Steam Locomotives - USA: Books - History and Types (1/2)

American Steam Locomotives - Design and Development, 1880-1960

For nearly half of the nation's history, the steam locomotive was the outstanding symbol for progress and power. It was the literal engine of the Industrial Revolution, and it played an instrumental role in putting the United States on the world stage.
While the steam locomotive's basic principle of operation is simple, designers and engineers honed these concepts into 100-mph passenger trains and 600-ton behemoths capable of hauling mile-long freight at incredible speeds.

"American Steam Locomotives" is a thorough and engaging history of the invention that captured public imagination like no other, and the people who brought it to life.

The Search For Steam

Contains a collection of superb photographs from the greatest rail photographers, with names like C.E. Prusia, Charles Kerrigan, Richard Wallin, Russ Porter, Richard Kindig and Rover J. Foster.

From freight to passenger action to rail facilitates, this book has it all. Lines depicted include Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, New York Central, Baltimore & Ohio, Wabash, Milwaukee Road, Pennsy, Chicago & North Western and many more.

The Majesty of Big Steam

In the United States, the final decades of steam power were characterized by very large and capable locomotives. Beginning in the 1920s with Alco's three-cylinder types and Lima's "Super Power" concept, steam locomotive design crossed new thresholds of power and efficiency.

A host of new wheel arrangements combined with innovative technology and new materials to create a final generation of refinement. Lima's Berkshire of 1925 demonstrated the value of the four-wheel radial trailing truck in its ability to support a firebox large enough to supply high power and fast running. Within a few years the 2-10-4 Texas, 4-6-4 Hudson, and 4-8-4 Northern had led the way, and by the late 1920s, large modern articulated types were taking shape.

"The Majesty of Big Steam" is full of these late-era locomotives, the last generation of steam power before the diesels took over. Dramatic photos show Berkshires, Hudsons, and Northerns at work, as well as massive articulateds at their finest. Witness New York Central's Great Steel Fleet being whisked along behind some of the most refined American-designed engines.

See Southern Pacific's cab-forward oil burners crest the California Sierra, and Baltimore & Ohio's EM-1 war babies lift tonnage over the Appalachian mountains. Norfolk & Western continued to refine 4-8-4s and articulated types, even as the rest of America was buying diesels, and ran these well-oiled machines longer than any other line. Don't miss a single one!

The Railroad Photography of Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg

Bon vivant, railroad historian, photographer, pioneering food critic, chronicler of New York's cafe society, and noted newspaperman, Lucius Beebe (1902-1966) was an American original. In 1938, with the publication of High Iron: A Book of Trains, he transformed the world of railroad-subject photography forever by inventing the railroad picture book genre.
In 1940, he met creative and life partner Charles Clegg (1916-1979), also a talented photographer.

Beebe and Clegg produced an outstanding and diverse portfolio of mid-twentieth century railroad-subject photographs. Beebe, sometimes with Clegg, also authored about forty books, including many focused on railroads and railroading. This book brings their incredible story and best photographic work together.

Providing an extensive biographic introduction to Beebe and Clegg, author Tony Reevy presents a multi-faceted view of the railroad industry that will appeal to rail enthusiasts. "The Railroad Photography of Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg" is an indispensable history to the work of two men who forever changed the way we see and experience American railroads.

Perfecting the American Steam Locomotive

Documents the role played by mechanical engineers in the development of locomotive design. The steam engine and the mechanical engineering profession both grew directly out of the Industrial Revolution's need for sources of power beyond that of men and animals.
Invented in England when coal mining was being developed, the practical steam engine eventually found numerous applications in transportation, especially in railroad technology.

J. Parker Lamb traces the evolution of the steam engine from the early 1700s through the early 1800s, when the first locomotives were sent to the United States from England. Lamb then shifts the scene to the development of the American steam locomotive, first by numerous small builders, and later, by the early 20th century, by only three major enterprises and a handful of railroad company shops.
Lamb reviews the steady progress of steam locomotive technology through its pinnacle during the 1930s, then discusses the reasons for its subsequent decline.