbahn in der Landschaft" Of all the 760mm gauge railways in Austria, the one that has over the years attracted the most attention is the photogenic Mariazellerbahn, which connects the village of Mariazell with its baroque pilgrimage church and St Pölten on the Westbahn. Promoted in 1898 and opened in stages between then and 1907, this 84km long line (it was originally 91km, but the section between Mariazell and Gußwerk was closed in 1988) was but briefly steam-worked, being electrified in 1911. This was one of the pioneering electrifications in Europe and today, 90 years later, the Mariazellerbahn is unique in still using its original fleet of electric locos, albeit with a modernised casing. At the time of writing (March 2001) the Mariazellerbahn's future is rather uncertain. The ÖBB, mired in Thatcherite "realism", wishes to be rid of all its narrow gauge railways and closure is slated for 2001. Fortunately, it seems highly likely the Mariazellerbahn will be "privatised" in one form or another. The appearance of a new book from the Slezak publishing house entitled the "Mariazellerbahn in der Landschaft" ("Mariazellerbahn in the Landscape") by Hans Peter Pawlik is thus timely. This, as the title suggests, is not a history of the rilway. There is a very short introduction and the core of the book is a collection of 117 black & white and 63 colour photos. These are mostly two to a page, but there are a few full-page ones. The colour material dates back to 1960 and the black & white to the very earliest days of the line and feature steam locos. It was originally hoped to extend the Mariazellerbahn to Kapfenberg on the Südbahn and there is a brief look at these plans. The book concludes, rather uneasily perhaps, with a short section of colour photographs of modern Swiss narrow gauge railways, as a possible pointer to the way the Mariazellerbahn might be run - as opposed to the easy option of closure. In one respect the title is perhaps a little misleading. "...in the Landscape" would suggest a photo album depicting 760mm gauge trains traversing the undoubtedly spectacular landscape of the Mariazellerbahn. Whilst there are such views, most of the photos record or illustrate distinctive aspects of the Mariazellerbahn, its operations, rolling stock and infrastructure. These are accompanied, as always in a Slezak book, by authoritative and extremely informative captions. For these alone the book is worth acquiring. "Mariazellerbahn in der Landschaft" can be recommended to all fans of the Austrian narrow gauge. Like all Slezak books, it can be ordered directly from Vienna. "Mariazellerbahn in der Landschaft", by Hans Peter Pawlik Published by Verlag JO Slezak, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 42, A-1040 WIEN, Austria Price ATS 290 plus postage ISBN 3-85416-3 by Terry Martin Many will have visited it and there can be few indeed who have not heard of it: the two foot gauge Darjeeling Himalayan railway in India which climbs to the hill station of Darjeeling in the Himalayas. Opened in 1881 as the Darjeeling Steam Tramway, the railway was initially a rather primitive affair laid simply on the steep and curvy Hill Cart Road linking Siliguri and Darjeeling. It was only the second narrow gauge railway in India, built at a time when narrow gauge railways worldwide were still in their infancy. It thus comes as no surprise to learn of the involvement of George Percival, the disgraced (dalliances with the maid servant) son of Charles Spooner of the Festiniog Railway, in the project. Building the railway was fraught with difficulties (finance, man-eating lions, an anticipated ruling gradient of 1 in 30 turning out to be 1 in 20 - all the usual stuff), but by the imaginative use of such novelties as spirals and zigzags, the first train steamed triumphantly into Darjeeling on 3 July 1881. Thereafter the railway settled into a prosperous existence, accompanied by improvements to its infrastructure. Motive power was at first in the form of some underpowered 0-4-0Ts and 0-4-0WTs, but the learning curve was sharp and as early as 1889 the railway hit upon the dedicated and highly successful B class 0-4-0ST design, which for the past 110 years have been pounding up the hill to Darjeeling. Considerable quantities of freight, mostly tea, were transported on the new railway and, as the popularity of Darjeeling as a mountain resort grew, so were ever increasing numbers of passengers conveyed. Thus have generation after generation fallen in love with what is now affectionately known as the "Toy Train" of Darjeeling. This then is one of the most famous and best loved railways in the world; moreover, one which is still (just about) entirely steam-worked. Yet, whilst the DHR has frequently been the subject of magazine articles, to the best of my knowledge there has never been a book devoted to this fascinating railway. This gap has now been