[jr747]

I was wondering if anyone knew of a history book that talked about the introduction of the diesel electric locomotive to the railroads, the 1930's-1940s era. What challenges EMD, Alco, etc. companies faced with developing the first locos and convincing the railroads that diesel was the new way to go as apposed to steam. I know that EMD took the FT demonstrators for a couple of years around the country to show the reliablity of the those engines. I'm fascinated with that era and I would love to find a good history book that covered it.

Thanks.

J.R.

 

[ralphbrades]

Well it is not quite about the "Diesalisation Era" of the US -but it does contain some pretty relavant information. I would recommend you read P.Ransome-Wallis's book "Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Railway Locomotives". It is available to read on-line from Google Books. The chapter you need is chapter 2 (p110 -p147).

regards

ralph

 

[Paul Norton]

What you need is a special edition from Classic Trains entitles “Diesel Victory”. US$8.95

http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/kalmbachcatalog_2021_51711432http://kalmbachcatalog.stores.yahoo.net/cs1060101.html
Diesel Victory recaptures the exciting period from the 1920s to 1960s, when diesel locomotives battled steam for supremacy on America's railroads. This Special Edition features:
- A larger format with 116 pages - Numerous rare color photos - Insight on how railroads handled the transition from steam to diesel - An inside look at the first diesel manufacturers - Profiles of different diesel models, including streamliners and road switchers - Personal stories from the men who were there - And much more!