BOOK REVIEW


The Electric Pullman By Lawrence A. Brough. Published by Indiana University Press, Dept. RF, 601 N. Morton St., Bloomington, IN 47404; http://iupress.indiana. edu; 800/842-6796; e-mail iuporder@indiana. edu. Hardcover, 136 7″×10″ pages, 112 b&w images; $30.00 plus shipping; e-book, $24.99. The Niles Car & Man- ufacturing Co., Niles,


of Ohio, was a


short-lived builder of interurban cars so sol- id and luxurious they earned the nickname “Electric


which they even used in company advertis- ing (apparently before trademark infringe-


ment had been invented). The first cars were built in 1902 and Niles folded after 15 years of carbuilding in which the company’s pro- duction showed a cyclical profile of feast and famine. A late effort to convert production to motor trucks failed, and Niles did no defense- related work in the run-up to World War I. Brough begins with a discussion of the company’s founders and a description of its well-designed, integrated plant. Materials were handled only once as rough lumber went into drying kilns and from there into the mill, where it was made into finished lumber that went to the erecting shop where the carbodies were built. Finally, a transfer table moved the completed, but unpainted, cars into the paint shop. Best known for its fast, graceful double-


truck interurbans, Niles also built single- truck city cars as well as work motors, box express motors, open cars, and trailers, as well as a very few “steam road” coaches and combines. While the majority of Niles cars were built of wood, the company boasted that they were built to steam railroad standards in contrast to the products of other builders, who may have transitioned to building rail- road equipment from making wagons or horsecars. Niles cars rode like, well, Pull- mans, but their weight worked against them as financially-stressed traction lines realized how much power they consumed compared to newer, lighter steel cars. As a result, Niles gradually transitioned to steel construction. The last car out of the Niles shop was inar- guably its most unique. Built in 1917, Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis gas-elec- tric No. 699 was designed by Ralph Beach of the Federal Storage Battery Car Co. and fit- ted with propulsion equipment by the Elec- tric Car & Locomotive Co. The book includes a good builder photo of the steel-bodied Jim Crow car with its baggage section and center entrance, which provided access to a mid-car compartment for “colored” passengers and a more commodious section at the rear for whites. A second photo a few pages later is captioned “A large steel interurban . . . under construction,” but the door, window, and truss rod arrangement strongly suggest that it’s NC&St.L 699.


Accompanying the text is a fine collection of b&w photos which documents many cars built for traction lines across the country as well as Canada and Cuba. Three methods of shipping cars are shown: delivery on their own wheels to local traction lines via the Ma- honing Valley Railway, delivery on their own wheels via steam roads, and shipment on


Pullmans,”


flatcars with, or without, trucks. The author makes some interesting ob- servations, among them that Niles had a small drafting department and so probably did not design most of the cars it built. He al- so refutes some who claim that Niles Car built sugar refining equipment, making a case that the company has been confused with the Niles Tool Works of Cincinnati. The book also contains an all-time roster of Niles-built cars along with a list and photos of the 20-some cars known to remain today. With its well-organized, thorough, and in- teresting text and wide-ranging selection of rare photos, this book will appeal to any fan of vintage traction. It’s a worthy companion to the IUPress books on Brill and Jewett, the latter of which was co-authored by Brough with James H. Graebner. — WALT LANKENAU


VIDEO REVIEW


The Cumbres &Toltec Scenic Railroad from Trackside Narrow Gauge Preservation Foundation; Hayden Consulting, 7 South Hijo de Dios, Santa Fe, NM 87508-9133; www.bobhayden. com. DVD only, widescreen. 25:30 minutes video, 12:30 minutes stills. $19.95 plus $6.00 shipping in U.S., shipping to Canada and Mexico $23.00, overseas $27.00. NM residents add sales tax


This DVD on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic is well priced, and some of the pro- ceeds will go to the Narrow Gauge Pres- ervation Foundation (www.ngpf.org) which has prepared an ex- hibit in Chama to ed- ucate the public and gives grants to vari-


ous projects. It is a potpourri of runbys of regular passenger trains, special charter runs, and freight specials running over the length of the railroad in both directions, combined into a pleasant video program. It was shot by noted photographer Susumu Furukawa (who has published books on both the C&TS and Durango & Silverton), who also provides 12 minutes of aerial stills of trains on the line in 2006 fall Aspen color. Subtitles with no narration identify the many runbys with one, two, or three locomo- tives per train, shot mostly in the fall in a variety of scenic locations over many trips. Recently restored 2-8-0 No. 315 from Duran- go pulls a freight, which is shown in six run- bys. Shots of one train are intermixed with those of others, so the imagery varies quite a bit from passenger to freight and back again. Some of the aerial stills appear over- exposed, but the vantage point cannot be beat for yet another way to appreciate this twisting, looping railroad and its geologic and topographic features. Hardcore railfans who want to see one particular trip or more continuity with nar- ration might be hungry for more. The im- agery is technically quite good, but more than once, as the engine just about fills the frame, we cut to another scene. While not every runby is a full-bore, wide-open ex- haust situation most of the action is spirited and noisy. This is a nice sampler and definite souvenir program for casual riders, and many aspects will be of interest to serious railfans. — TOM KELCEC


Yard Goat Images Hi-Def Steam DVDs


Big Steam on the Mainline


NKP 765 on the Norfolk Southern


UP 844 – 150 Years of Steam


Iowa Interstate QJ 6988 95 minutes—$24.95 + shipping


www.yardgoatimages.com


Or call 612-623-0167 Write for free brochure/order form 112 3rd AV NE, Minneapolis MN 55413


Still available through the Erie Lackawanna Historical Society


The Merchant’s Engines by Jerry Segrue


The history of the Lackawanna Railroad’s Pacific Steam engines with a concentration on the famous “Streamstyled Pacifics”. This 60 page softbound book includes over 50 photographs and separate scale drawings of each of the four streamstyled engines. Also covered is the construction of the DL&W’s several classes of 4-6-2s and their unorthodox numbering. Member price


$2100 plus $8.95 s&h


Non-member price $2495


Erie USRA Heavy Pacifics


by D.G. Biernaki


This 80 page book provides comprehensive coverage of these fascinating locomotives


Member price Non-member price


$1500 plus $8.95 s&h $1800 (Please allow 4-6 weeks delivery)


www.erielackhs.org Dealer Inquiries Welcome


Order from: ELHS, Department RF Jay Held, 10-10 ELLIS AVE, FAIR LAWN, N.J. 07410 No phone calls will be accepted For information send SASE


N.J., PA & Ohio res. add sales tax. Outside US extra s&h.


ELHS membership at $35 per membership cycle. Cycle includes four issues of our magazine “The Diamond” and four newsletters with modeling


information. Separate check please. Send to: ELHS c/o Randy Dettmer, 290 W. Prospect St., Hudson, OH 44236


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