Books

I've said it before and it's still true -- To be a narrow gauge model railroader often times is synonymous with being an out-of-print book collector.  How many narrow gaugers have shelves of books from such authors as Mallory Hope Ferrell?

Well I'm no exception to this.  Most of the out-of-print books, however, are pricey, going for $100-200+ on sites like ebay.  It's begun to become a challenge for me to collect these books, but at prices much lower.  I've also picked up some "still being published" books lately as well.

Anyways, here's what's on my shelf for last month and this month:

Sonora Narrow Gauge by Duane Ericson

The sub-title sums up a lot:  "Railroads, Mines, Trams, & Scams South of the Border".  Sonora is a mexican state in the north western part of the country.  It borders the Gulf of California to the west and Arizona to the north.  The book is a big chunk of history, not always about railroads, that ran through this state.

Rails Across Martha's Vineyard by Herman Page


I had never heard of Herman Page before, but ever since I saw that famous picture of the railroad on Nantucket (to the right), I've had a fascination with the railroads that ran on the islands off the coast of Massachusetts.  There's just something really nice about an Atlantic seaside railroad set against the backdrop of colonial buildings and quaint harbors.  Rails Across Martha's Vineyard is a rather short book; at least the part about the steam railroad (the other half of the book is about the trolley line).  The MVRR still has quite a few mysteries about it -- there aren't any pictures of water towers or coal bunkers which makes people wonder how the engines were watered and fed.  Interesting book and quite affordable at $17.

Slow Trains Down South (Daily 'Cept on Sunday) by Mallory Hope Ferrell


The newest book to my collection, I was already acquainted with the "Tweetsie" (East Tennessee & West North Carolina), which gave me some southern flair to railroading, but honestly I didn't know much about this book when I bought it.  It was a good price, a lot of people recommended it, and it was by Ferrell so I figured it had to be worth a shot.  It's the newest arrival so I've only had time to thumb through the pictures so far, but it appears to be quite exhaustive in briefly covering every railroad in the south I might have been interested in.  I was particularly pleased to see such notables as Mann's Creek and Argent Lumber ("last of the swamp rats") were featured in it.  I'll definitely be spending some more time reading this book.