plete; paperwork, once it was no longer current, tended to be rapidly discarded as “old junk.” Fortunately, much of the “old junk” that survived has been painstakingly gathered by Hinman into his personal collection, and its reproduc- tion in the book adds much texture to his account of the “bare bones” historical data. The first part of the book, then, is a serous scholarly historical study. It is the second (and larger) part of
the book that is more likely to raise the pulse rate of model railroaders, howev- er, as it chronicles all the cars built, owned, and operated by Merchants Despatch from the 1870’s through the end of the twentieth century. In this section of the book, the text is lavishly supplemented by photos (many of them previously unpublished), chronological tables, and drawings, with emphasis on the MDT refrigerator car fleet of the mid-twentieth century. Especially no- table are the precise scale drawings penned by Hinman himself. Rebuilding, renumbering, assign-
ments to private shippers and to rail- roads both within and outside the New York Central System, changes in paint- ing and lettering practices, and sales of cars to other owners are extensively documented and illustrated. Express refrigerator cars, milk cars, and dry ice cars are covered, as well as both ice- cooled and mechanically refrigerated freight reefers. There are even chapters on MDT’s late twentieth century trailer and container flat cars and multi-level auto rack cars. Modelers will find an- swers to almost any questions they might have about MDT’s cars and how they were employed. The book itself lives up to the high standard of quality for which Signature
Press is well known. It is a handsome, hardcover volume printed on coated pa- per, which provides excellent photo re- production. There is a detailed index as well as an extensive bibliography. Es- pecially for those with an interest in the New York Central System or in perishable shipments by rail, it is an invaluable resource, and it will be cit- ed for years to come as the definitive authority on Merchants Despatch.– RICHARD HENDRICKSON
Steam, An En- during Leg- acy. The Rail- road Photo- graphs of Joel Jensen, with essays by John Gruber and
Scott Lothes, pub-
lished by W.W. Norton & Company, 505 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10110. Hardcover, 160 12″×11″ pages. $50.00. ISBN 978-0-393-08248-7. Steam, An Enduring Legacy is a beautiful book, that not only presents the enduring legacy of steam, but also the enduring attraction and beauty of interpretative, high quality black and white photography. It does both ex- tremely well. It also features an intro- duction by Scott Lothes, an essay by John Gruber, and an afterword by Jeff Brouws. Black and white photography has
been the main means of documenting the steam era of America’s railroads. Is black and white the most effective medi- um for steam railroad photography? Or, is it the medium we are most used to? I think color photography and black and
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