Solomon’s Done It Again

Brian Solomon, 1 of today's most accomplished railway historians, is out with a NEW railroad book & it's another WINNER for sure. Brian's been 1 of my favorite guests on the Puffman Show, & he's authored more than 30 books about railroads & motive power. His writing & photography have been featured in Trains, Railway Age, Passenger Train Journal, & RailNews. "Classic Railroad Signal; Semaphores, Searchlights and Towers" was just released last month & this hardcover coffee table presentation is right up there. The man's no stranger to Big Sky Country...he came the rails through Glendive when he was but a wee lad on a Northern Pacific passenger train back in the days when the Northern Pacific ran the southern route of Montana!  Brian examines how different railroads developed specific hardware to serve their unique needs, in the process tracing the lineage of various types of hardware & highlighting how & where they were used. It's ALL here...from 19th century mechanical signals to disc signals, upper & lower-quadrant semaphores, 3 light electric signals, searchlight-style targets, positional lights, & color position light hardware. In fact, nearly every conceivable piece of North American signaling hardware, even the virtually extinct wig wag, once standard in California & Wisconsin, is covered. I especially enjoyed the chapter on grade crossing protection & unusual railroad signals, along with a glossary, rounding out how in depth the book is. Gorgeous period & contemporary photography shows signals & trains from around North America. "Classic Railroad Signals" should be on every railroad enthusiast's bookshelf. Check out Brian Solomon's "Classic Railroad Signals" from Voyageur Press at: www.voyageurpress.com & do some "armchair traveling." I hope to be scheduling Brian for an interview on this beautiful presentation on the Puffman Show in the very near future. ALL ABOARD railroad buffs from Puff!