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Member	Item		Review/Comment
WPLives 2nd Aug 2021		Book Spencer Crump - Henry Huntington And The Pacific Electric	My copy reads "Second Edition"
WPLives 2nd Aug 2021		Book Jim Walker - The Yellow Cars Of Los Angeles	BACK COVER (TOP): A later car type was the H-4. Hundreds of these steel cars (and homemade wooden copies) came on stream [sic] in the 1920s as LARY modernized. Here H-4 "N" car 1202 rounds the corner at First & Main to jog west to Spring St. en route to its 9th & Western terminal. At right are PCC streamliners on the P line. Car 1202 was already in Los Angeles Transit Lines "fruit salad" livery but hadn't yet lost its "old-fashioned" eclipse fenders. It was a time of change. (BOTTOM): LARY was a system where the old and the new could co-exist side by side. For several years, a downtown passenger destined for Points along Gage Ave. started his journey on the ultra-modern PCC car of the "P" line, but after reaching the loop at Dozier & Rowan in East Los Angeles, he transferred to the bouncy little Birney car like the 1026 shown here. This photo was taken sometime during World War II. LARY's small fleet of single-truckers did not bow out until the post-war years when new owners had taken over the system. *All: Bob Mcvay*
WPLives 1st Aug 2021		Book Jim Walker - The Yellow Cars Of Los Angeles	COVER PHOTO: Abslutely Nothing typified Los Angeles Railway like the Huntington Standard streetcar. The famous five-window front stamped Henry Huntington's name all over the system, even decades after the old gentleman's passing. It was the summer of 1947 that car 302 trundled along Central Avenue near 43rd Street. The U line was about to be abandoned (double wires for the replacement trolleybuses are visible) and the system was about to undergo a wrenching series of changes. But the Huntington Standard streetcar still had a few years left to run in the City of Angels.
WPLives 1st Aug 2021		Book Jim Walker - The Yellow Cars Of Los Angeles	My copy states second printing: Spring 1987 Also, my copy autographed by the author.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book William D. Middleton - Traction Classics: The Interurbans Volume 1	This is a look at early Interurban cars. Includes wooden cars from: Puget Sound Electric; Atlantic City; Oneida railway cars; Washington Baltimore & Annapolis; Milwaukee Electric; Cincinnati Car Company; Seattle-Everett Traction Co; Galveston-Houston Electric Ry; Shore Line Electric Ry; windsplitter interurbans; Sacramento Northern; Portland-Lewiston Interurban RR; Liberty Bell routes; Pacific Electric; Illinois Traction; Terre Haute Indianapolis & Eastern Traction. This also includes heavyweight steel cars from the: West Penn, Piedmont & Northern; Pacific Electric; Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee; London & Port Stanley Ry; Cleveland Southwestern & Columbus; Alton Granite & St Louis Traction; Lake Shore Electric; Chicago Aurora & Elgin; Indianapolis & Cincinnati; Hershey Cuban Ry; Chicago South Shore & South Bend; Indiana Central; Washington Baltimore & Annapolis; and the Northwestern Pacific. Many photos.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Various Authors - Inside Muni	Massive history of the Municipal Railway of San Francisco, packed with information on every aspect of the system: a detailed description with photos (inside and out) of each of the different classes of rolling stock; streetcars; service cars; cable cars; trolley coaches; motor coaches; and support vehicles; a description of the Divisions and shops; organization and operation; electrical energy; and a detailed chronology for each route along the Muni. The last 12 pages are 6 bifold foldouts, and two more unnumbered foldouts, showing detailed schematic diagrams of various classes of the cars. Illustrated throughout with black and white photographs. With several rosters and maps. This is Interurbans Special 79. 256 pages (with index) plus the 12 pages of diagrams.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Virgil Staff - D-Day On The Western Pacific	Fascinating history of how and when the Western Pacific chose its diesel locomotives, beginning with the first EMC switcher in 1939 and the first three FT freight units in 1942. The author follows the Operating Department for 40 years to see why the WP purchased and employed diesel power the way it did. You will see the final hurrah for steam during World War II, assault the Canyon with EMD, Alco, FM and GE test units, watch as changing times dictate changing combinations of power, witness the birth and death of the California Zephyr and its F-3 and FP-7 units, glimpse the RDC experiment, examine the WP's locomotive facilities and meet men like Ed Cuyler who made the decisions and ran the trains. Illustrated throughout with black and white photographs. With all-time rosters of WP, Tidewater Southern, and Sacramento Northern diesel locomotives, map, bibliography, and gradient profiles. This is Interurbans Special 81. 224 pages.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Various Authors - Growing Up With Trains II	Volume 2 in this series focuses on Northern California covering traction, interurbans, mainline action, branch lines and the narrow gauges. With black and white as well as color photos. Includes lovely little map by John Signor. 112 pages.