Got home early today to start packing for my "vacation - Part II" tomorrow, and found two surprises waiting for me: * First was a package from Bill Sheppard (3 days, that's service!). I got both the Tidewater Terminals of the EL and the Schematic Track Diagrams of the EL (New York/Scranton Division)... I've seen both of these books before, and was quite happy to get my own copies! The Tidewater Terminals book has schematic maps of Croxton Yard, Jersey City yards, Weehawken area, Hoboken freight and passenger yards (the latter being an amazingly complex diagram!), and the tiny 28th Street Yard in New York City (reached by float). All the maps are current to 1975. Croxton is simply huge! It also has several pages describing EL marine facilities and operations, and neat histories to go with all the diagrams (did you know that the Croxton Yard name came from Croxton Station, a transfer point at the west end of the Bergen Tunnel and Archways, and was named in honor of Philip Croxton, a traffic manager for P. Lorillard and Company?) Very neat book! The schematic diagrams book is an absolute MUST for anyone even remotely interested in the EL in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania! This book has got it all - sidings, signals, high car detectors, etc. For modelers, it is INVALUABLE! I'm not sure what Larry DeYoung meant in his original post that it was reprinted in a larger format - this book (published October 1974) looks just like the ones I've seen. Perhaps there's an earlier version? (if so, can anyone tell me what it looks like?) Regardless, the book is about the size of a standard paperback - about 5x7" - and is 80 pages long. Advice? Get 'em while you can! These are great additions to any EL fan's library... * Other treat was "The DL&W in the 20th Century, Volume 1" from Steamtown. (Book #34, if anyone's interested) The only deviation from the original book that I could find by skimming it was the title page, which has a small reproduction "Railroad History Award" from the R&LHS, a notation about this third printing by the SVA, and a small paragraph blurb on SVA as a "non-profit, public benefit 501(c)(3) corporation..." Reproduction is extremely well done. All the images are sharp and clear, perhaps even moreso than the original. Maybe a different printing process? The text is also very clear - much darker and easier to read than the last printing. VERY surprising is that in the contents, there's a final line after the index: "Addenda of Additions and Corrections.......380" Well, there is no page 380! The book ends with the index! Does anyone know if such an addenda exists elsewhere? Did they just forget to put it in? All in all, another highly recommended classic for Lackawanna fans (heck, even you Erie guys will like it! :) - Paul - - ----------------------------------------------------------- Visit the erielack photopage at http://el-list.railfan.net ------------------------------
This HTML page is © 2000-2009 Blue Moon Online System and The Railfan Network
This page and the data contained therein may not be reproduced
for any form of commercial use without the explicit permission
of J. Henry Priebe Jr. or his duly authorized agent.