Reply To: New book from the Missouri Pacific Historical Society

[Charles Duckworth]

Review by Jim Ogden of the Iron Mountain book off the Yahoo Group:

Here is my mini review of a new book by Charlie Duckworth and available through the MPHS.
First, I have no financial connection with Charles A. Duckworth or the Donning Company, Publishers. I consider Charlie a friend and both of us have served in several capacities in the Missouri Pacific Historical Society. I am somewhat familiar with the Iron Mountain from my formative years in what was the “Valley” division between McGehee, Arkansas, and Monroe, Louisiana and I still plan to model the mainline between Gurdon and Hope circa 1952 which is certainly covered by this book.

Most of my railroad book buying for the past ten years have been the color guides from Four Ways West and Morning Sun; these “128 page wonders” are very useful for the equipment buff who is building a believably weathered freight car roster. These books certainly have their place, but for layout building, these are not nearly as useful. This new book is primarily black and white with some period colorized content, 152 pages.. The photos are large and sharp which was no small accomplishment since the valuation crews did not have time to think about composition and framing. These are supplemented with other photos from other sources such as the author, the MPHS, or Dr. Bill Pollard’s collection. It does not feature the same photos in Railroad Stations and Trains through Arkansas and the Southwest by Clifton Hull– many are published for the first time and it is primarily pre-1925.

Charlie has a short introduction where he describes why the ICC undertook such a endeavor as measuring and photographing all the railroad structures in the country for tax purposes and how he was able to find a set of valuation photos and an accompanying set of measurements and field notes and combine them. He gives a little background on the Iron Mountain as part of Gould’s Missouri Pacific System and organizes the structures based on specific regions of the Iron Mountain. There were several styles of depots in use in the period (all common Gould/ MoP designs) with the earliest a board and batten and then the more familiar ones with the drop siding and a dutch-style roof with curved eaves, and then the attractive hip roof designs. County seats got attractive brick depots with tile roof and end porches and these are shown.. But the thing that really impresses me are the auxiliary buildings such as cotton or berry sheds, water tanks, and pump houses. Most towns had the ubiquitous tool sheds but photos of section houses and office buildings and scale houses are also included. I’m pretty sure if one models any time from 1915 to 1935, plenty of barrels, crates, and the local gentry sitting at the stations playing mubbley peg with their pocket knives on the station platforms. Ladders are everywhere and he mentions what industries are present locally.

One has to wish for the appearance of a complete set of valuation photos and field notes from Kansas or Louisiana even Oklahoma so more volumes can be done. Since the depot designs are virtually the same as on other lines, this book would be useful to someone interested in the central Kansas Division– the Jim Crow designs primarily changed the interiors layout. Charlie has an eye for the modeler (he is a superb HO modeler, “Great War” aircraft aficionado and artist) and the photographs are perfect for building a layout and getting the details right. My treks across Kansas and Louisiana had depots similar to these and they all had similar structures.

My suggestion is since only 650 were printed to not waste any tine in ordering your copy. You will not be disappointed.
Jim Ogden Fort Worth, Texas