Overhaul: A Social History of the Albuquerque Locomotive Repair Shops

by Richard Flint, Shirley Cushing Flint

Winner of the 2021 Southwest Book Award from the Border Regional Library Association

In Overhaul , historians Richard Flint and Shirley Cushing Flint present the largely forgotten story of Albuquerque's locomotive repair shops, which were the driving force behind the city's economy for more than seventy years. In the course of their study they also document the thousands of skilled workers who kept the locomotives in operation, many of whom were part of the growing Hispano and Native American middle class. Their critical work kept the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe's steam trains running and established and maintained Albuquerque's unique character in the region.

Including a generous selection of historic photographs, Overhaul provides a glimpse into the people, places, culture, and special history found in Albuquerque's locomotive shops during the boom of steam railroading. The Flints provide an engaging and informative account of how these shops and workers played a crucial role in the formation and development of the Duke City.

248 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2021

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Reviews

[Wayne Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a most insightful study of what the AT&SF repair shops meant to the establishment and growth of Albuquerque. Would have rated it 5 stars except for the typical 21st Century writers' habit of attempting to infuse moral righteousness into events of times long past. Today's "wokeness" clouds the perspective.