Customer Reviews

Central of Georgia Railway (Images of America (Arcadia Publishing))

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This book is drawn largely from the archive of the Central of Georgia's company newsletters/magazines. It is a treasure trove of photos of the employees and customers of the line, but does not as heavily emphasive the rolling stock and motive power. So most of the pictures of maintenance and locomotives are shown within the context of showing the employees. The book is pretty light on operational issues and so is not very useful for those who would be looking for maps, equipment lists and other operational details. Still, its a fun read and captures the feel of the "golden age" of railroading.

America's railroads fielded some marvelous passenger trains before the independence of the automobile and the speed of the airplane led to the near demise of railroad passenger service, at least until Amtrak restored it in densely-populated corners of the nation. To attract passengers, railroads used both modern architectural styling inside their cars and also various entertainments and diversions. In 1951, for example, the Central of Georgia sponsored fashion shows, including the latest swimsuit fashions, to help pass the miles on one of its premier trains. Other runs hosted on-board flower shows.

Passengers were not the only folks to receive the railroad's attention. To build pride and loyalty among employees, the Central of Georgia sponsored baseball teams, basketball teams, bowling leagues, and even a uniformed band. Of course, as was customary throughout the first six decades of twentieth-century America, such teams were sharply segregated both by sex and by race.

Historical facts such as these come to life through the photographs in this book. The railroad itself comes to life as well, for we see through the lenses of company photographers many facets of this busy, and, for quite a while, prosperous company. Included are shots of passengers, crew members, shop mechanics at work, outdoor advertising, freight loads, rail yards, and even new 1954 Oldsmobiles being crated for shipment to Brazil.

Because these photographs were originally used in the Central of Georgia's in-house magazine, it is understandable that most were taken to ballyhoo the road's progress and modernism. Hence, the new Diesel-electric locomotives built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division and by Alco show up frequently. The railfan reader might wish for a few more views of the road's older steam locomotives than are present here, but the final section of the book, entitled "On the Rails: The Diverse Rolling Stock of the Central of Georgia Railway," does include several nice views of a variety of steam motive power.

A short introduction to the book gives an interestingly worded overview of the history of the Central of Georgia. I found this to be a wonderful summation of the road's history and quite adequate in detail for the general reader, although a rail historian may find it too general for research purposes.

Obviously, the strength of this book lies in the story told through the camera lenses of the company photographers. The variety of photographs is excellent, and the reproduction is sharp and clear. All are black and white, but only a few lose detail to the shadows. Also, it would be nice to see the many Diesel-electric F-unit locomotives in the bright color schemes in which most were painted, particularly for passenger service. On the other hand, all of the photographs are accompanied by clear, explanatory captions which are quite helpful in ensuing that the reader understands the significance of each scene.

I recommend the book to all who enjoy photographic histories of early and mid-twentieth century America, her railroads in general, or the Central of Georgia Railway in particular. It clearly reminds us that there was more to railroading than the Union Pacific, the Santa Fe, the Pennsylvania,, or the New York Central--even if Lionel never made a model of the Nancy Hanks II or the Man of War, two of the CofG's luxurious passenger trains!

This book is made from excerpts of the Central of Georgia RR magazine (various names) published for the employees. It is primarily a "picture book' but I found it very interesting and since it concentrates mostly on the period from 1940 through 1960 I found it especially interesting because this is the period I lived in Atlanta. For me it rekindled memories especially of the Nancy Hanks & the Man of War passenger trains. If your looking for a technical RR book look elsewhere but if you want to see photos of the people who make the trains go and the trains themselves in glorious black & white then this book will satisfy.