Book Review by Jerry Michels

Texas & Pacific Railway: Operations and Traffic
by Charles P. Zlatkovich
( 252 pages softbound, Western Press, P. O. Box 22148, El Paso, TX  79913)

This book presents an interesting contrast to and compliment of Steve Goen's pictorial.  I would say that this book provides the thousands of word for Steve's photos. This is the first of what is promised to be a three-book endeavor that covers the T&P's operations, equipment and facilities, and historical perspectives.  This is a data- and text-rich book describing the operations of the T&P throughout it’s history.  Using company information and many other sources (including his own experiences as a life-long T&P fan, Missouri Pacific employee, and grandson of a T&P employee), Charles has produced an invaluable compilation of what the T&P was composed of when you get past the photos.  The book is arranged in six chapters, an appendix, an annotated bibliography, and an index.  The book starts out with a capsule history of  the T&P from 1871 to 1976.  After setting the stage, subsequent chapters deal with descriptions of each division and subdivision, the territory served by the T&P, passenger train operations and traffic, freight train operations and traffic and concludes with a chapter on terminals, trackage rights, and operational oddities.  

The amount of information presented in this book is substantial.  It is hard to summarize the contents because of the sheer volume of data presented.  Two examples should suffice.  The chapter on passenger train operations and traffic provides statistics on the number of cars per train, schedules and average speeds of trains, passenger trains operated during various years from 1893 to 1967 along with schedules, through sleeping service and no less than 54 detailed consists covering the years from 1944 to 1967.  The freight train operations and traffic chapter describes schedules and interchange traffic for various years.  There are detailed descriptions of individual trains and how T&P trains interacted with the Missouri Pacific and other railroads.  A section on local freight and terminal jobs in 1968 is very detailed, describing not only the train numbers and schedules (times and origin/destination), but also lists the number and types of units assigned.  Every wonder what type and how many units were used on train 941 between Mineola and Dallas in 1968?   How about the number and type of units you’ll need to cover the Avondale, Louisiana terminal on your model railroad empire?  It's all here, and a lot more.  

There are also six maps included in the book.  There are eight appendices that hold a wealth of additional information.  There is no doubt in my mind that Charles' book is a landmark in T&P literature.   If you already have the photos in Steve's book, you need the information in Charles'.