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Various Authors - Growing Up With Trains	This book, with work from many of the country's most noted rail photographers, is an exciting overview of Southern California railroading from the 1930s to the 1980s. Richard Steinheimer has collected more than 150 unique photos (both black and white as well as color) that showcase the entire variety of railroading during those years, from trolleys to main line freights, from the Big Red Cars of the Pacific Electric and the glory days of the Union Pacific's passenger trains on the Cajon Pass to the modern hotshots of today. Each photo is informatively captioned. 112 pages.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Charles Smallwood - The White Front Cars Of San Francisco	Authoritative and well-written history of the Market Street Railway of San Francisco, this is the revised 1978 edition (with extra diagrams). The MSR was the backbone of the city's mass transit system from 1921-1944, when it was purchased by the smaller but better funded Municipal Railway. The author traces the MSR's history from the days of the horse-drawn and steam cars through the cable and electrification era, providing numerous detailed maps that trace the system's growth as well as several charts showing financial information, mileage, kinds of cars, etc. There is a complete roster of all the electric passenger cars followed by photos of each class of cars with informative text and captions discussing their history and use. There are also chapters on service cars, the cable cars, the use of buses as supplements to the trolleys, track laying, power plants, maintenance of the overhead wire, the Elkton shops, and the car houses. Illustrated throughout with black and white photos from all eras. With 8 oversized foldout pages in the rear showing scale drawings of the rolling stock. Includes reproductions of timetables, transfers and tickets. Invaluable reference book for anyone interested in the MSR, San Francisco history, electric street railways or traction modelers. 482 pages.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Various Authors - Sacramento Northern	3rd printing (1981) of the classic Interurbans Special No. 26 by Ira Swett. The definitive survey of the Sacramento Northern Electric Railway, once the world's longest interurban. The line ran between San Francisco and Chico, California, providing an amazing variety of scenery along the way -- from quite rural towns to the heart of San Francisco. This volume covers the North End (the Northern Electric and its successor, the Sacramento Northern Electric), the South End (the Oakland, Antioch & Eastern and its successor, the San Francisco-Sacramento Railroad) followed by a thorough discussion of life after the two sections merged to form the Sacramento Northern Railway. The facilities, power plants, operation, financial data, equipment, passenger (street car lines) and freight businesses, the construction of the Bay Bridge -- all are covered in fascinating detail. Illustrated throughout with black and white photos. With several maps as well as timetables, tickets, advertisements and other ephemera. 208 pages.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Various Authors - Sacramento Northern	Collection of detailed articles that provide a fascinating history of the Sacramento Northern, at one time the world's longest interurban railway. As is usual with the Interurban Specials, the sheer amount of unique information provided is amazing and invaluable. (In one short paragraph, we learn that Henry A. Butters, who founded the Northern Electric Rwy., built the first railroad in South Africa and made so much money on a Mexican railroad venture that he was then able to fund the Northern Electric.) Also has a section on the ferries run by the Oakland, Antioch & Eastern. Includes cars rosters, equipment notes, system maps, timetable, and schematic diagrams of cars and locomotives. Scarce.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Harre W. Demoro - BART At Mid-Point	CREATORS----------Demoro, Harre W. TITLE------------------BART at mid-point ; San Francisco's bold new rapid-transit project PUBLICATION-----[Los Angeles : Interurbans, 1968]pages, Special #31 DESCRIPTION-----117 p. : illus., maps, plans, ports. ; 28 cm
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Harold A. Edmonson - Railroad Station Planbook	Review Railroad Station Planbook For the fine scale modeler in railroading, this is aan incredible book. I am a fine scale modeler and the variations of stations shown make this book very valuable. Also the many variations of railroad stations shown will help you design a very realistic station for that special location on your layout regardless of the scale. It was all I had hoped it would be. I highly recommend this book. As for the railroad historian, I beleive you to will be helped in your research as well. Happy modeling. Dec 27, 2008 Railroad Station Planbook This book contains much useful information about railroad stations. It has very many excellent quality line drawing of railroad stations of all sizes. There are plans for little country stations to those that would be in some of your larger cities. It is very well written. I read a review of this book in an old Modelrailroader magazine and became interested in it. May 13, 2008 great book for model railroaders I purchased this book knowing that I wanted to scratch build model railway stations. It has drawn to scale many of the more famous buildings. Expertly written and easy to follow with histories of the stations also. There was nothing to dislike abo ✔︎ Helpful Review?