admirably filled by Terry Martin's "Halfway to Heaven". This is everything a railway book should be. It puts the railway into its historical context, provides a detailed and highly readable account of its construction, expansion (two branch lines were subsequently opened), operations, its rise and decline; sadly but inevitably, the railway has been operated at a loss for many years. The rolling stock and motive power of the DHR are lovingly described, including detailed excursions into the history of the ill-fated Garratt and the entirely inappropriate streamlining of B class no. 28 in 1942-45. Apart from an incredibly pretentious introduction, "Halfway to Heaven" is elegantly and intelligently written; it is well researched and provides an extensive bibliography as well as a number of appendices which add to the value of the book. It is profusely illustrated with a wonderful selection of black & white photographs, ranging from the very earliest days of the railway to the present. There are also some colour photographs but mostly of rather indifferent quality and to my mind these form the weakest point of an otherwise excellent book. (A colour photo is not ipso facto better than a b/w one and it is seldom that an undistinguished photo can be rescued by the mere fact of colour. And if a photo is not enhanced by being in colour or displays little or no feeling for colour, why bother to print it in colour?) Terry Martin has been well served by his publishers, RailRomances, who have produced a beautifully printed and well laid out book, a book whose appearance very much reflects the quality of its contents. It is hard to find fault with "Halfway to Heaven", which hopefully will be a benchmark for future railway publishing in the UK. At £40, this is not a cheap book, but it is worth every penny. "Halfway to Heaven" is the works - only 2,000 were printed, so get it while you still can. "Halfway to Heaven" Compiled by Steve Le Cheminant, Vernon Murphy & Michael Rhodes I have a rule of thumb which states that the more a beer is hyped, then the more likely it is totally undrinkable and is thus to be strictly avoided. "Extreme Steam", an all-colour photo album devoted to (at times) dramatic steam action in the depths of winter in China in the 1990s has been hyped in the British railway press. Is it too to be avoided? The answer is an evasive yes and no. The problem is that when a product is heavily promoted then expectations run high and the potential for disappointment is that much greater. And this is a trap "Extreme Steam" does tend to fall into. Personally I feel "Extreme Steam" does not live up to its own assessment of having an "unsurpassed creative content". There are about 15 to 20 absolutely stunning photos here, there are a few which would have been better left out and others which need cropping. In between there is a large number of competently photographed and dramatic shots of QJ's & JS's hard at work but which on a second look make little imaginative use of either light or angle, relying on sub-zero temperatures and the consequent large, and admittedly often very impressive plume of exhaust for effect. This is fine and the results are at times excellent, but "creative" it is not. The book is also somewhat unbalanced. The authors are evidently big engine men and heavy freights hauled by QJ's predominate. Though nods are made to industrial and narrow gauge railways, in general both receive rather short shrift. And this seeming lack of interest is reflected in some captioning errors in these sections. The description of the ET7 0-8-0T as a "non-standard class" is curious given that Chrzanow delivered at least 90 of this numerous type to China. Even more strangely the authors would have us believe that the C2 0-8-0, the most common narrow gauge type in China, is in fact the "P45 0-8-0, whose origins are in Poland and Russia". If memory serves me right, the P45 is a tax form in the UK whilst the origins of the C2 lie in the P24 0-8-0 in the USSR, not Poland. (Modestly I would commend my own "East European Narrow Gauge" to the authors for a history of this class.) And please, there is a difference between it's and its. Gripes over! "Extreme Steam" is beautifully printed, captions are short, but sufficient, and the authors have wisely opted for letting the pictures speak for themselves (though perhaps a map or two would have aided understanding). Few pictures lack drama and some 20 or so are breathtakingly good and alone justify the admittedly not cheap GBP 30 price tag. Some of these are certainly worthy of being marketed as posters. Here at last is a set of pictures which should help my poor wife understand why I devoted nearly forty years of my life to the pursuit of that sublime and elusive beast, the steam locomotive in full cry. And finally I now understand what all the fuss about the Jing Peng pass is about. As a