Southern Pacific DAYLIGHT Steam Locomotives Paperback – 112 pages. Author Kenneth G. Johnsen ISBN-13 978-1-58007-098-0

The Southern Pacific Railroad produced some of the worlds most powerful and enigmatic locomotives. The unique A10 ‘Cab Forward’ so well captured by Rivarossi and the mammoth AC-9 2-8-8-4 articulated loco’s, which were very similar to the Union Pacific’s ‘Big Boy’. Perhaps its most enduring legacy was the fabulous GS series of 4-8-4 ‘Daylight’ locomotives. Trains pulled by the Daylights from San Francisco to Los Angeles were widely regarded as the most beautiful in the world. In that Golden age before the advent of universal air travel and the long distance turnpike, the general public travelled by train as a matter of routine. Journeys were long and luxurious with smart attentive staff, trains that were clean and ran on time. They were pulled by these large powerful Daylight Express Locomotives very much a symbol of the railroads greatness. This book, a companion volume to the previously reviewed EMD Switchers, captures this power and excitement to perfection. It is packed with over 250 superb photographs, with many in colour. There is a wealth of technical information and outline drawings. For anyone interested in US locomotive practice or the modeller wishing to build a model of the Daylight this book is a must.

Colin Usher