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book James H. Harrison - Sacramento Northern Gallery	It is hard to imagine what was running through the minds of Oakland natives Jim Harrison and fellow rail enthusiast Ray Barraza, then teenagers, when on October 27, 1954 they spied an on-coming speeder approaching somewhere in the middle of the Sacramento Northern Tunnel between Shepherd and Redwood Canyons. Luckily they were in the timber-supported portion of the tunnel and were able to hide and escape harm. This didn't stop them from continuing their walk all the way to Walnut Creek along the right-of-way. Ray went on to become an engineer (not the train kind!) and spent his career at PG&E. Jim went on to become a teacher, and got to know all the great photographers of the era, and continued his interest in the SN by collecting the very best of the SN images. In 2002, Shade Tree Books published his book, Sacramento Northern Gallery, composed entirely of images with succinct captions ordered so that you too could experience what it was like to walk the line. He followed this effort with a similar book in 2006 about the Key System, Key System Gallery, also published by Shade Tree Books. The concept of trying to recreate the visual experience of riding the SN clearly was an inspiration to the East Bay Hills Project.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Robert J. Church - Southern Pacific Daylight Locomotives	Among the signature steam locomotives of the Southern Pacific was surely the Daylight 4-8-4. From the earliest unstreamlined GS-1 Class, to the famous GS-4 (and preserved member of the class no. 4449), and including the Cotton Belt engines which came west in the 1950s, these were all distinctive SP power of the late steam era. Southern Pacific steam locomotive authority Bob Church has prepared an entirely new book; this is far more than a revision of his 1967 volume of 130 pages, Those Daylight 4-8-4's. The new 436-page book updates or replaces some previous photos and adds many new ones, both black and white and color; the old book had 174 photos, the new one has 731. Much new information regarding mechanical design, problems and improvements, and operations over each route, has come to light and has been included in this new book. Official diagrams of each class, and HO scale drawings of all locomotives and tenders are also included, as are color drift panels. Arnold Menke has contributed another of his magisterial chapters on tenders. The late Ted Rose created the cover painting, entitled "In the Clear," showing the Starlight trains meeting at Chorro siding on the Coast Line. Complete, detailed and authoritative, this book will appeal to all enthusiasts of the history of Western railroading and of Southern Pacific in particular. Table of Contents: Dedication v Acknowledgements vii Introduction ix 1. Concept of a Locomotive 1 2. Delivery, Display, Test Runs 11 3. From the Builders 27 4. GS-1 The Forerunners 71 5. GS-2 The Streamlined Locomotive 91 6. GS-3 The First Speedsters 99 7. GS-4 Ultimate in Passenger Power 111 8. GS-5 Experiment in Roller Bearings 127 9. GS-6 The War Babies 135 10. GS-7 and GS-8 In From St. Louis 145 11. Development and Tests 159 12. Shoppings and Modifications 171 13. Coast Route 191 14. Sunset and Golden State Routes 237 15. San Joaquin Valley Route 267 16. Overland Route 287 17. Shasta Route 301 18. GS Finale 319 19. 4449--A Queen Revived 329 20. Tenders by Arnold S. Menke 349 21. Data and Specifications 379 Bibliography 415 Index 417
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Anthony W. Thompson - Railroad History In Photographs	For more than 150 years, railroads have been an important part of the life and landscape of North America. An extensive photographic record of these railroads exists, as this book shows, for every part of the country, over a broad span of time. Many individual railroads are represented. But this is much more than a collection of photographs. Extensive and informative captions bring to life the varied images of locomotives, rolling stock, trains and structures. Diesel locomotives down to the present day are included along with 100 years of steam locomotive history; the same is true for passenger cars and freight cars. These photographs are drawn from the collection of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, whose 75th anniversary takes place in 1996. The book is part of the anniversary celebration of the R&LHS, and is published by Signature Press in association with the Society. The R&LHS is the oldest organization in North America devoted exclusively to railroad studies, history, and preservation.