Darn right. It's easy to point fingers, but proofreading a book is really tough. Haven't any of you ever gone back and read a book you'd read before and then noticed a typo or something wrong? I know I have...

As at least a couple of you know, I post vintage photos from the archives of the Baltimore Chapter NRHS and Baltimore Streetcar Museum to the Chapter's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Baltimor ... 5824370567

In spite of the fact that I have seasoned "pros" scanning and captioning the photos in question, in the interests of making the posts relevant to readers, I attempt to double- and triple-check the photo information, using such tools as my own SPV Atlases, Google and Bing aerial/street views, books, online rosters, web sites, etc. and adding more data such as where the loco ended up, a link to a current view, etc.

I've found that if I'm tackling a subject that I don't have intimate first-hand knowledge of or experience with, the research for additional information can average a half-hour or more PER PHOTO. And if you're an enthusiast like me easily sucked into further enthusiasm all of a sudden ("So that loco isn't there any more, but what's that snow plow? And why is there a passenger car on the interchange siding? And the station's now gone, better update the Railroad Station Historical Society database.... wait, is that truss bridge on the Historic Bridges database?....."), your entire day can vanish into one damned photo.......

I'm not much of a book guy but I've enjoyed my copy as it's loaded with lots of good pictures of Nelson's early efforts and certainly does a good job of recording the various stages of the Steamtown story.

Seems to me it's a must read if you're interested in mainline eastern excursion steam and of course interested in the Nelson Blount story.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Nelson and have often wondered how Steamtown would have grown if he had not been killed in the plane crash.

Ross Rowland

There is a biography of Blount: The Man from Steamtown by James Adair (Moody Press, 1967 and updated in 1988), available used on Amazon and elsewhere.

Wesley

A caution for those who may not know the book in question (the newbies, etc.):

The book was published by a Christian-book publisher, and as such focuses greatly on Blount's conversion to evangelical Christianity. It does point out that Blount was prone in later years to evangelizing to visitors at Steamtown, which if you didn't know that might explain a few things about Steamtown in the 1960s.

In short, this book is a biography (and not a bad one at that) first, a tract second, and a railfan book third at best. If you go into this looking for an account of Steamtown's collecting philosophy and preservation strategy, the history of the railroading there, or a roster of equipment, you will be--like I'm sure a great many of the buyers of this book at Steamtown Vermont were--largely disappointed.

ADM 4th. is correct about the Man from Steamtown book. I only knew Nelson for little over a year before his untimely death and can testify that he was "on fire" for the Lord and took every opportunity to share his faith with everyone he met. He did his best to "save" me at my then tender age of 26 and I was not having it then as my priorities were elsewhere.

His aggressiveness certainly turned many off but I'm also sure that he turned many onto a better life course than they were on prior to meeting him.

The seed that he planted in me took 28 years to sprout as I accepted Christ as my Lord and Saviour at age 54, so I owe him a belated thank you when he and I reunite in the Kingdom.

Back to the earthly subject of steam railroading I would again suggest Jim Boyd's new book as an excellent memorial to Nelson and the Steamtown story.

I will share a special moment Nelson and I shared upon arrival at Jersey City on the HICO 1966 Jim Thorpe excursion after his first ever mainline steam run operating his beloved CPR G-5 # 127 in my book. There's a picture of it in Boyd's book.

Ross Rowland

I wrote the following book review back when Steamtown in Color first came out. For one reason or another, it was never posted here. Figured there might be one or two people that would like to read it.

Book Review: Steamtown In Color: From F. Nelson Blount to the National Park Service

Steamtown In Color is the first Morning Sun book devoted exclusively to a railroad museum, and therefore is of note to readers of RYPN. Author Jim Boyd, who passed away on New Year’s Day 2011, brings an extensive knowledge of the Steamtown operation to the table, having extensively photographed Steamtown both in Vermont and in Pennsylvania.

There is more text included than in a normal Morning Sun book - in other words, this book isn’t just photos. Boyd has thoroughly researched Steamtown, its founding, and its development.

While generally pleasing to the eye, the photo layout is somewhat cluttered (page 65 has ten photos, one of them not much bigger than a postage stamp). Photo reproduction is acceptable, and there are only a few high sun/bad weather shots. Generally the photos are good and carry the show. As expected, many of Boyd’s Steamtown photos previously seen in Railfan & Railroad are here, along with several from Mike Eagleson, Hal Carstens, Walt Grosselfinger, and others. There are some outstanding shots in the mix: Ealeson's night shot of 127 (1278) inside the Communipaw roundhouse (pg. 39); in service views of B&M 3731 (pg. 106-107) and several pages of railfan weekend night shoots (pgs. 62-63), and a terrific night shot of CP 2929 (pg. 51). A few, like the shot of N&W 1218 running in 1987 (pg 121), are only ho-hum.

