A Memory of Trains: The Boll Weevil and Others
Text and Photographs by Louis D. Rubin, Jr.	University of South Carolina Press, 2000
Louis D. Rubin, Jr. came home from Europe after World War II and had to make a life for himself. He wanted to write professionally, he saw himself as an amateur photographer, and he enjoyed riding and watching trains. Put those three qualities together and you the perfect person to write this book. Rubin grew up in Charlotte, South Carolina, so it is only natural that is focus for railroads are East Coast in nature. Railroads featured in this book include the Atlantic Coast Line, Baltimore & Ohio, Seaboard Air Lines, Southern, Chesapeake & Ohio, and the Pennsy. He touches on few smaller roads, and discusses others that he rode as he traveled to the West and Midwest. The dialog follows his career as he becomes a journalist for various newspapers and later starts to teach writing at the university level. The book is roughly divided in half, with the beginning being his text and stories. The rest are his photos that he took along the way. All photos are black and white. His recollections and photos are all from the Transition era of railroading; late 40’s and throughout the 50’s. He personally prefers steam power and passenger trains, lamenting the loss of both as the years progress. This is not a book filled with details for modelers that count rivets, but rather the observations and remembrances of a journalist and traveler of the nation’s railroads. Rubin describes his schedules, which trains pass each other, and relationships between passenger and railroad facilities. Rubin gives you the setting and the flavor of what it was like back then. Recreating that “feeling” within your model layout is always a challenge and if you pay attention here, you may get some ideas. jrk .