Customer Reviews

F Units: The Diesels That Did It (Golden Years of Railroading)

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F Units: The Diesels that did it is a book that both young and old railfans will find enjoyable. The text is comprehensible, so you need not be a die-hard train buff to understand the terminology. There are cutaway and sectional illustrations that allow the reader to distinguish between the different types of F Unit diesel locomotives, and a very complete and thorough history is provided for each locomotive. This book is chock full of pictures. Although they are all in black-and-white, they are still stunning, and they do justice to the prototype. Whether you are a model railroader or just a train buff, you'll appreciate this book.

Author Jeff Wilson undertook and delivered in this effort. His writings are truly the best contemorary treatise on THE diesel locomotive series that literally re-wrote railroading history. In "F Units - The Diesel That Did It", you will be educated on each model, and its' respective features, and also learn about "Phases" - a term used to describe subtle yet poignant differences within a given specific model. Collectively, the "F" series of locomotives, designed and built by (the) Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, started in AND finished off Steam Powered Locomotion on all but two "Class I" Railroads on the North American Continent. I sincerely hope that this book will be reprinted some day, so as to assist future students eager to learn about this historic agggregate of transportation machinery.

A brief history of the Electro-Motive Division F-series locomotives, which proved so versatile, economical, and reliable that they "did it"--made the steam locomotive obsolete for most railroading applications--in a remarkably short period of time. There's not a lot of text here, but there are lots of great 1940s and 1950s black and white photos, mostly of F units in action but also including several terrific scenes from the EMD plants where the locomotives were built. Posed publicity photos from the various railroads are interspersed with evocative portraits from distinguished railroad photographers including J. Parker Lamb, Jim Shaughnessy, Richard Steinheimer, and others. Scale drawings and model-by-model descriptions illustrate the differences between and within each model, helpful for the railfan who needs to know, for example, how to distinguish an FP7 from an F7, or an early F3 from a late F3.

This book covers the trials, tribulations, and ultimate success of General Motors F-unit series of diesel-electric locomotives. The F-units are credited by many with ending the reign of the steam locomotive in the United States. A must-have for locomotive and railroad enthusiasts.

This book is full of beautifull b+w photos and just enough tech. info to keep the passive railfan interested. With all the F-unit photos out there (at one time, anyway) the book could have been bigger, but for the price you can't go wrong. Buy two, give one to your kid.