Dangerous Rails: Murder on the Railways (Haining, 1996)

  Peter Haining. Murder On The Railways. (1996) An anthology in four themed parts, making a fat book that’s ergonomically awkward. The contents make the bother worthwhile. Haining provides a potted publishing bio for each author, including references to film and video adaptations. Very useful.
     The selections are all very good or better. Railways from the beginning were a romantic as well as a convenient way to travel. A long-distance sleeper train provides a closed setting, a limited cast of suspects, and a limited time to solve the crime. Just right for a detective story.
Trains are also targets for crime. The largest heist ever was a train robbery in the UK in 1963. The thieves took £2.61 million, about £45 million ($77 million) in today’s money.
     Section one deals with crime on the express trains. Section two introduces railway detectives. Section three shows that crime on subways forms a subgenre. The last section extends suburban, mostly domestic, crime to the commuter trains. All in all, a good spread of goodies
     Recommended. *** to ****

Murder on The Basle Express (Coles, 1956)

Manning Coles. The Basle Express (1956) A cloak and dagger spy thriller, very much of its time. Characters, setting, plot, ambience etc are just interesting enough to keep you reading, mostly to find out how the writer will get his hero out of the scrapes prepared for him. No romantic interest, though; that was added a few years later to the James Bond stories. But like them, essentially an adventure romance aimed at male adolescents of all ages.
    The McGuffin is a set of missile plans, the hero is Thomas Elphinstone Hambledon (“British Intelligence Service”) travelling on the “Anglo-Swiss” express to Basle and then on to Innsbruck for a hiking holiday. Unfortunately, his sleeping compartment co-passenger, Edouard Bastien, is murdered.
    So we get anicely devised story of disguises, just barely believable escapes, cross-purposes, and a final reveal that ties up a poorly clued loose end. Never mind, the book would make a neat little B movie. As written, it’s already about 70% film script. An easy read. Mildly funny, Coles tries hard to lighten the style. There is no "romantic interest", which suggests the book was aimed at schoolboys. I found my copy at a yard sale with no dust cover, and the illustration online, It’s part of my collection of railway set or themed fiction. Coles wrote a series of Hambledon tales. I won’t be searching for other titles though.  **

Dull train ride: Compartment K (Reilly)

Helen Reilly. Compartment K (1955) Three murders, one in New York, one on a Canadian train, and one at a lodge in the Rockies, are tied together by one man’s desperate need for money to satisfy his greedy wife. A complicated plot, characters that are approximately 1.5 D, a style laden with ascriptive adjectives, told through the focus on a young woman who almost loses the man she truly loves. What kept me reading was the puzzle, which I partly solved not because of the clues but because of the vague impressions of the character who done it. The denouement relies heavily on facts which were at best hinted at but not fully disclosed until explained by the redoubtable Inspector McKee, who spent most his time at the other end of a phone line.
     I had tried to read this book several times in the past. I decided I’d better read it all the way through this time. I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I can claim some kind of success in getting through it. On the other hand, one can hardly claim credit for enduring self-chosen tedium.
     I bought the book second-hand because the first third or so is set on a train. One doesn’t get much of a sense of a train ride, though, mostly because Reilly doesn’t (or can’t) describe anything other than the passengers' clothes, which she details with a fashion-reporter’s eye. The cover misleads: the Canadian train was hauled by diesels, not steam; North American trains don’t have buffers; and the blurb is too complimentary. That it’s from a New Yorker book note is an even greater puzzle than the one McKee solves. Not recommended, except perhaps as a curiosity. *

The Christmas Train ( a re-read)

