When the Steam Railroads Electrified

Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing Co, 1974. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. 439, [1] pages. Oversize Book, measuring 11-1/2 inches by 8-1/2 inches. Name and address of the previous owner of this book written inside the front free endpaper. THe previous owner had a long and distinguished career with the Federal Railroad Administration. Profusely illustrated in black and white; also contains several black and white railway maps. DJ is in a plastic sleeve with a brown border, slightly taped to the boards. Illustrated endpapers. The index has entries for Canadian Car & Foundry, Canadian General Electric, Canadian National Electrification (several entries, including pages 183-190), Canadian Northern, Canadian Pacific, and Canadian Vickers, as well as Great Western Ry (Canada), Quebec and the Montreal, Quebec central railroad station. William D. Middleton (March 25, 1928 - July 10, 2011) was an American reporter, writer and photographer. The majority of his work was on the subject of railroad history and operation. He published over 20 books and approximately 700 articles for magazines and newspapers, accompanied by photographs. His work as a photographer was profiled in the Spring 2011 issue of Classic Trains magazine. He was one of the lead editors, along with George M. Smerk and Roberta L. Diehl, for the Encyclopedia of North American Railroads This volume is the third and final work by this author in his survey of electric transportation. At a time when the future of railway electrification spreads out before us, an interest in railway electrifications of the past inevitably is reawakened. The historical and technical information on which this book is largely based is drawn from a great body of printed material including the journals of the electric railway and railroad trade press, the several periodicals of the railway enthusiast fraternity, publications of the electrical manufacturing companies, and scores of books and other works on the subject, both technical and popular in nature. The was when published the most comprehensive history of North American railroad electrification, For most of the first half of the twentieth century, the United States led the world in railroad electrification. Before the outbreak of World War II, it had some 2400 route-miles and more than 6300 track-miles operating under electric power -- far more than any other country, and more than 20 percent of the world total. In almost every instance, electrification was a huge success, Running times were reduced. Tonnage capacities were increased. Fuel and maintenance costs were lowered, and the service lives of electric locomotives promised to be twice as long as those of steam locomotives. In many cases, the savings resulting from electric operation were sufficient to repay the cost of electrification in as little as five years. Yet despite its many triumphs, electrification of U.S. railroads failed to achieve the wide application that once was so confidently predicted. By the 1970s, it was the Soviet Union, with almost 22,000 electrified route miles, that led the way, and the U.S. had declined to 17th place, behind such countries as Czechoslovakia, Austria, Norway, and Brazil. For a while, the prospects for electric operation of U.S. railroads brightened during the energy crisis of the 1970s, and as power companies began to consider the major market represented by railroads, but then faded away again.