Highball; A Pageant of Trains

New York, N.Y.: Bonanza Books, 1945. First Bonanza Books edition. Hardcover. Good/Fair. Lucius Beebe (Photographer). xiii, [1], 223, [3] pages. DJ has wear, soiling, tears and chips. Includes Introduction, as well as chapters on Some Little Railroads; Power for the Grade; Portrait Gallery; The Pennsy and the Pacific; Colorado Chronicle; Crummies; and Whistle Code. Profusely illustrated with 318 black and white illustrations of trains. This book is a work in which pictures and text fuse together into a unified whole, each one clarifying and adding dimension and depth to the other. In putting this volume together, the author has been concerned with two objects--to recapitulate and bring up to date some aspects of railroading, and to venture into other entirely new fields. Thus there are passages dealing with such varied matters as the motive power of the Santa Fe, the Pennsylvania's famous K-4s Class locomotives, cabooses yesterday and today, the steam locomotives of the great traditions, and--a genuine collector's item, this--the full story of Colorado railroading from the time when the golden spike was stolen as the first rails were laid into Denver, right up to the present day. Lucius Morris Beebe (December 9, 1902 - February 4, 1966) was an American author, gourmand, photographer, railroad historian, journalist and syndicated columnist. During and immediately after obtaining his degree from Harvard, Beebe published several books of poetry, but eventually found his true calling in journalism. He worked as a journalist for the New York Herald Tribune, the San Francisco Examiner, the Boston Telegram, and the Boston Evening Transcript, and was a contributing writer to many magazines such as Gourmet, The New Yorker, Town and Country, Holiday, American Heritage, and Playboy. Beebe re-launched Nevada's first newspaper, the Territorial Enterprise, in 1952. He wrote a syndicated column for the New York Herald Tribune from the 1930s through 1944 called This New York. Beebe is credited with popularizing the term "cafe society", which was used to describe the people mentioned in his column. In 1950, Beebe and his long-time partner, photographer Charles Clegg, moved to Virginia City, Nevada, where they purchased and restored the Piper family home and later purchased the dormant Territorial Enterprise newspaper. The newspaper was relaunched in 1952, and by 1954 had achieved the highest circulation in the West for a weekly newspaper. Beebe and Clegg co-wrote the That Was the West series of historical essays for the newspaper. In 1960, Beebe began work with the San Francisco Chronicle, where he wrote a syndicated column, This Wild West. During the six years that he wrote the column, Beebe covered such topics as economics, politics, journalism, religion, history, morals, justice, finance, and travel. Beebe and Clegg co-wrote the That Was the West series of historical essays for the newspaper. In 1960, Beebe began work with the San Francisco Chronicle, where he wrote a syndicated column, This Wild West. During the six years that he wrote the column, Beebe covered such topics as economics, politics, journalism, religion, history, morals, justice, finance, and travel. In addition to his work as a journalist, Beebe wrote over 35 books. These dealt primarily with railroading and caf� society. He was the first writer to use a painting by Howard L. Fogg, noted railroad artist, on the cover of a book. Many of his railroad books were written with his longtime companion Charles Clegg. Beebe was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 1992.