David Baldacci. The Christmas Train (2002)  I re-read this book (previously reviewed) because we had watched the Hallmark Movies adaptation. The book is both better and worse than the movie. Better in its depiction of railroading (albeit with a healthy dose of AMTRAK public relations stuff tossed in), and its handling of the storm-caused entrapment of the train.
     Worse in its characterisation. Actors can fill in the gaps in a thin script, and hint at depths that in writing must be done with throwaway lines and trifling details. There is none of that here. Tom Langdon is 2D. Everyone else is 1.5D, even Eleanor Carter, his long lost and ever after pined for love. Like Dickens, Baldacci uses defining quirks to set up his characters, but unlike Dickens, he doesn’t give us the incidental details that make these characters real enough to serve the illusion.
     The writing is often indifferently general and abstract. Baldacci is one of those writers who believes that Latinate words (like “inclemency” for “storm”) elevate the style. And he is incapable of riffing on cliches to make them not only fresh but apt.
     I kept on reading mostly because I wanted to see how the movie and book compared. The movie omits a few incidents, and cranks up the sentimentality (easily done with visuals, after all). The book could have been much better with more ruthless editing. Baldacci’s story is a typical love-romance, and the tropes of the genre must be respected. But a lot of the time it reads more like a travelogue than a novel. His attempts at ironic witticism fall flat.
     The plot hinges on Tom’s understanding that his past life was a refusal to accept reality, and Eleanor’s willingness to take him back. That requires more complex and subtle dialogue than Baldacci gave himself room for. The acknowledgements suggest that the book was “project” proposed to him, perhaps by AMTRAK. It doesn’t feel like a story he felt compelled to tell.
     Schlock, barely OK as a beach or airplane read. *

GMD-1 locomotives in southern Saskatchewan

R. W. Zimmerman & Blake Kiviharju. Prairie Branches (1980) A compilation of photos, some maps, and time-tables, with a few paragraphs of comment here and there. Self-published in the days before it became easy, printed before digital scanning and printing raised the quality of photo-reproduction, this pamphlet is a record of CNR branchlines in Saskatchewan. These radiated from Regina, and represent Canadian Northern and Grand Trunk Pacific attempts to compete with the CPR. Most of these lines have been abandoned in the 40 years since publication.
     The locomotive of choice for these lightly built and travelled lines was the GMD-1, which was essentially a stretched SW1200 locomotive with a low short hood added at one end. Built for the CNR and Northern Alberta Railway, it’s a surprisingly elegant design. Like the GP7/9 it looks like what it is: a locomotive made to do serious work. They lasted a long time, too, with a dozen or two still in service as of 2019, most on the CNR and in Cuba, one owned by Cando, and one on the Oregon Pacific.
  A valuable little book. It would be nice to republish it with modern technology, in a larger format, with larger photos. **½

CNR picture book

     Keith MacKenzie, ed. The History of the Canadian National (1988) In the 1970s and 80s, printing technology improved and became cheaper. Hence a plethora of large picture books appeared, on all kinds of subjects. This is one such. The printing is excellent throughout. Pictures are generally large, clear, and nicely tweaked to improve shadows and highlights. The book is worth a look or two for this reason alone. The text is a mashup of adaptations of some primary and many secondary sources. We get a clear narrative, with very few hints of the skulduggery, political shenanigans, and outright fraud that make the history of railways such a fascinating human story.
     The impetus for the creation of the CNR was a mix of motives. Of course, a politically expedient desire to preserve competition withe the CPR played a role, and the transport demands of the first World War provided the excuse for conglomerating a mess of lines into a single national system. But the CNR was shaped as much by the effective lobbying of private investors to have the government take over their debt. The result was what eventually became a highly efficient operation saddled with enormous debt, which required regular infusions of public cash to prevent a net annual deficit.
     As a crown corporation, the CNR could be used as an instrument of public policy. The CBC and the Transcanada Airlines (later Air Canada) were originally set up as subsidiaries of the CNR. Both the CNR and the airline were eventually privatised, after it became clear that there was a private profit to be made. The book ends its story just before VIA Rail was spun off from the CNR. Since then, CNR has become CN, and has bought and merged with a number of railroads in the USA. It is now the only truly transcontinental railroad in North America, linking the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Gulf of Mexico by rail. Not a bad outcome for a cobbled-up jury rig of bankrupt and nearly bankrupt lines that spent its first decade harmonising a discordant chorus.
     As “the” history of the CNR, incomplete. As a picture book of Canadian railway history, very good. The kind of book one dips into from time to time to satisfy the need for a ferroequinological fix. **½