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book John R. Signor - Southern Pacific's Western Division	The Western Division of the Southern Pacific, historically extending from Sacramento to Oakland and San Jose, and with lines to Fresno, the Napa Valley, and over Altamont Pass, was a crucible of California operations. Headquartered at the famous Oakland Pier (or Mole) and dispatching hundreds of passenger and freight trains daily in its heyday, this division was in many way the vortex of SP in the West. With its ferry connection to San Francisco, and train departures to all parts of the SP system, the Oakland Pier was at the center. The history, construction and operation of the division are presented in this broad compilation by Southern Pacific authority John Signor. As with all his SP historical works, the coverage is thorough and detailed, with many specifics drawn from operating personnel. At the same time, the outstanding Signor maps we have come to expect, and voluminous photographic illustration from Southern Pacific files as well as from many amateur photographers, enrich the story. Signor has also created an original oil painting for the dust jacket and frontispiece. Southern Pacific's Western Division Table of Contents: Foreword; Ch. 1: Construction and Early Operation, 1868-1899; Ch. 2: Western Division Operation Prior to the Depression, 1900-1929; Ch. 3: The Western Division During Depression and War, 1930-1945; Ch. 4: The Western Division Expands, 1946-1971; Ch. 5: The Western Division in Decline, 1971-1989; Epilogue: A New Era 1989-; Appendix: Western Division Stations; Bibliography; Index. Signature Press, hardcover with jacket, 414 pages, 8.5×11×1.75 in., color and Black-and-White photographs and illustrations.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Wiliam H. Kaufman - The State Belt	This book explains the history of the railroad that served San Francisco's waterfront for over a century. The entire area of the waterfront was owned by the State of California, and therefore so was the railroad. It served all the waterfront piers, from Fisherman's Wharf in the north, to China Basin in the south, and had track beyond Fisherman's Wharf, through a tunnel, to Army facilities at Fort Mason and the Presidio. But switching the piers was only part of the State Belt's duties. It also served many dozens of industries and warehouses adjoining the waterfront. Interchange with the rest of the United States took place by car float (with the Santa Fe, Northwestern Pacific and Western Pacific) and on land with the Southern Pacific near China Basin. Until 1946, the Belt used steam switch engines, but then in rapid succession acquired six ALCO S-2 switchers, being among the first American railroads to achieve complete dieselization. A number of major events in San Francisco history, from the Earthquake of 1906, to the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915, World Wars I and II, and the Great Depression, all affected the State Belt and in a number of cases, gave the Belt a role to play as well. But change was arriving all too rapidly. Many industries moved out of San Francisco, and containerization of seaborne freight traffic increased in the 1960s and 1970s. The need for the services of the State Belt just kept decreasing. In 1969, the City of San Francisco finally acquired title to its Port and to the State Belt; they soon contracted with Kyle Railways in 1973 to operate the railroad. This lasted until 1993. But many remnants of the Belt and its operation remain to be seen in San Francisco. Extensive research was required to locate photographs and history of a railroad that did a lot of its work at night. It is richly documented with 242 photographs, most never before published, with informative maps and an index. This definitely is a book for rail historians and for anyone interested in rail-marine connections and in the operation of freight railroads. Table Contents: Acknowledgements------pp. vi; Prologue: Honest Harry--------pp. 1-6; The Beginnings-----------pp. 7-16; Earthquake and Fire-----pp. 17-24; Recovery, Market Street and the Exposition-----pp. 25-34; Progressives and The Great War------------pp. 35-44; Along the Embarcadero-------------pp. 45-64; Locomotives------------pp. 65-78; The Twenties-----------:-pp. 79-92; Floats, Ferries and Tugs----------pp. 93-98; The Thirties----------pp. 99-114; The Forties------------pp. 115-128; The Fifties: The Quiet Decade----------pp. 129-138; The Sixties: Urban Renewal and Containerization----------pp. 139-150; The Kyle Years----------pp. 151-158; The State Belt Lives---------pp. 159-166; Index----------pp. 167-170. Signature Press, hardcover with jacket, 180 pages, standard portrait book 8 x 10 in., photographs; drawings, roster, bibliography, index.