A Memory of Trains : The Boll Weevil and Others

As the son of a railroad conductor and product of a railroad town (Hamlet, N.C.) Im a passionate railway buff. But in this wonderful reminiscence of old trains great and small, North and South, freight and passenger, smoke and whistle, illustrated by his own photographs, Louis Rubin shows himself King of the Buffs and Master of the Tracks. You can almost hear someone shouting "all aboard!" says Tom Wicker.

"Railfans will find all the material they crave about the webs of passenger and freight routes that once plied those parts of the nation ... Rubin's work is also a literary elegy of trains and the culture they bore ... a handsome volume ... Trainspotters everywhere will love it," says Publishers Weekly.

"It is his beautifully written narrative, humble and elegant, that makes the book such a gem," wrote Preservation magazine. And the photographs "convey the power, grace, movement, and beauty of the speeding train."

"The author's photos accompany the well-written chapters, leave readers saddened by all that was lost when railroads lost their grandeur, but they will appreciate the memories this autobiography stirs," says Roger Carp in Trains magazine.

"His photographs, 122 in number, are pure nostalgia; freight trains, passenger trains, trains rolling across trestles and heading into small-town stations, cabooses, water towers, and a carnival train with gaudily painted flatcars ... For readers old enough to remember the book is a joy; for readers too young to remember, here is a chance to share the joy," says George Cohen in Booklist magazine

The pictures are excellent. They are not of the glossy variety you see in expensive coffee-table books. They show real trains, really working at whatever they were doing when the author/photographer happened upon them, or they upon him as he patiently waited trackside.

The narrative is as wonderful as the photos. His description of the departure of a passenger train is worth a thousand pictures. For those of us who have witnessed this event it will conjur up the wonderful sounds, sights, and smells which we might have forgotten over time. For those who have not been so fortunate, Rubin's descriptions will paint a vivid image that will surpass anything short of being there -- and maybe even that, as the first-time observer will be overwhelmed with details, many of which will be missed. Louis Rubin's description misses nothing.

Retired University Distinghished Professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Louis Rubin is one of the most talented and prolific writers of non-fiction in the United States. We railfans are indeed fortunate that he shares our interest in trains and that he has written this wonderful memory of them.