Inspiration for Model Railroaders

    Mike Shafer, ed.  Railroads You Can Model (1976) and More Railroads You Can Model (1978) Out of print. Just what the titles say: Overviews of several railroads with suggested trackplans. These books are part of Model Railroader’s successful attempts to shift the hobby towards modelling prototypes, not only in appearance but also in operation. Each article describes the line, summarises the operations, and illustrates settings, rolling stock, and locomotives.
    As history of the lines covered, well above average. Anyone who wants to base his layout on, say, The Ontario and Western or a branch of the GM&O, would find the articles very useful. The modelling suggestions are track plans, most of them redolent of the spaghetti-bowl school: get as much track as possible into the (always insufficient) available space. But there are also signs of the coming revolution: “holding tracks”, now known as “staging”, figure in most of them, and track arrangements emulate the prototype. Several of the plans assume a garage-sized space, so that the track to scenery ratio is relatively low. Photos of structures and industries prompt the modeller to create prototype scenes.
     A nostalgia trip for the older modeller, a good source of information for the neophyte or railroad fan, and inspiration for anybody in the hobby. Worth looking for, I think. **½

From Quebec City to St Anne de Beaupre: QRL&P Co.

     Thomas Grumley. Quebec Light & Power Company: Montmorency Division (2006) Published by the Bytown Railway Society, well known for its albums of historical photos. As a photo-album, this book is pretty good. It seems that the Montmorency Division didn’t attract many photographers until it reached the end of its life. Most of the photos date from the 1951-1954 period when it was under CN ownership, and the selection is somewhat repetitive. The last scheduled passenger train traversed the line on March 15, 1959.
     As expected, photo reproduction is excellent. The captions are informative, and a couple of short essays summarise the line’s history. But there’s no map, and curious omission, since most readers will have at best a hazy mental image of Quebec City and its environs. A good read for the fan, adequate for the amateur historian. ** PS: An online search failed to produce a map. Bah!

Twelve Railroads to Inspire Model Railroading

     [No editor credited] Railroads You Can Model (2002) Kalmbach’s Model Railroader for some years had a regular “Railroad You Can Model” feature. These were collected into two previous books, and finally a dozen were republished in this collection.
     As the foreword points out (twice), these track plans are guides. With a couple or three exceptions, they aren’t meant to be built as drawn. They show how to adapt the information about the prototype into a workable design with enough detail to begin building. Two of the chapters show how the pieces that represent towns and yards could be placed around a room and spliced them together with additional track. (Such pieces are now called “Layout Design Elements”, or LDEs). The larger plans are merely one possible arrangement of LDEs, and as such are a good guide to layout design.
     Most of the plans are for large rooms, single garage or half-basement size. A couple are 5x9 feet, slightly larger than the traditional 4x8 foot starter layout. For most readers, the book will have as much interest as a collection of histories (The Ma & Pa, McCloud River RR, G&MO, NY&O, etc) as a collection of track plans. **½

Railways in Edmonton, Alberta.

     Alan Vanterpool. The Railways of Edmonton (1997) A well-done overview of the development of railways in Edmonton, Alberta. Published by the British Railway Modellers of North America (BRMNA), it consist of photographs with extended captions, a style that compresses a lot of information into a small space. Twenty years ago there were still many lines in place that have since been lifted, so a follow-up book would be in order.
     Vanterpool begins with water and land transport before the railroads, then offers pictures of earliest roads to arrive in Edmonton, and goes on from there. As far as I know, his history is accurate. About the only flaw in this book is that it presents two photos per page, which makes them too small. I suppose the BRMNA’s usual format of one photo per page would have required a second volume. I for one would have been happy to pay the extra cost. Well done, especially considering there are few photos beyond the news and publicity categories. Out of print, but woirth the search for your own copy. ***