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Harre W. Demoro - Sacramento Northern	The Sacramento Northern Railway was one of America's great electric interurban railways, offering almost any service and experience that the traveler might desire: high-speed trains, dining and parlor cars, and local streetcars. The SN had steep grades, a tunnel, picnic grounds in a redwood grove, long trestles, bridges, a ferryboat that carried an entire train across a freshwater bay, and a spectacular ride over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Passenger trains of the SN were a technological wonder of the day and operated on three voltages, using trolley poles, pantographs and third-rail shoes. Automatic cab signals guided the green interurban trains over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. From its earliest days, the SN also was a major freight carrier, using electric-powered equipment. Late at night, when passenger trains did not operate, electric freight motors hauled the agricultural products of the Sacramento Valley and the output of Bay Area factories. Like most intercity electric railways, the SN was built by local capitalists involved in other enterprises; in this case, men who had sought riches in the reclamation projects and bountiful harvests of the Sacramento Valley, and the development of hydroelectric power. Included here are more than 470 rare photographs, many of them published for the first time, as well as detailed chapters on the history, finance, rolling stock, signals, power systems and terminals. Timetables, financial and traffic data, scale drawings of rolling stock, and tickets are also included and, in one chapter, the reader takes a ride on the Sacramento Northern in the mid-1930s. Maps were drawn especially by Seattle cartographer Wayne Hom, with an endsheet map by John Signor. Altogether, this is a rich and rewarding account of railroad history and operation. 8.5×11, cloth with dust jacket.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book David G. Stanley - The Central California Traction Company	The Central California Traction Company This 410-page volume is a powerhouse study of the history of a California institution. Our play begins in 1906. This central California city has the distinction of being at the junction of the SP, WP & ATSF railroads while also having freshwater access to the Pacific via the San Joaquin River. The surrounding countryside enjoyed arable land, but its incorporation in 1850 was laid at the feet of gold mining, Stockton being the closest seaport access. The CP had provided connections with the cities of Sacramento & Oakland going back to the 1870s, but the hallmark of a really great city in that place was its own internal system. Just past the dawn of the 20th Century, a man named HH Griffiths offered just that. To better provide service, the new CCT reached northward to Lodi in 1907. By 1910, the line had reached all the way to Sacramento where it had a successful streetcar line. Though the streetcar line didn't fare well, the freight connections up and down the valley between Stockton and Sac proved to be a rich source of capital. Agriculture has always prospered in this fertile land, trade cannot survive without transportation. In fact, CCT survives today, operated by diesel locomotives. The book also plows rich, historical ground, digging up a wealth of interest. Dave Stanley and Jeff Moreau go deep to find the truth as it played out. Moreau is a historian while Stanley is both historian and photographer. They bring in the talents of John Signor, who adds maps and the cover painting. The book is written in 2 parts: "The Electric Way" and "The End of Electrification." Chapters 1 through 9 make up the 1st part and draw their share of the photos in the book. The maps and drawings also make a contribution to Part 1. One drawing shows very clearly how the line used a 1200-volt inverted third rail. Obviously it was cheaper to construct than overhead wire and was safer than bare third rails. In 1928, after several years of legal wrangling, CCT ended up becoming a subsidiary of the 3 large railroad converging in Stockton. One-third ownership of CCT went to each of SP, ATSF and WP. While CCT would manage day-to-day business, ATSF would provide mechanical and engineering help, SP would tend to legal matters and WP would provide accounting and secretarial help. For a while in the early years of the CCT, there was talk about building a line south from Stockton to Modesto. Since CCT lacked the financial resources to make that connection, TS eventually made it happen. WP purchased controlling interest, building a financial bridge between TS and CCT. The book does a great job of discussing the convoluted relations between all of the railroads. For example, ATSF and WP thought it would be good to build a four-block-long siding to serve a canning company in Lodi. but SP already served this company