celebration of the last great steam show on earth, "Extreme Steam" succeeds admirably. Tribute must also be paid to the hardy band of photographers (masochists?) who braved the rigours of northern China in winter to contribute to this album. A Chinese "Each a Glimpse..." it is not, but it sets very very high standards and will be a benchmark for future books on China. "Extreme Steam" is a book every lover of steam will wish to have to drool over in the great steamless future which awaits us all. "Extreme Steam" is highly recommended: the hype wasn't really necessary. "Extreme Steam", Compiled by Steve Le Cheminant, Vernon Murphy & Michael Rhodes Published by: Tele Rail Publications ISBN : 0-9537890-0-4 Parovozy - Russian & Soviet Steam Locomotives Volume 1: "E" Class 0-10-0, "S" Class 2-6-2' "P36" Class 4-8-4 by Keith Chester Given that our editor Keith wrote the book and what I know about the subject could be written on the back of the average postage stamp, I am extremely grateful that my friend Chris Walker has written the following review: "Russia has a railway and locomotive history the equal of any but much of it has remained relatively obscure to the English reader where detailed information has been hidden behind the Russian and German language barriers. Some books in English have emerged which examine Russia in detail; including the complex rosters of the 19th century, and the ground-breaking Le Fleming/Price "Russian Steam Locomotives" published in 1960 which provided a fascinating insight, although the reader was still left speculating behind the barriers of the cold war. This new book, the first of three planned volumes, redresses this gap. It provides an authoritative yet easily digestible insight into some of the most significant 20th century Russian locomotive designs - "parovozy", some of which are now familiar to steam enthusiasts who have travelled to the former Soviet Union since its collapse a decade ago. I can remember being in the ground-breaking party led by Vick Allen in 1989 that went on the first ex- Soviet steam tour to Lvov which offered two classic machines: the semi-streamlined "P36" 4-8-4, and the lumbering "Er" 0-10-0. This book chronicles their design, construction and operation through the Machiavellian labyrinths that embodied Russian railway life. The "E" family of 0-10-0 heavy freight locomotives was constructed for an amazing period spanning 45 years from 1912-1957. Production ranged from the original E for the tsarist Vladikavkazskaya Railway, up to the final Er models produced by the Soviet satellite countries; nearly 11,000 examples in all; built in Russia, Sweden, Germany and Eastern Europe. If you ever thought that they were all the same you should read this book, because there were innumerable variants not merely identifiable by dome arrangements, which modified and generally improved the design gradually. Battles between bureaucrats, professorial theorists and practical railway engineers seemed to have been a never-ending saga! Even the Soviet Union had decided by the mid-1930s that they were obsolescent, but a combination of politics and expediency saw them survive in production until after there had ceased to be full work for them and the USSR had itself abandoned steam construction. Even so their relatively light axle load saw some survive in service into the 1970s, and in strategic reserves until the Indian summer today, where "Em" and "Er" types are seen on enthusiast's heavy passenger trains - a role they rarely undertook in service. The "P36" 4-8-4, understandably called a "northern" by Keith Chester in recognition of its American styling cues, had a much shorter although glamorous life, emerging at the end of the post war design programme in 1950. Its modest construction total of 250 would have been greatly exceeded had the steam-promoting commissar not been ousted in 1956. Like other late steam power they were to have short working lives and after triumphal periods on heavy passenger high profile routes including the Trans-Siberian, most had gone by the early 1970s. There must be a soft spot for them to judge by the 27 that are believed to still survive and their activity on specials today. The other section of this book deals with the ground-breaking but less well-known "S" class 2-6-2 which like the "E" emerged before the first world war to become the principal middle-weight high speed express passenger design into the early Soviet era. It represented a major step forward but became outmoded because it was too small to meet heavier train requirements into the 1920s. Its largest development the "Sv" was to be the precursor for the later "Su" passenger design, which is not covered in this volume but would survive to the end of steam. The author has drawn widely in his sources and the text is full of references and footnotes, which do not detract from the narrative flow and