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lying city into an hour’s commute. Various ideological arguments for and against high speed rail are also summarized, and he says that in Barcelona, international air travel doubled as high speed rail made it easier to get to the airport from farther away than it had been. And what discussion of high speed rail would be complete without an overview of Japan’s Shinkansen, the world’s first HSR system, as well as the challenges facing our proposed line in California? Sometimes Zoellner’s facts are a little off.


Mapping North America It was in the late 1980s that Mike Walker


His Northeast Regional train from New York to Washington was unlikely to have been pulled by a “General Electric locomo- tive,” much less one that “weighed thirteen short tons,” although an AEM-7 might pos- sess about “the . . . horsepower of a dozen Cadillacs,” and his Southwest Chief probably had GE P42DC’s rather than P40s. Even though he’s American, he likes to call rail- road cars “carriages,” which would be correct in most places around the world where much of the book takes place, so I guess we can give him that. And while the indicia credits a “Steve Goldman” for the song City of New Orleans, the text gets it right. Zoell- ner also asserts that “Amtrak is enjoying some of its most profitable years” and that BNSF Railway is made up of “remnants of the Santa Fe, the CB&Q, the Great North- ern, and dozens of smaller lines that went bankrupt . . .” These inaccuracies can possibly be forgiv-


and the late Ian Andrews were chasing Nor- folk & Western Class A No. 1218 in the Blue Ridge Mountains. An early start and an old copy of a Rand McNally map saw them line- side eagerly awaiting the spectacle of the 2-6-6-4 rounding the bend on an uphill grade. “But wait,” Mike thought, “This isn't right. I think that we are in the wrong place.” They piled in the hired car and found a new vantage space. They were glad that they had trusted their instincts, as they got a fantas- tic shot and then chased the train up and down the winding roads getting many more shots during the day. When they got back to their motel and


Amtrak’s mileage. If the freight railroads shrink, so does Amtrak in all likelihood. That’s why passenger train advocates need to maintain an interest in these develop- ments. Our December 2010 column reported on a


talked with other fans they discovered that several had done as they had —arrived line- side and waited, but they had waited and waited some more only to discover they were in the wrong place. That left them playing catch up trying to get ahead of the steam gi- ant. Mike said he would love to draw a new map of the area. Ian replied, “You draw it and I will publish it.” Hence Mike started his monster task. Mike wanted to make an atlas that


en for the vigor and clarity with which he paints the reasons for the rails’ competitive disadvantage here in the U.S. after World War II. He places the blame squarely and fairly on the Federal Government’s con-


SWITCH LIST


CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: 78 cents per word, minimum order $9.36. Count all initials, abbreviations (COD, SASE, PO, 8mm, 5 x 7, it's, etc.), numbers and address components as one word. Fourth consecutive insertion of same ad free upon request. Classified ads are payable in advance, and payment in U.S. funds must accompany ad copy. For payments drawn on Canadian bank accounts please add $5.00 service charge. No service charge for Credit Card payment in U.S. funds. Ads will be placed in category deemed most appropriate; requested categories will be considered. Ads using a PO Box number must supply a street address for our records. Classified ads are noncommissionable. CLOSING DATE: 10th of month three months preceding date of issue, i.e. Feb. 10 for May issue. Send all classified ads to: RAILFAN & RAILROAD, CLASSIFIED AD DEPT., 108 Phil Hardin Rd., Newton, NJ 07860-0700. Ads sent to other departments may be delayed or lost. All ads are subject to the approval of the publisher. Ads are set in standard 6 point type with first word capitalized. Large type bold face classified ads are available at $1.83 per word, minimum $21.96.


BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS


FOR SALE: Detailed Amtrak route book. All stops, “in-be- tween” towns, decimalized mileages listed. $20.00 post paid. Merlin Marlowe, 68680 470th St., Fairfax, MN 55332 711


ENTERTAINMENT


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1011 EVENTS


SECOND ANNUAL BIG TEXAS TRAIN SHOW, Houston, Texas, Oct. 8-9, George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida de las Americas. Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information: www.bigtexastrain- show.com, email info@houstonrrmuseum.org or telephone 832-675-1905.


