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books Reference Books...

If you have decided to do a little reading about the Chessie System or model railroading here are some of the references I use.  You don't need to buy all these books, I have found most of the modeling books available through Kalmbach publishing at my local library.  Try your local library before you go out and buy a book you may not necessarily need to buy.

Chessie Books:

Chessie System: Diesel Locomotives, by Jerry Doyle, 1999, Walsorth Publishing.  (The best book, bar none, on Chessie Locomotives.  Perfect for the modeler or the railfan.  All color pics.  A must have.)

Chessie System: Cumberland Action, by Thomas A. Biery, 1999, The Railroad Press.  (Great book for Cumberland Area stuff.  A must have.)

Chessie News, Chessie System Historical Society.  Oct 1997 issue.  (A newsletter dedicated to Chessie.  Lots of good prototype and modeling articles.  It comes free with CSHS membership.  A must have.  Back issues are available through CSHS web site, see links page for address.)

B&O Cabooses, Dwight Jones, TLC Publishing, 1998.  (A great book about B&O Cabooses.  No doubt the single best source on the subject.  A must have if you are going to do any accurate B&O cabeese.)

Steel Cabooses of the Chesapeake & Ohio 1937-1987, Dwight Jones, C&OHS Publishing, 1987.  (The best book about B&O Cabooses.  No doubt the single best source on the subject.  A must have if you are going to do any accurate C&O cabeese.  Out of print, but available occassionally on eBay.)

Western Maryland Cabooses, Dwight Jones, WMRHS publishing, 1991.  (The best caboose book around.  This book tells you everything you wanted to know and more on WM cabins.  A must have.)
 

East End: B&O's Neck of the Bottle, by Hollins and Roberts, 1992, Barnard, etc.  (The only book I know of dedicated to the East End.  Very rich on history and the actual building of the line.  Some good Chessie era stuff in it)

Chesepeake & Ohio Diesel Locomotives, by Shaver and Gilliland, 1994, McClain Publishing (A one stop shopping book on C&O locomotives.  Tells just about everything you ever wanted to know about each specific locomotive the C&O ever owned.  A must have.  Available from C&O Historical Society)

Chesepeake & Ohio Diesel Review, by C&OHS, 1982, C&OHS Publishing (A book very similar to the C&O Diesel Locomotive book above, but has some extra articles in it.  The 1982 era makes it very useful to me.  Out of print.)

Chessie System "All Time" Freight car index, 1997, by Randall Fields, Broken Plate Publishing (Lists all the freight cars Chessie owned and there new CSX numbers.  Available from Chessie System Historical Society)

Baltimore & Ohio roadway maps IV, B&O lines Weverton, MD to Cumberland, MD, 1988. (Great reference for all the East End track, can get it through the B&O Museum)

Western Maryland Diesel Locomotives, TLC Publishing, 1997, Stakem and Stakem.  (A good book, but not the greatest.  I was hoping for more when I got this book.  It is written in very choppy sentences and there really aren't that many Chessie pics.)

Baltimore & Ohio Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment, 1996, by Craig Bossler, Morning Sun Publishing. (Great reference for all B&O paint jobs before Chessie.  Available through Chessie System Hisotrical Society.)

Western Maryland Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment, 1995, by Jack Brown, Morning Sun Publishing. (Great reference for all WM paint jobs and some Chessie paint.  Available through Chessie System Hisotrical Society.)

Diesel Era Jan/Feb 2000, a magazine that covered all the WM diesels.  (good one stop shopping on WM locos)

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Diesel Locomotive Roster, by James Mischke, Panther Hollow Press, 1998. (Excellent reference book on all B&O locomotives and their dispositions.  Above is a pic of a typical page.  A must have.)

Chessie System Equipment Fleet Roster, by Chessie System,1983. (Excellent reference book on all Chessie Freight Car types and classes.  Includes brief descriptions, measurements of doors, lenghts, payloads, etc.  A must have for any Chessie Fan.  Available occassionally on eBay.)

Tunnel Diagrams of the B&O Railroad: Volume 1, Eastern Divisions, by Trains and Stuff, Ltd, 1996. (Excellent reference book on all B&O tunnel portals.  Includes descriptions, measurements, etc.  A must have for any tunnel portal scratchbuilding project.  Available through the B&O Hisortical Society.)

Index of Timetable Locations B&O, C&O and WM Railroads:  Effective Dec. 1, 1982, by Chessie System. (Excellent reference book on all system locations.  I got it on eBay).

Bridges Over Time, by Michael Caplinger, 1997. (Excellent reference book on the Harpers Ferry Bridges.  Includes descriptions, measurements, etc.  A must have for any Harpers Ferry scratchbuilding project.  Available through the B&O Hisortical Society.)

Chessie's Road, by Turner, Dixon, and Huddleston, 1986, McClain Publishing. (OK, lots of pre-Chessie stuff, a little Chessie stuff)

The Chessie System, by Adam Barr, 1997, self published (soft back, color photos of all sorts of Chessie stuff, not much writing)

The Chessie Era, by Thomas Dixon, Jr., 1990, TLC publishing (OK, mostly black and white pics)

History of the Baltimore & Ohio, by Jacobs, Smithmark Publishing, 1989. (An OK book.  Interesting overall view of the B&O, little on the East End or Chessie.  You can live without it.)

Chesepeake & Ohio Historical Magazine,  C&O Historical Society, July/Aug 1999 issue.  (Not as good as you might think based on the pic.  In my one year in the C&OHS this is the only magazine that came with Chessie on the cover.  Chessie was only mentioned in passing, with no real coverage.  I dropped my membership due to the lack of Chessie coverage.  They concentrate on the Steam/Diesel transition period.)

Diesel Locomotives of CSXT and Predecessors in Color, by Nuckles and Dixon, TLC Publishing, 1993.  (OK, not great.  Lots of pics of all the railroads that make up CSX.  Chessie, B&O, C&O, and WM have maybe 10-12 pics in the whole book.  You can do without this book.  I think it is available through the C&O historical society.)

Chessie Timetable No. 3 Maryland Division, Effective: 12:01am March 1, 1980. (Not as much info in this as I had thought, but good info on train speed limits and restrictions.  It does not have a complete schedule of trains across the East End like I thought it would)

Chessie Train Handling Rules, Effective 1980.  (Not as much info here either as you would think.  Good reference on speed restrictions for certain types of locomotives.  Lots on brake systems and starting a locomotive.  Some diagrams on locomotives)

Modeling Books:
Painting and Weathering Railroad Models, by Jeff Wilson, 1995, Kalmbach Publishing.  (Great how-to book.  Perfect for the beginner.)

Diesel Detailing Projects, by Kent Johnson, 1995, Kalmbach Publishing.  (Great book on how to detail the locomotives)

Modeling the Chesepeake & Ohio, by Garry J. Burdette, 1993, C&OHS.  (OK book.  Mostly pre-Chessie stuff.  Available through Chesepeake&Ohio Historical Society)
 
 
 
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