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Title: The Birth of California Narrow Gauge by Bruce MacGregor ISBN: 0-8047-3550-6 Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr Pub. Date: August, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $79.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A must have volume
Comment: This massive volume charts the development of early California railroads, both narrow and standard gauge, by following the lives of two Irish immigrant brothers, Thomas and Martin Carter. It is much more than just a railroad history as it explores how they gained the skills and knowledge to build railroad cars, bridges, and even the railroads themselves, and how they used innovative leveraged financing (which in retrospect seems surprisingly modern) to build their company. The cars that they built some 100 years ago can still be found, still in San Francisco, Alaska, and in numerous railroad museums across the western United States.
As Mr. MacGregor develops the story of the Carter Brothers he is also telling the story of six individual early California Narrow gauge railroads which were built to fight the monopolistic Central Pacific system, called "the Octopus" by the newspapers of the time. Each of these lines will have a connection to the Carters, either through cars built by them, or through bridge and car designs which they provided under contract. Through side bars and supplemental chapters you gain insight into how these railroads operated, the locomotives they purchased, and which saloons were favored by their management.
Additionally, this is a wonderful example of the great American story, as the two brothers escape famine plagued Ireland, only to pass through the plague infested Canadian immigrant stations on the St. Lawrence River. 1862 finds Thomas operating his own business in upper New York state, which he abandons to come west to California to avoid the Civil War draft.
While Thomas finds work in the shops of California's first railroad, his younger brother Martin goes to work on the new state capital building. Thomas loses his leg in an industrial accident, and as a result has to find an alternative to physical labor. That alternative was railroad car drafting, which became design and eventually engineering. With these newfound skills he would form, with his brother a partnership to build railroad cars. That company would thrive for 30 years in a difficult economy.
The text is supplemented by a rich assortment of photo, drawings and contemporary color illustrations. The book even finds room for an amusing and insightful discussion of Thomas Carter's love life and his long standing affair with Molly Redmond, a refreshingly liberated Victorian woman.
This is a must have book for anyone interested in Western railroads, narrow gauge, or California History.
Rating: 5
Summary: Fabulous Local History Book
Comment: As a researcher of Northern California local history, I use this book as a primary source document. I find the accuracy astounding, the book is easy to read, and the illustrations are first class. It is a model for anyone to follow -- study it, and cite it with confidence.
Rating: 5
Summary: Birth of the California Narrow Gauge
Comment: Comprehensive history of early Pacific Coast railroad and transpiration history. Lots of interesting historical sketches of railroad people and their suppliers. How the railroads built up local economies. Also lots of technical detail, with explanations that will allow anyone with out prior knowledge to become well versed in the basics of railroad technology. This is an excellent book, a must have for any railroad oriented library collection.
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Title: American Narrow Gauge Railroads by George W. Hilton ISBN: 0804723699 Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr (T) Pub. Date: December, 1994 List Price(USD): $44.95 |
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Title: A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946: Volume 1: The Mid-Atlantic States by Richard C. Carpenter ISBN: 0801873312 Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ Pr Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $65.00 |
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Title: They Marched Into Sunlight: War and Peace Vietnam and America October 1967 by David Maraniss ISBN: 0743217802 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David Von Drehle ISBN: 0871138743 Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester ISBN: 0198607024 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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