and didn't want any competition. What resulted was a shoving match. Anecdotes abound but general history came to call, too. The Depression put an end to the unprofitable interurban. Buses already operated on the roads in the area, and so the railroad got rid of this economic activity. After World War II, the book leads us into Part 2: The End of Electrification. This took the form of 44-ton GE switchers. Two days before Christmas 1946, the first GE went into service. Freight motors began to come off line and more diesels were ordered. Three of the GE 70-tonners arrived in 1947, proving to be very satisfactory. However, after 10 years of service, the Cooper-Bessemer diesel engines developed serious problems, including crankshaft failures, leading the road to purchase an Alco S-1, and it was a better, reliable puller. The book does an excellent job of relating the equipment in use from the beginning of the railroad right to today. We see the replacement of the GEs with used Alcos, including an Alco RS-1. Eventually the road succumbed to the call of the Geep, purchasing first a GP7. In time they'd add another, plus a GP18, leading to the purchase of a pair of SW1500s in 1999. Some of the final pages of the main section show photos of restored freight motor #7, a pair of Tidewater 44-tonners that once belonged to CCT, and the leased GP7 #44 that started on the Santa Fe where it had a nose and cab roof job. UP, now the owner of both SP and WP, and BNSF still wrangle. In addition to the story and photos, modelers will enjoy the track plans plus the Equipment Roster and Drawings Appendix.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Donald Duke - Steam Locomotives A Pictorial Anthology Of Western Railroading	Excellent overview showing representative steam locomotives on the Southern Pacific (and the Central Pacific) from the General Stanford to the Daylight. The evolution of the engines allows the author to also provide a short but comprehensive history of the railroad. Illustrated throughout with black and white photos, schematic diagrams, and maps. With Central Pacific steam locomotive roster. Decorative end papers show system map in 1893. 88 pages.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Robert J. Church - The 4300 4-8-2's	Review Selected Comments on the First Edition of The 4300 4-8-2's "A superb book about an outstanding Southern Pacific locomotive type. The text is well written, filled with authoritative research, and supplemented with an excellent selection of photos and drawings." -- Guy Dunscomb, railroad historian and author "An excellent and informative work. Indispensable for any steam enthusiast." -- William Kratville, locomotive historian and author "Well researched and very well organized. All of us can be nothing but pleased with the material. We recommend it for railfans and modelers alike." -- Robert Hundman, in Mainline Modeler magazine ✔︎ Helpful Review?
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Robert J. Church - The 4300 4-8-2's	Newly revised from the first edition, The 4300 4-8-2's has 24 new pages, 40 new photographs (9 in color), an expanded chapter on tenders, an index and references, and numerous additions and enhancements throughout, making it even more authoritative and complete than the original version. Out of print for nearly 15 years, the first edition of this book has been difficult to find from used book dealers, and has commanded premium prices in recent years.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Robert A. Pecotich - Southern Pacific's Sacramento Shops	"The largest and oldest of Southern Pacific's General Shops, Sacramento built or rebuilt hundreds of steam and diesel locomotives, and thousands of freight and passenger cars, along with extensive work on passenger and official cars, in its history from 1868 to 1990. This was one of the largest and most productive railroad shops in North America. In the 19th century, many new locomotives for Central Pacific and Southern Pacific were produced at the Shops, along with much rolling stock. From 1890 until the 1920s, SP turned primarily to commercial builders for rolling stock and locomotives, but an outgrowth of assembling a few locomotives during the USRA period was a new spurt of locomotive building, until 1937. After the end of steam, the Shops were reconfigured for diesel locomotive repair, and in 1969 an immense rebuilding program commenced which was to renew during the 1970s and 1980s more than 500 diesels for further service. Closure of the Shops came in 1990. Author Bob Pecotich has extensively researched the Shops and many of its products, particularly locomotives and official cars, as well as the story of the many thousands of craftsmen who worked there through the decades. The result of thorough study, this is a complete, detailed and well-illustrated history, with many previously unpublished images of work in the Shops and of the many locomotives and rolling stock which the Shops produced, repaired, or rebuilt. Coverage in this book ranges from the earliest days, before the driving of the Gold Spike at Promontory, through most of SP's history, to the final closure. Containing 496 pages, the book contains over 600 photos, along with 21 drawings and maps, and has both a bibliography and an index. The dust jacket image is a 1930s image of the Erecting Hall at the Shops." 