{"product_id":"life-along-the-tracks-candid-stories-from-a-career-railroader-9781638640301","title":"Life Along the Tracks: Candid Stories from a Career Railroader","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs a boy in the early 1950s, Mike McLaughlin was a regular stowaway riding switch engines back and forth in Seattle, Washington. By the time he was in high school, he was hand-firing steam engines as an unofficial crew member. Obsessed with trains and destined for a life along the tracks, he started by digging ditches as a gandy and ended as a railroad and transportation consultant, but he never completely relinquished his shovel. His career spanned multiple railroads, including Great Northern, Denver \u0026amp; Rio Grande Western, and Chicago, Rock Island \u0026amp; Pacific, as well as transportation management for several large industrial firms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith McLaughlin, even the mundane becomes fascinating. Unlike those of an executive or engineer, his personal accounts focus on what went on behind the scenes--from the finer points of using a shovel to suddenly having to reroute 16,000 tons of talc ore from Montana to a ship in Portland. He describes living and working as part of maintenance and signal gangs, moving days on several lines, supervisory issues, and more. His collection of mid-20th century timetables and other paper ephemera provide minute detail related to railroad activities and communications. Numerous photographs and Dave Clemens' hand-drawn maps enhance the text, illustrate where stories take place, and promote a deeper understanding of some gritty, intense railroading.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Basalt Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/31\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781638640301\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 260","brand":"Mike McLaughlin, Jim Providenza","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44608400261301,"sku":"9781638640301","price":38.25,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_da99b45b-aa23-4233-b50d-ab45b43b1bfa.jpg?v=1725374657","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/life-along-the-tracks-candid-stories-from-a-career-railroader-9781638640301","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}