provide added authenticity and direct the reader to other material. There are many illustrations that commendably are drawn mainly from Russian sources including action shots, and charts, diagrams and construction data support this. In common with other Trackside Publications the book is printed on high quality glossy paper and uses all available space to provide as much information as possible. If a little crammed it is good value for what is an esoteric subject with a small print run. Highly recommended as an essential purchase for the international steam student. The two further planned volumes will cover firstly experimental locomotives where Russia was not short of ambition, and finally the narrow gauge. Buy the first volume before it goes out of print." Parovozy - Russian & Soviet Steam Locomotives Published by: "Istoria locomotivelor si a cailor ferate din Banatul Montan" by Dan Gh Perianu This is less of a review more a notice of an important new book which has just appeared in Romania. Translated into English, its title is "History of Steam Locomotives and Railway from Banat". The text is in Romanian, but there are Englsih, French and German summaries. Banat is an area in south-western Romania and has a long industrial tradition. Herein lies the true value of the book for most enthusiasts, for as an appendix it includes the complete Resita works list, which for years has been believed lost forever and which has been a constant source of confusion for locomotive historians. One thing is now clear - whilst Resita built 1461 steam locomotives between 1872 and 1964, the works numbers allocated to them were not consecutive and often far higher than the "total" built. It is my understanding that only 200 copies of this book have been printed. "Istoria locomotivelor si a cailor ferate din Banatul Montan" I had the following Email on 26th October 2000 after I reported that the book was available from the author by sending U$30cash. "First of all , I must introduce myself: I am Liviu PERIANU, son of Mr. Dan PERIANU, author of the book mentioned in your page. I read with great interest your page and I had a pleasant surprise seeing the interest shown by you to the steam locomotives, even the ones from (till now) less known areas of Europe. I am investigating also other safe ways of sending money, but I believe this is the fastest (and cheapest), the bank fees associated to a bank account being far greater - but if other solutions are available, please let me know. Please post that information in order to update your page. Also, it is good to mention here that, if the demand for the book is greater than expected, more copies will be printed, so all orders which reach me will sooner or later be met. As author, my father has currently a number of copies available, being able to respond to the expected demands. Cordially yours Dan Perianu can also be contacted at: "Lokomotiven für die Ostfront" by Michael Reimer Whilst the role of the railway in war was the
subject of a copious and largely scientific literature in the nineteenth century, studies
on the relationship between the two in the twentieth have been both infrequent and far
from comprehensive. The reasons for this are not entirely clear to me. It is of course
evident that in part this reflects the decline in the military importance of railways
vis-à-vis that of the motorised vehicle. On the other hand, in both of the major
conflagrations which beset Europe and much of the rest of the world in the twentieth
century, railways did play a major role. As the German engineer, Friedrich Witte, pointed
out in connection with the hasty construction of the class 52 "Kriegslok": Over the years sufficient (but by no means voluminous) material has been published on railways and the First World War, but anyone seeking information on the role of railways in Hitler's war will find it both scanty and patchy. I sincerely hope somebody will contradict me on this, but I know of no serious study or analysis in English of the part railways played in the Second World War. Somewhat surprisingly, given their pariah role in that war, it has been left to the Germans and Austrians to examine the topic and today, 55 years after the cessation of hostilities, a reasonable body of German-language literature exists in magazine articles and book form. We have already favourably reviewed here a recent important German contribution ("Reichsbahn hinter der Ostfront") on the topic and now here comes another excellent one: Michael Reimer's "Lokomotiven für die Ostfront". The similarity of the titles should not deceive, for whilst the subject matter, the role of railways on the German eastern front against the Soviet Union, of both books is the same, their approach is very different. "Reichsbahn hinter der Ostfront" is essentially a photo album supported by a very informative and lucid introductory essay; Reimer's