the many snow sheds and long tunnels in those mountains. Within the year, the Southern Pacific shops got to work, turning the engine end-for-end, build- ing a new drawbar between the tender and what used to be the pilot, and re- working the water and oil lines. The first cab-forward made its debut in 1910 and would be followed by 253 sib- lings built by Baldwin between 1910 and 1944.
I gleaned this information from the
author’s introduction, but this book is much more than a history of a unique breed of locomotive. That’s because the author was born and raised in Ro- seville and was fortunate to witness and photograph the cab-forwards in revenue service. The author shares personal recollections, illustrated with more than 200 photos in a mix of color, and black and white. The author took many of these pictures, while others
were shot by family members–includ- ing some who worked for the railroad. Still others are from the lenses of friends with whom the author went railfanning, while the balance is filled out by images from the author’s collec- tion.
The book’s chapters cover the early development of the cab-forwards, first generation examples, and modern cab- forwards. A chapter highlights acces- sories, special features and experi- ments,
which not only makes for
interesting reading, but also provides great information for SP modelers looking to detail a cab-forward model. The photos are very well reproduced, despite their age and the fact that many of them were taken on ASA 10 film–state of the art in its time. Im- ages tend to be presented one to a page, so there’s plenty of detail to en- joy. What’s more, the author tells the
stories behind many of the images, which adds to one’s appreciation of the scenes. These are not dead images printed on the page for dispassionate scrutiny: they are memories, preserved and shared for us to enjoy. Reading this book–enjoying its im-
ages and stories–I was reminded of my own fascination for models of these locomotives back when I was still a neophyte in the hobby. If this book had been available back when I was an im- pressionable youngster, I might today have a layout room full of “back-up malleys” struggling to lift reefer blocks over Donner Pass. I know many other modelers who, like me, were drawn to these unusual beasts. For them, as well as for those who delight in the unusual and those who enjoy a tale well told, this book is a great addition to one’s library.– TREVOR MARSHALL
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
31
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