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Looking for a book- SP ops over the Hill

Hi all, this may be a bit of a longshot, but I thought this group is probably the best in which to ask this question. Some years ago (I think at least ten) I picked up a book in a northern California bookstore about the Southern Pacific and its operations over the Sierra Nevadas. It was written by a gentleman who worked for the railroad and as I recall, covered mostly steam operations and perhaps went a little into the diesel era. It included stories of rough winters, driving track cars along the route, and having to yank them off the track in the face of an oncoming train. As I recall, it was a couple hundred pages long, a few pages of photographs. The one I can remember is a picture of a whole line of telegraph poles snapped by a sliding snowpack. My guess is it came out 10-15 years ago.

Alas, I didn't buy the book that day, and I never saw it again. Unfortunately, I don't remember any part of the title or the author. Does this work sound familiar to anyone here? Any ideas or information is much appreciated. Thanks,

-Eric

Reply to
skyliner
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The bookstore in the Calif. Railway Muesem in Sacramento may have that book and if you can remember the name or the author, you can always look it up at

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and see what it is going for. A 10-15 year old book should be somewhat available still for new unless it was a very limited production.

-- Bob May Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less. Works evevery time it is tried!

Reply to
Bob May

Make Google your friend and search for "book Southern Pacific Sierra operations":

Donner Pass: Southern Pacific's Sierra Crossing By : John R. Signor Discover the history of the monumental Donner Pass and Southern Pacific. See how operations evolved from early wood-burning locomotives to the first diesels to the generations of machines that have followed. Publisher: Golden West Books

The same author also wrote another book titled "Southern Pacific's Shasta Division". Here's the Calif. State RR Museum store's URL for that - just back up* from it for lots more books:

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Just where in Nor Cal was it? SF? Sacto? Up* in the Sierra?

  • NOTE: _not yet_ copyright Union Pacific
Reply to
Steve Caple

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 22:57:45 UTC, Steve Caple wrote: 2000

I immediately thought of John's book as well but it didn't really match the description. It is an excellent book by the way.

Reply to
Ernie Fisch

If I remember correctly, it was at "A Clean-Well Lighted Place for Books," in Larkspur, Northern California. I think that place is gone by now (just like the railroad bridge made famous in Dirty Harry, just down the road!). Unfortunately, I live in the midwest now, so works like that are a little harder to come by here. Guess I should have bought it right away back then.

One e-mail I received suggested Bill Fisher's, "Thirty Years Over Donner," and that sounds like it might be it, as it came out in 1991. But for only being 12 years ago, that book is suprisingly hard to find these days.

-Eric

Reply to
skyliner

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