US Trains of the 1940s

     Robert S. McGonigal, ed. Trains of the 1940s (2014) A Classic Trains special edition comprising articles published in the 1940s in Trains magazine as well some about the 1940s published in Classic Trains. A well done sampling of the railroads’ war work and post-war attempts to promote passenger travel. It’s an odd feeling to read about events of 70 years ago in the present tense. A few photographs show troops embarking or disembarking from trains. How many of the men in those pictures made it back home? The founder of Trains, A. C Kalmbach, wrote up some of his train trips. Nostalgia hits for anyone who grew up travelling on trains.
     Obviously a treat for the railfan, but also an excellent source for anyone who wants to know more about the 1940s in America. Well written, well produced. ***

Not really about trains

     Louis L’Amour. North to the Rails (1971) Tom Chantry comes West to buy cattle for his future father-in-law. His father was killed many years ago, after which his mother moved East, and raised him as an anti-gun pacifist. First thing: Tom fights a guy and wins: he’s trained as a boxer. He buys the cattle and starts north with French Williams as his trail boss. But meanie outlaws, just plain mean men, and sneaky thieves of one kind or another interfere. There’s also a cousin of Williams who wants the money; she teams up with two especially nasty types. Tom fights a Kiowa, but doesn’t kill him, and later his father’s history with the Kiowa adds to his winning hand. Anyhow, the tale ends with a gunfight, and great gobs of poetic justice.
     Not L’Amour’s best work, but a well crafted entertainment that any fan of Westerns will like. Chantry drives his herd to the railhead, which has moved further west, which will improve his profits **½

Looking for Tiny Trains and Loving it: In Search of the Narrow Gauge (1996)

     Bob Wetham. In Search of the Narrow Gauge (1996) When Wetham’s father was posted to Peru in the 1970s he developed a love of trains and narrow gauge ones in particular. In this collection of reminiscences and photographs he tells of several of his journeys, most of them in South America. He really did go out of his way to see and ride the last narrow gauge trains. A few of the lines have become tourist lines, but most have long since gone.
     The book focuses on the journeys, not the technical details of the lines. Wetham spent a very cold night in Patagonia, and years later returned on a guided tour. He risked permanent disappearance in Africa, and endured surveillance by police and army in other parts of the world. He comes across as a nice guy who’s happy to share his passion for trains. Oddly, it’s a page turner, I think because he tells things as they happened. The photos are well printed, too, I wish there were more of them. But in the pre-digital photography and printing age, pictures and printing were more expensive than they are now, a bare quarter century later. Recommended for anyone who likes trains and travel. **½

Freight Cars of the 40s and 50s

     Jeff Wilson. Freight Cars of the 40s and 50s (2015) Kalmbach has a long history of publishing railway history and reference books. This is the latest iteration of its histories of North American freight cars. It doesn’t pretend to be complete, but it is comprehensive. It deals with freight car technology, then with the different types. The illustrations are all high quality. Wilson has compiled statistics by type and year, a useful guide for the modeller/operator who wants a representative collection on his layout. An good read for anyone interested in railways or technology generally, as well as modellers. ***

The Spiral Tunnels and the Big Hill (2009)

    Graeme Pole. The Spiral Tunnels and the Big Hill (2009) A nicely done compilation of text and photos covering the history of the Spiral Tunnels that carry the CPR up the Kicking Horse Pass. It begins with the original surveys that resulted in the terrible 4.2% grade over the Kicking Horse Pass and follows with the construction of the tunnels to bring the grade down to a manageable 2.2%. The information is comprehensive and interesting, with a lot of incidental human interest and juicy economic details. The construction of the CPR really was one of the engineering feats of the 1800s.In the 20th and 21st centuries, much larger works have been undertaken, so that the audacity of building that railroad across four mountain ranges is hardly appreciated. Pole’s narrative gives us a glimpse of the difficulties, which reminds us that while modern engineering works may be bigger, in proportion to the available resources the 19th century achieved much more.
     Pole repeatedly mentions what can still be seen from the highway and the trails, and adds a summary guide to the sights at the end, which makes this a handbook as well. The photo-reproduction varies, but is generally good, and there are a few too many typos. The maps don’t use standard  graphics, which makes them a little difficult to interpret. A fold-out map to a larger scale would be nice touch, but I suppose the costs of providing one were too high. Recommended. **½

