Customer Reviews

Glover Steam Locomotives

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I am a huge fan of small and quirky industrial railroad equipment-- honestly the smaller the better. As a live steam modeler, I am always looking for good reference material for possible projects. I read the description of this book and added it to my wish list without really knowing if it was going to be good. I knew that Glover created some of the smallest locomotives around for the U.S. Army. They were tiny little 0-4-0 steam locomotives. I wasn't sure how well the really small equipment would be represented in this book. I wasn't all that interested in the 2-6-0 locomotive on the cover illustration and that is really all I had to go on. Well, after receiving a signed edition of the book as a gift this year I was extremely pleased with the contents. Apparently Glover kept very thorough historical records and all of these materials have been kept intact. The book is loaded with photographs and much of what you see in this book is quite unusual. Diminutive little "plantation" and industrial locomotives seemed to be one of Glover's specialties. There are some neat photos of low-slung tunnel mining locomotives and steam powered hoists and log skidders which Glover also manufactured. The author is definitely enthusiastic about the topic and at some times seems a bit too effusive about the significance of Glover Machine Works but he raises some interesting points when comparing Glover to some of the other American locomotive builders. Since Glover was a relatively small, family owned business they were a bit more informal with the "builders photos". As a result you will see young members of Mr. Glover's family posing in some images with the locomotives and I always find it interesting to see some of the humanity behind the machines.

This book is a fantastic record of a lesser known American locomotive manufacturer that contains generous amounts of compelling images. If you are fan of small or unusual locomotives this book should definitely be in your library.