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I was introduced to the work of David F. Myrick in the 1970's. I was impressed at the time with the quality and depth of his research into the various railroads whose histories he was documenting. Unfortunately, I became totally involved in such things as career, marriage, raising kids, and all the other things that have a way of dominating our thoughts at certain stages of our lives. A year or two ago, I was reintroduced to the topic, and managed, after several unsuccessful tries, to obtain a copy of the out-of-print Railroads of Arizona, Volume I, which is another of Mr. Myrick's works. I was absolutely amazed at the quantity of old photographs published in the book, as well as the quality and depth of research mentioned above. I began doing a routine eBay search for Mr. Myrick's works, and this is how I learned that he had written a volume on the early railroads of New Mexico. New Mexico is even nearer the area where I was born and raised, and where my family had railroad roots. I knew immediately that I had to have this book. I haven't read the New Mexico book cover-to-cover yet; but I have covered the sections that deal with railroad (and even streetcar) operations that I'm familiar with. And now more than ever, I find the quality of Mr. Myrick's work incredible. For example, in this book, Mr. Myrick spends two pages documenting the history of the international streetcar operation operated by El Paso (TX) City Lines, immediately adjacent to New Mexico; and he does as fine a job as I've seen, not to mention the three rare photos included. Another item I was interested in was the history of the logging railroads in the vicinity of Cloudcroft, NM, since my grandmother lived within feet of the tracks laid by one of them. Not only is there a complete history of all the railroad operations in the vicinity, but there's an incredibly rare photo of one of the operations very near the site of my grandmother's home. As I leaf through the book, I encounter one exciting revelation after another. And that's just the New Mexico book. There are a total of five volumes on Arizona railroads alone; and other volumes on Nevada, eastern California, and so forth. I can't promise that you'll be as excited by this book as I am, but you never know. And at the very least, this book (and, in my opinion, any book by Mr. Myrick) represents the finest historical railroad research available.Read full review
Excellent overall summary of the history of New Mexico's railroads. It has been updated -- slightly clumsily, since the updates tend to be at the end of sections instead of folded into the text. It would also benefit from larger maps, or more sectional maps. The map at the front isn't sufficiently detailed and the few in the body of the book aren't enough. I'm still impressed with it overall.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Very detailed history with good photos
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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