Paradise Express (1937)

     Paradise Express (1937) [D: Joseph Kane. Grant Withers, Dorothy Appleby, et al] I’ve been watching old movies downloaded from the web. This one is a B-movie barely an hour long. A shortline railroad is in receivership because of business lost to a trucking company run by gangsters. The receiver takes his job seriously, he wants to resuscitate the business. But gangsters don’t like having their plans thwarted. Two good men die in a train wreck, and a subsequent race between the train and the trucks almost results in more deaths, but of course the hero gets the girl as well as a railroad with a future. I suppose in 1937 the victory of the railroad was still plausible.
     Writing, acting, and photography get the job done. Characters are cardboard, the wrecked trains are models, and the engineer-in-the-cab shots are made in the studio. But the stock railroad footage looks good, and someone paid attention to continuity. The movie doesn’t require close attention from the audience, but it wasn’t intended as anything more than a pleasant time-filler. If you like trains, you may want to look for this movie. *½

Dale Wilson. More Tracks of the Black Bear (2013)

     Dale Wilson. More Tracks of the Black Bear (2013) Dale’s father was the engineer on site when the docks at Michipicoten Harbour were rebuilt, and became Chief Engineer. This connection may explain Wilson’s fascination with the Algoma Central and Hudson’s Bay Railway. But maybe not. The ACR has a lot of fans with no family connection. It’s a railway that survived against the odds, and still (as a part of CN) provides useful services.
     Fans will be pleased with this book, another collection of photographs, memoirs and miscellaneous documents. Wilson has arranged them in chronological order, with explanatory notes here and there. The result is a pleasant anecdotal history of the line. Readers interested in Algoma and Sault Ste Marie will also find this book a good read.
     I like these scrapbook-like histories. They contain a good deal of primary material, the kind that professional historians arrange into plausible narratives of cause, effect, and influence. The scrapbook leaves the task of interpretation to us, engaging us in the oddments of actual life. The photographs are well reproduced, but some documents have been damaged by time, so their reproduction is not as clear as we might wish. *** for the fan, **½ for the casual reader. Disclosure: Dale used one of my photos.

Peter Johnson. Isle of Man Steam Railway in Colour (1998)

    

  

Peter Johnson. Isle of Man Steam Railway in Colour (1998) Most of the photos (one per page) feature the steam engines; the captions provide all kinds of history and other information. Technically excellent, a few include people (staff, tourists), or a bit of landscape. As far as I can tell, the colours are accurate. A very well done album for the fan, and of more than passing interest to the casual reader recalling or planning a visit to the Island. Looking through it, I decided we should go there on our next visit. ***

Omer Lavallee & Ronald Ritchie. Narrow Gauge Railways of Canada (2005)

     Omer Lavallee & Ronald Ritchie. Narrow Gauge Railways of Canada (2005) Since Lavallee wrote the book, much additional information has been found about Canada’s narrow gauge railways. Ritchie provides some of it, and many added photos. Most interesting are the obscure, short, and short-lived lumber and mining railways in the Maritimes. It’s a pity that for many of these all that’s known are a few written references or old maps; no pictures. For some (eg, the Kaslo & Slocan) I have data in my clippings collections, which I will insert. A well done book, a pleasure to leaf through, a pleasure to read, and a pleasure to consult. *** (2012)

David Sumner. High Rails over Cumbres (1976?)

     David Sumner. High Rails over Cumbres (1976?) A lovely little pamphlet summarising the history of the D&RGW narrow gauge lines in Colorado and New Mexico, and the saving of the section over Cumbres Pass as a tourist railway. The railway still exists, although it has been overshadowed by the Silverton Railway, which preserves the southern section of the line. Old and new photographs, a page from a timetable, but no map. Two photos show the original timber trestle over Toltec Gorge and the later masonry embankment that replaced it. Good little book. *** (2010)