What do you think?
Rate this book
America's Railroads: The Second Generation
Railroad, diesel, steam, electric locomotives identified by builder, model, road number, & class (where available).
216 pages, Hardcover
First published October 17, 1980
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
March 30, 2014
There are two books that I can point to as having the most influence on my love of railroad photography. Gary J. Benson's The Art of Railroad Photography taught me much of the technical and artistic information associated with this very specific genre of the greater photographic realm. America's Railroads: The Second Generation is the book that first captured my imagination, though.
I often wonder about the librarians that saw me check this book out time after time after time. What did they think of that 9-10 year old that checked out this book every time he could. Didn't he ever get tired of it? There was just something magical about this book for me when I was young. The railroad world was suddenly more than interesting. It was truly engrossing. Ball's book did a great job of covering every bit of the United States and a small portion of Canada. Railroading became so much more than the little corner of the Burlington Northern that I grew up with.
Time has passed and much of what was shown in this book is no more. Its legacy lives on in two ways, though. It's obviously a great reminder of what was. Photographs from Ball as well as friends that also contributed to the book chronicle a specific era of railroading very nicely.
Beyond that, though, is the spirit of the book. Ball was an avowed steam fanatic and some of his books in the steam to diesel transition definitely reflect that. I feel that he came to grips with the new diesel world in this book, though. I think he tried to do that in America's Colorful Railroads, too. This one seems more successful on that front, though. Additionally, it's a reminder that while the railroad world is constantly changing and most of us pine for what once was, we can still enjoy this fascinating industry and the photographic opportunities are manifold and exciting.
Highly recommended.
I often wonder about the librarians that saw me check this book out time after time after time. What did they think of that 9-10 year old that checked out this book every time he could. Didn't he ever get tired of it? There was just something magical about this book for me when I was young. The railroad world was suddenly more than interesting. It was truly engrossing. Ball's book did a great job of covering every bit of the United States and a small portion of Canada. Railroading became so much more than the little corner of the Burlington Northern that I grew up with.
Time has passed and much of what was shown in this book is no more. Its legacy lives on in two ways, though. It's obviously a great reminder of what was. Photographs from Ball as well as friends that also contributed to the book chronicle a specific era of railroading very nicely.
Beyond that, though, is the spirit of the book. Ball was an avowed steam fanatic and some of his books in the steam to diesel transition definitely reflect that. I feel that he came to grips with the new diesel world in this book, though. I think he tried to do that in America's Colorful Railroads, too. This one seems more successful on that front, though. Additionally, it's a reminder that while the railroad world is constantly changing and most of us pine for what once was, we can still enjoy this fascinating industry and the photographic opportunities are manifold and exciting.
Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review