STEAM LOCOMOTIVES

This vivid appreciation combines big, dramatic color photos taken in several countries over a nearly 40-year span with a lively, opinionated history that will clue readers in to both the development (and jargon) of steam railroading, and its enduring fascination. After opening with a personal reminiscence (“Love Those Locomotives!”), Zimmermann chronicles the growth of steam engines, from early “grasshoppers” to the mammoth “Big Boys” that roared over the US before being superceded by today’s diesel-electric models. He tucks in side looks at renowned incidents and exploits, and closes with a poignantly short list of places where steam driven trains still run. His photos make those in other photo-surveys, such as Seymour Simon’s Book of Trains (2002) look pallid, and his prose—“Tall driving wheels whirred, rods waved frantically, smoke belched from stacks”—is just as pictorial; few readers will come away without being caught up in the wonder of these magical, fuming behemoths. (index) (Nonfiction. 9-12)