book, on the other hand, is a detailed analysis of the DRB's motive power policy on the eastern front, interspersed with the personal accounts of the some of the men involved in trying to implement it. The text is supported by numerous tables and listings of locomotive transfers, allocations etc; inevitably the picture presented here is representative rather than complete. A great deal of material has been lost or else is still locked away in archives in Eastern Europe. The book is well illustrated, though some of the pictures have been published elsewhere. A word of warning, however, is required. The locomotive historian should be able to glean much from the tables and lists in the book, but for an understanding of the highly detailed and informative text, a reasonable knowledge of German is necessary. This aside, this is a thoroughly rewarding book and comes much recommended. "Lokomotiven für die Ostfront", by Michael Reimer Anyone interested in the role of railways in the Second World War may like
to join the "World War Two Railway Study Group". Membership details from: "Steam and Rail in Indonesia" by Jack Rozendaal After a rather hesitant start, Paul Catchpole's "Steam and Rail in ..." series is now going from strength to strength. The latest country to covered is Indonesia and comes in the form of the memoirs of Dutchman Jack Rozendaal, whose family emigrated to Java in the 1920s and who also returned to work in Indonesia in the 1950s after independence. It should be pointed out that this is a personal memoir and so its approach is anecdotal rather than exhaustive. Anyone looking for, say, detailed lists and allocations of locomotives or dimensions of rolling stock etc will be disappointed. But what Jack Rozendaal does offer, and in an eminently readable manner, is a wealth of background information which, without books such as his, would inevitably pass into oblivion. For this alone, we must be very grateful to him. The book covers a wide range of topics: from steam trams in Jakarta to his own trainspotting days in Solo; the long defunct 1435mm gauge railway on Java; Indonesian Mallets, pacifics and other notable classes; railways on Sumatra; plantation railways, plus a survey of various forms of steam locomotive articulation. All are knowledgably and well discussed, and as someone recently said to me, "This is a fun book." Unfortunately, I'm afraid I have to repeat the criticism made of previous "Locomotives International" books, ie it would have benefitted from more careful proof reading and sub-editing. The lack of the latter has allowed some errors to creep into the text: the demise of main line Indonesian steam is repeatedly given as the late 1970s, whereas it survived until 1983-84; the B51 4-4-0 is described as a "scaled down" Saxon design. Well, it may have been built in Saxony by Hartmann, but it is an undeniably Prussian loco - the KPEV P4. And surely Jack Rozendaal is mistaken to suggest that the Klien-Lindner hollow axle form of articulation "never found favour". On the contrary, large numbers of Klien-Lindner axled locos were built for use around the world; indeed, some are still very much hard at work on Java's sugar cane railways. Again, whilst a successful (and fascinating form of articulation, I do not believe Luttermöller locomotives were so widespread as suggested here. The book is profusely illustrated. In addition to many black & white photos, there is a small colour section. Regrettably, this is somewhat unimaginatively devoted to duo-tone (black & green) photos of plinthed locos at Ambarawa museum; from my own experience, Indonesia was about the most "colourful" country I ever photographed in and an opportunity to exploit colour pages to the full has been wasted. This is, however, all in all an excellent book. The fascinating railways of Indonesia (not for nothing was the place dubbed (by Dusty Durrant?) in the early 1970s as "Incredible Indonesia") have received far too little attention in print form and so Jack Rozendaal's book is particularly welcome, all the more so as it is both articulate and interesting. Highly recommended. "Steam and Rail in Indonesia", by Jack Rozendaal "Far Whistles" by Hiroo Kobayashi, Keisuke Miyaji & Hiroshi Wadi In early 1990 a young Japanese rail enthusiast called Hiroo Kobayashi visited China for the first time. After getting ripped off in Shanghai, he made a crucial discovery: the steam locomotive is one of the most photogenic machines ever created by man. Thereupon he, together with some friends, began to travel the world to photograph the ever diminishing numbers of the beast. The results are to be found in "Far Whistles", a delightful all colour album of approximately 130 photographs. As we have come to expect from Japanese colour albums, this one is beautifully printed and excellently reproduced. This is now the third Japanese book reviewed here and