Missouri Pacific in Color
Volume 1
the Era of the Eagles
Jim Boyd

Morning Sun Books
2004
128 pages
ISBN 1-58248-133-4

The hard-bound book has 128 pages and is nearly all color. Roughly 3/4 of the book is on MoPac's trains during the 1940s to early 1960s with coverage also given to T&P and KO&G. About 20 pages provide a nice selection of color steam photos. Most of the book is devoted to the "blue and gray" period but there is a limited amount of the Jenks era all blue towards the end of the book, which acts as a transition to the upcoming Volume 2 that will cover the post-1961 period. Ed Hawkins

From the MOPAC list;
Nice selection of photographs, and what a boon to Texas MP fans! All those color steam photos. A real treasure trove.

A couple of points. On page 33, the top photo is not on the Eastern Division, but rather an AC&F builders photo of the original Eagle trainset. Note that there is no power on the front. The lower photo is an MP publicity photo with the train heading west near Washington, MO, actually at South Point, just east of Washington. I frequented this bridge and the creek many times as a young boy. In those calmer days, the train crews waved at us up on the bridge!

On page 35, I sure would be interesting to know what train is shown in the black and white photo at the bottom. The AB set of E6's with blue pilots ensures that this is well into the Colorado Eagle era, but an all heavyweight consist is very interesting! Wonder if this could be the Sunflower, and I wonder if this is really a publicity photo. An all heavyweight consist with Colorado Eagle power would be a strange subject.

Finally on Page 40-41 Jim mentions the joint MP/MKT trackage at Jefferson City. I don't think this is correct. The Katy had its own tracks on the north side of the Missouri River to St. Louis. I suspect, looking at the photo of the barge traffic, that the Missouri was flooding and the MKT was detouring trains over the MP's tracks.

On page 45, I'd sure like to know what that train is at the bottom! What a long consist! And no head end cars. If it is on Kirkwood Hill it sure is an unusually long train for that division. I wonder if this is the Texas Eagle rather than the Colorado, Missouri River Eagle or Sunflower. Or maybe it is a special movement.

Anyway, the book is a nice effort and worthy of any MP fan's library. And that library gets better and better. I remember when MoPac Power came out in the 1970s and we were absolutely thrilled that someone finally did an MP book (thanks again Joe Collias)! Now the books strictly on the MP can fill a good-sized shelf! September 2004

by Jerry Michels Jr