496 pages; 8.5"×11"; Hardcover; 604 photos; 21 maps and drawings; Bibliography; Index.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Alfred E. Perlman - Western Pacific Railroad	Title----------------------Western Pacific Railroad "The Feather River Route" Author-------------------Perlman, Alfred E Format/Binding-----Paperback First Edition-----------First Printing Binding------------------Paperback Publisher---------------Newcomen Society in North America
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Frederic B. Whitman - Western Pacific	"Address delivered at a National Newcomen luncheon, held at New York on October 27, 1950." Format------------Paperback Publisher--------Literary Licensing, LLC Country-----------United States Published-------1950 Pages-------------38 ISBN---------------9781258622572
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Ted Benson - 72-82: Western Pacific's Final Decade	"Western Pacific was a railroad in transition on January 1, 1972. The resolute David in a marketplace dominated by Southern Pacific's Goliath, long perceived as the scrappy good guy who always tried harder, WP almost succumbed to its positive image. "Brought down by the financial burden of the California Zephyr and changing traffic patterns in the post-Vietnam 1970s, the freight-only WP faced a life-or-death battle in an evolving economy." Along the way, the Feather River Route reclaimed the national spotlight by hiring one of the country's most-talked about railroad executives, Alfred E. Perlman. Surviving to merge with Union Pacific in 1982, WP's final hours were, in many ways, its finest. "72-82, Western Pacific's Final Decade", is a look at the last independent years of an uncommon carrier. A four-way collaboration between photographers Ted Benson, Dick Dorn, Dale Sanders and Dave Stanley, the book documents a significant chapter in the history of this regional railroad.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Mark Noble - Articulated Locomotives Of The Western Pacific	Originally published in Baldwin Locomotive magazine, this article highlights the development of Baldwin's 2-8-8-2 articulated locomotives for use on the then new extension line from Keddie, CA to Bieber, CA and on the main line through the Feather River Canyon, the last steam locomotives that WP ever ordered. Also discusses the Mallet 2-6-6-2 locomotives that were also used. Detailed information and statistics on both are included. Illustrated with black and white photos. With roster of WP's steam locomotives and gradient profile of the main WP line. 20 pages.
WPLives 31st Jul 2021		Book Guy L. Dunscomb - Locomotives Of The Western Pacific	Submitted for your perusal "Locomotives of the Western Pacific - A Photo Story of Steam." A forgotten gem dedicated to the late great Western Pacific Railroad. This volume covers every major class of WP steam engines. Has an interesting set up. Has thirty or so full page (9"×6") images with no captions to crowd out the portrait. Kind of like looking at a family album. The section that precedes it is sort of like an appendix. It lists the engine number and a background history. So just enjoy the image, remember the engine number and look up its trivia or special details. The rest of the book takes the classic route and shows a variety of locos in various duties in different parts of the system. It obviously tries to cover everything. Produced in the early 1950's, it gives a period perspective of the last of steam on the WP. Curiously, the author/photographer takes no bows as he shows no by-line or photo credits. However, buried on page 34, you'll find out who to thank. Who is it? Guess, or buy it to find out! The cover is problematic. It has some stains and wear. You'll forget all about it when you see the marvelous images inside. The interior pages are in fine shape. You can't get these images online. Yes, the auction price is a little high. But it's tough to raise money with donated books when there are usually twenty copies of the same thing up for bid at the same time. This time, we're all by ourselves. Stick around. We might have to reduce the price later. WP fans, this is a must-have.

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