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CALL TO ACTION! Thousands of railcars including both new and historic fallen flags have been vandalized with graffiti over the past decade. Help stop this crime! Report any suspicious trespassing/vandalizing to the railroad or local police. NS 800- 453-2530, CSX 800-232-0144, UP 888-877-7267, BNSF 800- 832-5452, CN 800-465-9239, CP 800-716-9132, KCS 877- 527-9464.


1007SB LODGING


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RAILROAD PHOTOS & SLIDES


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RAILROAD PHOTO CD’s: ATSF, RI, MKT, Frisco, B&O, Pennsylvania, Reading, CNJ, FS&W,KCS, T&P, MP, WM, LV, LNE, others. Steam to diesel black and white and color pho- tos in jpg format. Vintage Rail Photos, 1313 West Britton Rd., Oklahoma City, OK 73114 or vintagerailpics.com.


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showed current, abandoned and extant lines but also to show ownership — this was the time of merger mania. But the atlas had to be really useful in the field. He knew the railway historian would find it invaluable but the average fan, in a new area, must al- so be able to quickly find the most likely spots to get a good view for an exciting day of railfanning. Mike started the laborious job of researching, decided that eight inches


coal hauling 121-mile railroad in Montana (the Tongue River Railroad Company) whose construction had been challenged by environmental groups and NIMBY allies. We are happy to report that here in Wash- ington, the Surface Transportation Board (STB) has decreed that the opposition had failed to show why the $550 million rail line needed further review. The TGRR would make it easier to transport coal from the Powder River Basin (in Montana and Wyoming) to the West Coast by way of a new connection to a BNSF line in Miles City. At the same time, federal regulators and environmentalists have agreed to a plan that would force coal-fired plants across the country to install costly pollution control equipment. A nationwide implementation of the plan could cost up to $1.5 billion a year, according to the EPA.


But There Is a Bright Side The railroad/coal alliance is doing quite well at the port of Baltimore. The Baltimore Sun reports that a surge of coal exports from that location has turned the Chesapeake Bay in- to “a maritime parking lot,” so much so that ships are backed up to the Bay Bridge await- ing the signal to gain a berth at one of the city’s two coal terminals. One of those terminals is the CSX facility


at Curtis Bay, the other being the CNX (CONSOLE) Marine Terminal at Southeast


struction of the Interstate Highway system and government-sponsored improvements in passenger air travel. Zoellner lays out the facts of this issue and others in language that anyone can comprehend. This volume is graced with not a single photograph or map, and some readers may want to consult an unabridged dictionary in order to fully appreciate Zoellner’s chthonic machines, golems of gears, unhealthy demi- monds, and eldrich scenes. But while you’re busy expanding your vocabulary, you’ll dis- cover that this unapologetically pro-rail book is a very good read in spite of its occa- sional factual lapses. — WALT LANKENAU


NEW PUBLICATIONS


to the mile would be the most practical scale; this meant that the United State would have to be broken down into sections. The Northeast, being the most populated both by people and railroads, was the obvious place to start. Each map was drawn by hand at double the size it would appear in the atlas. Every town name was hand written, and it took months of endeavor to get the first atlas ready for print. Once published it was an immediate suc-


Remembering the Pennsylvania Railroad by Kenneth C. Springirth has been released by Fonthill Media LLC. This 128-page soft- bound volume covers various aspects of the PRR in the Philadelphia area, around Erie, Penn., and in Chicago from the late steam era to the present day. It’s organized into three chapters on freight and passenger service and present-day operators of PRR trackage and contains a good variety of b&w and color photographs, many taken by the author and supplemented by old postcards, publicity shots and builder photos, and the work of many other photographers includ- ing excellent color action views of steam and diesel by William Price and Richard R. Wallin. Of particular note is coverage of PRR’s Army-Navy football specials in the early 1960s with service where even the low- ly MP54 m.u. cars were as spotless as the E units and GG1s that pulled the many con-