Boyd starts out Chapter one with a historical sketch of Blount himself, followed by Chapter Two, which covers Blount’s involvement with Edaville, Pleasure Island, and Freedomland (his tragic death isn’t covered until later in the book). For this chapter Boyd borrows heavily from James R. Adair’s “The Man From Steamtown.” There are several B&W photos of the Maine 2-footers obtained by Ellis Atwood, and many modern-era photos (early 1990s) of the Edaville operation. Pleasure Island only gets one small B&W photos, but Freedomland is represented by two color shots. The interesting text more than makes up for the lack of photographs in this chapter.

Chapter three, Establishing in New Hampshire, is mostly photos, and it contains some great shots, including a killer opening shot by Preston Johnson of a B&M F-unit hauling Blount’s collection out of Pleasure Island. (Included in the consist was Blount’s B&M E7, later scrapped, but this is not mentioned.) Chapter three is heavy with photos of Rahway Valley 2-8-0 No. 15, but also has two pages of CN 4-6-4T 47 running on the Claremont & Concord in ’61. For those of us unfamiliar with the area, maps are included. Boyd also includes many photos of Rutland/Green Mountain operations in addition to Steamtown operations.

Excursions are covered extensively, including those run by Ross Rowland’s High Iron Company with Blount’s ex-NKP Berkshire 759, and earlier, with CP 1278 (as 127). Also included are the D&H runs with Steamtown’s 1278 as “D&H 653,” and a shot of 127 doubleheading with Strasburg 90.

Chapter four, Down by the Riverside, includes several photos of the steam locomotives lined up around the turntable at Steamtown’s Riverside location, and the debut of CP 2317. Photographically, it’s very strong, especially the shots from the Railfan Weekends. Boyd briefly covers the move from Vermont to Pennsylvania.

Chapter five, Steamtown Moves to Scranton, nicely includes two pages of DL&W steam shots (in color) taken in Scranton, and another two pages of Scranton’s diesel era in the 1960s-1970s. There is good coverage of the DL&W Scranton yard as it existed in the 1980s, and the inauguration of Steamtown excursions out of the Lackawanna Hilton in 1984. The treatment of what Boyd calls the “ersatz Lackawanna” era is brief – two pages – but I really enjoyed the shot of CN 3254 dressed as “Lackawanna 1271” (pg. 76).

The modern Steamtown era gets less coverage that I was expecting, with two full pages devoted to the destruction of Scranton’s downtown area for the Steamtown Mall; two pages devoted to Canadian Pacific; and two pages devoted to the 1995 grand opening. I did enjoy the page of photos titled “Lackawannabes,” showing various diesels (and MILW 261) in DL&W dress, but Jim fails to mention that 261 had been dressed in Lackawanna livery for the filming of the Steamtown movie. Alas, there are no shots of Steamtown under construction in the early 1990s, which was another surprise considering that Boyd lived only an hour away from Scranton.

Chapter 6 covers the Electric City Trolley Museum and is perhaps the best chapter in terms of overall photographs and text. There are some really nice vintage shots of the Laurel Line in operation, and many of today’s operations including some nice interior views. I learned a lot from this chapter.

Chapter seven, The Locomotive Collection, is just that – an overview of the steam locomotives in the collection. This is probably my favorite chapter as it includes many “yesterday and today” shots of the locomotives, including most that have left the Steamtown collection, such as CPR 2816 and CN 89. “Seven Canadian Pacifics” is good, but I was somewhat confused by the inclusion of full page devoted to the CP G5 Pacifics that have never been at Steamtown (1238, 1286, 1201) while some important locomotives, like Southern Railway (of England) Schools Class 4-4-0 No. 926, only get one small photo and a brief mention. In Chapter seven you’ll find some good photos of Reading 2124 on early Rambles trips, N&W 1218 after its arrival from Union Carbide, and several nice, sunny views of the smaller engines that have never gotten much press. Rounding out the book is a complete list of all Steamtown steam locomotives, including their present status and location. Diesels, unfortunately, are not included.

Overall Steamtown in Color is a terrific book. I feel that the early days of Steamtown are well covered, but the “modern” Steamtown could have been given more floor space. I also feel, given what has been going on at Steamtown for the last two years, that there could have been more in the text about Lackawanna 565. Additionally, Boyd curiously chose not to include interior shots of the Steamtown roundhouse displays, and there is only one shot illustrating the magnificent Steamtown backshop – two of its strongest points. The text is good, but in my opinion Frank Kyper’s article in the November-December 1995 Locomotive & Railway Preservation was more clear and concise. Boyd’s terrific photos from the 1970s are what really carried this book for me, and make it well worth the $59.95 price tag.


Steamtown In Color makes me hopeful that someday we’ll see a "Steam Tourist Railroads In Color" from Morning Sun. Perhaps a four volume set covering the east, west, midwest and south. Heck, I'd volunteer to write those! – Jeff Terry