Missouri Pacific Diesel Power is an excellent photographic and informational resource for modelers and railfans of the Missouri Pacific railroad. Well balanced between photographs and text, the book includes extensive information and pictoral documentation of the wide range of diesel locomotives the Missouri Pacific (MP) used.The book begins with a respectable introduction describing the beginnings of the diesel engine, a basic primer on the MoPac and its predecessors, and the construction of the MP's diesel fleet.
Each of the 22 chapters begins with a textual chronology of diesel acquisition for the time frame that chapter covers (i.e. "Prewar Passenger Power" and "Steam's End - Diesel's Success: Roadswitchers"). Following this information for each chapter are the complete rosters of the classes of locomotives relevant to that chapter. These rosters are grouped by purchase order, allowing for easy assessment of specific features on locomotives in any given "phase" within a locomotive model's production run. These rosters are headed by general information for that purchase order. The rosters then include specific information for each locomotive within that delivery, including original and subsequent road numbers, built date, built number, disposition and any other notes that pertain to individual locomotives.
The information in this book is extensive for those needing prototypical information to model specific units (for instance, if you want to know which locomotives carried "double eagles," you can find that information here).
The only disappointment is, and this is relatively minor, the number of black and white photos rather than color. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of color photos in the book, but the book certainly could use more of them, especially in the more modern sections of the book.
Overall, the information in the book outweighs the issue of black and white photographs, and I certainly wouldn't dissuade someone from purchasing the book on that factor. This is an exceptional, comprehensive work and belongs on the shelf of anyone who researches the Missouri Pacific.
