World's Greatest Steam Locomotives: C&O 2-6-6-6, Virginian 2-6-6-6, N&W 2-6-6-4, Up 4-8-8-4

Rating:
Summary: Lack of technical comparison
Review: This book was a bit disappointing to me. The description of the book tells you that the 3 biggest steam locomotives would be compared and I hoped for a technical comparison as well. Although there is a lot of information in this book, there is no overview of technical details and no drawing with some dimensions on it. So if you want to know for instance the diameter of driver wheels of the different design, it is very hard to find (and then often not direct, but in term that the diameter was 1 inch greater then...). Often in long sentences is referred to other books, where a footnote in my opinion could have done the same and should have save space for more interesting text. Now the text looks sometimes more a chat at the round table about these locomotives.
In the photo part there are some very nice B&W pictures and therefore the book will get in place in my collection. Some of the color photos are rather poor. I know that in the fifties it was difficult to make color pictures, but perhaps whit the aid of modern techniques some colors could have fressed up a bit. The recent picture of the Allegheny in the Ford museum should have been taken with the aid of professional flash equipment (I have been there and know that the light on the locomotive is very poor, but I have seen better pictures).