I'm beginning to suspect we might be able to define a Japanese school of railway photography. If so, then "Far Whistles" is an excellent example of it. Inevitably there are some duff shots (but far fewer than in most albums), but these are easily outweighed by the great majority of photos presented here, which are often dramatic. For someone who started to phot steam only in 1990, Mr Kobayashi learned very quickly how to do it very well. It can therefore only be regretted that our enjoyment of many of these outstanding images is spoiled by their being printed across two pages, a problem compounded by the fact that it is almost impossible to open out the book flat. This is a great shame, but really the only criticism to be made of "Far Whistles". There is a little text, some of which has been translated, at times rather eccentrically, into English. Personally, I could have done without the whimsical commentaries accompanying some of the photos: "Fragrance of verdant grass. Scent of flowers. Singing of birds. Murmuring of a stream. The season of joy." etc etc. Dave Spart strikes again. This is an excellent photo album and is highly recommended. "Far Whistles" Prices, including shipping and handling, in Japanese Yen:
(SAL is cheap air mail - surface accelerated....) "Mountain Railways and Locomotives from Old Picture Postcards" Mountain railways, climbing steeply and perched on preciptous ledges have always fascinated and here is a book which succeeds in both capturing and appealing to that fascination. "Mountain Railways and Locomotives" consists of 90 black & white reproductions of postcards of mountain railways and their trains dating from the so-called "Golden Age" of postcards to almost the present day. These come largely from Keith Taylorson's personal collection and, as he himself says in his preface, what is on offer is far from being an exhaustive survey of the mountain railways of the world. Whilst some countries feature more often than others, overall a nice blend has been achieved and one is left with the feeling that this short book provides us with a fairly representative overview of the great variety of mountain railways. Reproduction is of the highest standard; on the few occasions it is lacking then this is due entirely to the original image. Each postcard is accompanied by an informative, extended caption, not only on the individual postcard but also about mountain railways and their operations in general. One or two slips do seem to have crept in here and there (eg the two locos identified as "Kreigsloks" [sic] on p18 are in fact class 33 4-8-0s; Jugoslavia was never part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, only Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia were (p61), but in general Keith Taylorson would seem to have done his homework well. This is particularly true of the two short but lucid essays which precede the main body of the book, one an introduction on mountain railways and the other a survey of the different kinds of rack railways and their development. These are a real strength of the book. "Mountain Railways and Locomotives" is most commendable. It is a book that everyone who has ever thrilled to a mountain railway (even if it is on that little bump in the UK called Snowdon) will enjoy owning. "Mountain Railways and Locomotives from Old Picture Postcards" "Lokomotiven der "Groß"-Deutschen Reichsbahn" Hot on the heels of Beier's & Sternhart's "Deutsche Reichsbahn in Österreich", already reviewed on these pages, comes "Lokomotiven der "Groß"-Deutschen Reichsbahn" by Andreas Knipping & Heribert Schöpfer. The aims of the two books are rather similar - to list the locomotives absorbed into the DRB between 1938 and 1945. Here the similarity ends. Whereas the Slezak book limited itself to Austria, this present volume covers former BBÖ & CSD locos; a further volume listing those renumbered locos which had once belonged to the PKP, LG, SNCB, CFL & JZ is promised. Rather naughtily there is no indication on the book's front that it is only Volume I. The format is also rather different. In addition to a short, wide-ranging introduction and the lists of renumberings, the book provides a brief description of each locomotive type and a photo from the legendary "Deutsches Lokomotivbild-Archiv". If you like pinsharp, perfectly exposed portrait shots (with of course the rods in the right position), then this book is a must. It is a shame that two books on more or less the same topic should appear so close to one another. Both books however have their strengths and both are worthwhile acquisitions. "Lokomotiven der "Groß"-Deutschen Reichsbahn" "Famous Last Lines 2" is a beautifully printed all colour photo album featuring the work of a group of (mostly) Australian photographers who have spent much of the last 30 years travelling the world in the pursuit of steam. It repeats the format of