Karl Zimmermann (1)

The authors were teenagers when they started their quest to chronicle the end of steam via photographs and words. They do a wonderful job enclosing photos taken by them and others who shared the same passion. As they lived in New Jersey and had to take trains or drive to Canada to take the photos, they concentrated their work in Quebec as it was closer to their home.
By consulting railway time schedules, they are able to identify most trains in the photos as to where they were coming from and where they were going. Sometimes they asked railway workers for the information. They also had access to workshops and trains for behind the scenes photos and stories. Some of the most spectacular photos are those taken during winter.
The ending is sad as they describe the last runs made by trains in Quebec some of which they witnessed. Megantic is mentioned in several articles and there are several photos of the town of Megantic as it had a major marshaling yard. One photo shows a train leaving the yard to make a run at the grade to Nantes, the same grade an unmanned train swept down into the town in July 2013 killing 47 people and destroying the downtown with the resulting explosion.

A great book for train buffs.… (meer)

Zimmermann Karl. Steamboats. Boyds Mills Press (2006).

This non-fiction/informational book is about steamboats, including Lakers, Ferries and Paddle Wheelers. The author begins by telling of a journey he went on through the Great Lakes on a steam engine. Steamboats were invented in the early 1800’s. In 1834 there were only 230 steamboats, but by the year 1849, there were nearly 1000. Excursion Steamers and Ferryboats are also mentioned. Two very interesting stories were included. Mark Twain began his career on the Mississippi as a river pilot. The second story was the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.
Depending on the childs age, this book is helpful and a fairly quick read. For the younger child, an adult could read this to them.

The numerous photos of the many kinds of steamboats match perfectly to the text. The photos are very visually appealing with the bright red paddles crashing through the water. The backdrop of several photos are amazingly beautiful mountain or ocean scenes.… (meer)