cess, but it lacked an index; without one it was difficult to search out isolated locations. A separate index was later published. Mike then started on California and Nevada. the maps were still drawn by hand, but this time an index was incorporated right from the start. Again, the atlas proved very popular. By now Mike was improving his research methods and making more contacts,not only in the States but with British fans to help him with research. Such help proved invalu- able, as the aim was to make the most com- plete and accurate atlas possible within the restraints of practicality. Without the help of interested fans, the work would have been even more difficult. It was not long before the Northeast atlas sold out and a complete- ly redrawn second edition appeared. In total there have been four editions of this region. Gradually the whole United States was


covered and as editions sold out, updated versions were introduced with more detail and new ownerships. By now the process was computerized, which made additions and revisions much easier. By adding a sec- ond color, blue for water, rivers and coast- lines were instantly separated and, despite the extra details, the maps were easier to


RAILROAD VIDEOS


New England Railroad Videos: Videos for Railfans by Railfans since 1987 now on DVD. Send for free catalog or visit us on the web. Rail Graphics, 11 Harris Street, Nashua, NH 03060 or on the internet at: www.mv.com/ipusers/trains


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www.southeastlowcountryrailvideo.com Affordable videos of CSX and NS in the south.


RAILROADIANA


FOR SALE: Collection of railroad artifacts. Includes badge plates, lanterns, switch stands, small hardware. 40 items. $9,000.00 or best offer. Call 574-291-1295


1111 REAL ESTATE


FOR SALE: LIVE STEAM RAILROAD (4 3/4” and 7 1/2” gauge), machine shop, and two bedroom house for sale in central Texas. Visit www.raneyrealestate.net (click on “Fea- tured Listings”, click on “Outdoor Railroad and Residence”). Anna Lou Raney, 254-913-1215


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CONNECTICUT COMPANY’S STREETCARS


Frederick A. Kramer with Ed Wadhams 1209


Years have passed since yellow Connecticut Company trolleys criss-crossed the State of Connecticut with its ros- ter of unusual wooden cars and assorted double truck open cars made famous for their trips to Yale football games packed with riders. Ownership in the Connecticut system lay in the New Haven Railroad. When the New Haven went bankrupt the trolley operation fell on hard times. Today the Connecticut Company remains alive on the Branford Electric Railway Museum as well as at the operating trolley museums at Warehouse Point and Ken- nebunkport.Now a comprehensive book on the Connecti- cut Company’s Streetcars has been written by Frederick Kramer, with Ed Wadhams. In addition to a brief history, there are over 150 photos, maps and illustrations of the renowned system.


DELUXE HARDBOUND (C00083)....$26.95 PAPER BOUND (C00082)....$21.95


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Baltimore which is served by Norfolk South- ern, as well as CSX. Workers —under tight security — facilitate the very exacting process of shifting the train shipments, mix- ing the product derived from many different mining sources to “create the desired blend” of fuels, and then loading it onto the huge ships for overseas destinations such as In- dia, China, and Japan. CSX trains come in via the Howard Street Tunnel, while Nor- folk Southern shipments arrive at night from Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. As has been widely noted, the United


States is “the Saudi Arabia of coal.” Ameri- ca’s railroads are making the most of it.


Rail vs. Shippers —A Warning The Surface Transportation Board has been warned that jobs and infrastructure spend- ing would be scaled back if the board accedes to the wishes of its shipper customers for stricter regulations on the rates the carriers charge. The industry has “grave concerns” that proposed regulation changes would cut into the industry’s profits and discourage in- vestors, cautioned CSX CEO Michael Ward. UP CEO James Young added that he’s heard concerns from investors, and added shareholders are very aware of the implica- tions involved. Mike Haverty of KCS noted shippers have


access to other forms of transportation, as Ed Hamberger of the Association of Ameri- can Railroads argued U.S. freight rail is the envy of the world — the implication being that moves such as this could compromise that reputation.


Wes Vernon is a Washington-based writer and veteran broadcast journalist.


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