their 1993 book of the same title and consists of a photographic essay and a brief introductory text on five steam-worked lines: the FCDTC in Brazil, the Peterborough division in southern Australia, the Duoro valley in Portugal, Zimbabwe's Bulawayo to Victoria Falls line and Zonguldak in Turkey. This is now the third book to be produced by this collective and inevitably comparisons will be made with their previous work. Unfortunately the book does not quite reach the high standards set by its predecessors. A number of the photos are rather ordinary or poorly executed. Some of the night shots are badly framed and some of the silhouette photos are, frankly, a mess. (The lighting effects on p.101 are described as "surreal" and I wouldn't dispute this, it's just that the foreground is a disaster as a photo.) Moreover, as a non-Australian, I do not understand the appeal of the "elusive beauty of the T class" 4-8-0, but the two pictures printed on pp 33 & 47 have done absolutely nothing to convince me of it. That said, the fact remains that "Famous Last Lines 2" is one of the best photo albums to have been published in a while. There are some stunning shots here, particularly of the TCDD's Skyliners in snow. These people know how to compose a photograph and, unlike most publishers of colour pictures, they also understand colour and how to use it. Despite the reservations noted above, "Famous Last Lines 2" is recommended. A third volume is promised and keenly awaited. "Famous Last Lines 2" Available @ GBP 19.95 from: Sugar & Railroads. A Cuban History, 1837-1959 For very obvious reasons, Cuba is today one of the most popular destinations in the world for steam enthusiasts. Yet, apart from detailed reports on the current steam scene during each Zafra campaign and GAP Leach's admirable listing of the MINAZ locos, there is almost no literature on the railways of Cuba. Anyone interested in the main line railways of the island or even in the history of the sugar mill railways will have to look hard and far for even the briefest account. Cuba's railways, however, have a worthy and fascinating history. Cuba was the 7th country in the world to have steam locomotive-worked railways, its first line opening in November 1837, and so rapid was railway construction that by the late 1860s Cuba had the highest number of kilometres of track per inhabitant (0-749km of track per 1,000 inhabitants) in the entire world. As always, such statistics are highly deceptive. Railways were built primarily to serve the needs of the sugar industry, the island's major and virtually sole source of income, and consisted almost entirely of short lines from the sugar growing areas inland to the nearest exporting port. Thus subordinated to the sugar industry, the development of railways on Cuba was skewed. Throughout the nineteenth century, there was no railway system or network serving the needs of Cubans, just a series of all too often unconnected short lines. It wasn't until the early twentieth century that the important east-west Transversal Railway, linking Havana and Santiago de Cuba, was finally constructed. In most other countries, a railway between the two most important population and commercial centres was usually one of the first to be built. But by then it was all rather late. Cuba's railways prospered in the wake of the phenomenal post-WW1 boom in the sugar industry (which explains why so many of the locos still at work in Cuba date from around 1920), but thereafter the story is one of decline. The ramshackle and time-warped infrastructure characteristic of much of Cuba's railways might delight railway enthusiasts, but probably few other people. "Sugar & Railroads" admirably tells the story of the development of Cuba's railways and their almost total dependence on the sugar industry. This is very much an academic history, at times not an easy read, but well worth persevering with. It very much concentrates on railway company history and the socio-economic background of railway development. Students of locomotive history will find almost nothing of interest here. The book, which curiously features the wheels of a very grimy British 4-6-0 on its front cover, was originally published in Cuba in 1987. It is for the most part an objective history, largely free of a Marxist gloss and jargon. (To be honest, after two decades of being bombarded by the cant and cliches of neo.liberalism, it was a real pleasure to read again the phraseology of my youth!) The winner of a number of academic prizes, "Sugar & Railroads" has now been (well) translated into English. So, if between the master shot and the mochitas, you've ever wondered about the rest of the railways in Cuba or even who were all those people the mills are named after, then this is the book for you. "Sugar & Railroads. A Cuban History, 1837-1959" |
Rob Dickinson
Email: webmaster@internationalsteam.co.uk