The Rutland Road

Berkeley, CA: Howell-North Books, 1964. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Good/Good. John Pickett (Endpaper photograph) and Jim Shaughn. Format is approximately 9 inches by 11.25 inches. Endpaper photograph of a train. Color Frontis. Illustrations. Maps. Chronology of the Rutland Railroad (compiled by David W. Messer). Bibliography. Index. This book has 376 pages and contains 468 illustrations. Of these 423 are black and white photographs plus two in full color. There are 16 maps in additions to charts, advertisement and timetable reproductions. DJ has some wear, soiling, tears and chips. Name and date in ink on fep. Some edge soiling. Possessing the flavor of all scenic New England railroads, the Rutland Railroad ran through Vermont and northern New York for more than a hundred years. Surviving bankruptcy, floods, and strikes, it competed with larger, stronger lines and struggled to operate on a smaller scale. After its closure in 1963 parts of the railroad were taken over by the State of Vermont and are now operated by the Vermont Railway. Shaughnessy's The Rutland Road is a sweeping chronicle from pre-construction in 1831 to the twentieth century. Filled with over 500 photographs, the book contains some of the author's finest camera work. It will be of interest to railroad devotees, historians, and photographers. Shaughnessy's pictures are distinctive because they record the total railroad scene giving location and surroundings consideration. He has made a specialty of night pictures, some involving five cameras, many bulbs, and the stopping of trains on bridges.