Trackside Maryland: From Railyard to Main Line [Hardcover]

Jacques Kelly (Author), James P. Gallagher (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 2003

In the 1950s, as railroads underwent major changes, some marginal lines stood on the brink of extinction. Steam locomotives grew scarcer by the month, as did rail passenger connections. With a keen eye for location and composition, James Gallagher in Trackside Maryland captures the drama and majesty of steam transportation in Maryland in its waning days, when passing trains left clouds of cinders and smoke behind them and the sound of steam whistles still echoed across the landscape -- all these sights and sounds giving way to modern diesel locomotives. Here Jacques Kelly's evocative prose accompanies Gallagher's ever vigilant lens. We are transported back to the last years of steam railroading.

"Each of Jim's photographs tells a story and conveys mood, spirit, atmosphere, and character. The ground in his photographs rumbles. Some of the antique trains he photographed look as if they might rust and crumble before the end of their trip. Other photos impart a feeling of majesty and romance. And you don't have to be a train buff to appreciate them. Just step aboard and savor the results of Jim Gallagher's skill, luck, and persistence." -- Jacques Kelly, from the Introduction.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Locomotives grace the pages along with their workers, stations and passenger cars. Close-up shots are great for modelers and historic buffs alike.

(Scale Rails )

Trackside Maryland presents the magnificent black-and-white photography of James Gallagher with the commentary of Baltimore Sunpapers columnist Jacques Kelly to create a masterpiece of regional railroad history caught in the vice between waning steam and the sleek diesel technology of the 1950s.

(Courtney B. Wilson, Executive Director, B&O Railroad Museum )

About the Author

James P. Gallagher (1920-2002) was a Baltimore native and avid photographer who worked as account executive at a Maryland securities firm. During World War II, he enlisted in the Army Air Force and served as a communications officer with the 49th Fighter Group of the 5th Air Force in the southwest Pacific. With The Fifth Army Air Force: Photos from the Pacific Theater, his photographs and memories of this experience, was published in 2001 by Johns Hopkins. His photographs of Maryland and West Virginia railroading were published in the 1950s in the Sunday Sun Magazine, Trains Magazine, and B&O Magazine. In 2000, he received the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society's Lifetime Achievement Award.Jacques Kelly is also a Baltimore native and historian and writes a regular column for the Baltimore Sun.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (March 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801873231
• ISBN-13: 978-0801873232
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,660,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book! Many Photos, July 21, 2000

By 

green152 "--Mike--" (Timonium, MD 21093) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trackside Maryland: From Railyard to Main Line (Hardcover)

I found this book to be very good; if you're from the Mid Atlantic States it's a great book! Many of the photos and stories are very good; almost all are black and white. This book had me looking back in time and remembering the days of powerful steam engines and then powerful diesel locomotives. A lot of the book is dedicated to the latter. I would highly recommend this book, even if you're not from the Maryland area the photos and stories are very good and trains of course are national in nature.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Railroads and life around them, not just trains, November 11, 2007

By 

W. Tuohy (Bay Area, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trackside Maryland: From Railyard to Main Line (Hardcover)

This book offers beautiful photography and useful commentary. It is not just about trains or, worse still, just about locomotives - as are far too many railroad books. These photos show railroads and trains in their physical contexts.
I should mention, however, that the subjects of these photographs are highly concentrated, in/around the state of Maryland, and perhaps are of less interest to persons not emotionally or otherwise connected to that region.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding Offering of Railroading Photos and Commentary, April 13, 2010

By 

Aficianado, "Music, Film and Book Lover" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trackside Maryland: From Railyard to Main Line (Hardcover)

Morning Sun Books currently markets a series of railroad books in its "Trackside" series (currently some 80 plus titles) and each title is focused either on a specific geographical area ("Trackside Around Southern California 1954-1963 With Dick Donat", "Western Maryland Trackside With George Leilich", "Trackside Around Kansas 1960-1975 With Lloyd E. Stagner", etc.) or on a specific railroad ("Wabash Trackside With Emery Gulash 1954-1974", "Boston & Maine Trackside With Arthur E. Mitchell", "Trackside Along the B&O 1957-1958 With Edward P. Griffith", etc).

Although at first glance this book may appear to be part of that series, it is NOT. It was published by Greenberg Press (and later re-published by Johns Hopkins University Press), the publishing company of Bill and Linda Greenberg in Sykesville, MD, publishers of a comprehensive line of books on Lionel, American Flyer, Marx and Kusan model trains (including an extensive number of books on Lionel train repair), and other pre-war and post-war stalwart toys (such as Gilbert Erector Sets, "Tootsietoys", doll houses, and Star Trek collectibles, among other toys).

This particular book represents one of Greenberg's several entries into books on full sized railroading ("Union Pacific Business Cars, 1870 - 1991", "The Royal Blue Line: The Classic B&O Train Between Washington and New York", and several others). It is truly an outstanding book on railroading and one of the best of its genre I've seen. The book is chock full of great black and white photographs by photographer James Gallagher accompanied by descriptive prose by Baltimore Sunpapers Columnist Jacques Kelly.

The photos are varied, engaging and plentiful. They are not just about trains (although plenty of them are) but also about RAILROADING, including the people of railroading and the scenes of railroading. Some of my favorites are one of a locomotive engineer accompanied in the cab by his railroad's canine mascot, as well as some taken in and around Harpers Ferry, West Virginia (which is just across the Potomac River from Maryland and must certainly be one of the most picturesque communities and railroad track layouts in the country).

The book is set mainly in the State of Maryland (and surrounding locales) and features the railroads you would expect to see in that area, namely the Pennsylvania Railroad, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Western Maryland Railroad, Norfolk & Western Railroad, and the "Ma and Pa" (Maryland and Pennsylvania) Railroad. It focuses on the time when steam was just starting to be replaced by diesel and while the bulk of the photos are of steam locomotives, there is an ample supply of photos of diesels, GG1 electric locomotives, RDC cars and even a few of the PRR's "Aerotrain".

While Marylanders will particularly enjoy this volume, one need not have a connection to that geographical area to enjoy the exceptional railroad photography and text. Any lover of railroading will truly appreciate it. As of this writing, it is available in hardback on Amazon for a price that's extremely reasonable for railroad books these days (and on Amazon Marketplace for even less in some cases). Even at the full price it surely one of the great values in railroadiana available today.