The epic story of the Congo-Océan railroad and the human costs and contradictions of modern empire. The Congo-Océan railroad stretches across the Republic of Congo from Brazzaville to the Atlantic port of Pointe-Noir. It was completed in 1934, when Equatorial Africa was a French colony, and it stands as one of the deadliest construction projects in history. Colonial workers were subjects of an ostensibly democratic nation whose motto read “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity,” but liberal ideals were savaged by a cruelly indifferent administrative state. African workers were forcibly conscripted and separated from their families, and subjected to hellish conditions as they hacked their way through dense tropical foliage—a “forest of no joy”; excavated by hand thousands of tons of earth in order to lay down track; blasted their way through rock to construct tunnels; or risked their lives building bridges over otherwise impassable rivers. In the process, they suffered disease, malnutrition, and rampant physical abuse, likely resulting in at least 20,000 deaths. In the Forest of No Joy captures in vivid detail the experiences of the men, women, and children who toiled on the railroad, and forces a reassessment of the moral relationship between modern industrialized empires and what could be called global humanitarian impulses—the desire to improve the lives of people outside of Europe. Drawing on exhaustive research in French and Congolese archives, a chilling documentary record, and heartbreaking photographic evidence, J.P. Daughton tells the epic story of the Congo-Océan railroad, and in doing so reveals the human costs and contradictions of modern empire.

Curt Tillotson, Jr. takes a close and personal look at the Southern Railway through his own photography in the period 1960-1982, with some photos from others going back to about 1950. He treats every class of diesel owned by the Southern from beginning to end. Some "roster" or "portrait" type photos are included but the bulk of the book comprises superb action photography with the locomotives and trains in a variety of settings. His extended captions capture the feel of the era of transition. Anyone interested in railroads of the Southeastern United States will be interested in this volume. Southern Railway hasn't been as well covered by books as some lines, but this book seeks to fill that gap in many ways, in the era of dieselization.

Louisville & Nashville Steam Locomotives Revised 1968 Edition Richard E. Prince A revised new edition of an encyclopedic study. "For over one hundred years the steam locomotives provided the principal motive power on the Louisville & Nashville RR. During this period over 2000 different steam engines were owned by the Old Reliable." Thus begins Richard E. Princes encyclopedic study of the Louisville & Nashville's Steam Locomotives. First published in 1959 and revised in 1968, this is the crucial book for the Louisville and Nashville Locomotive's many steam fans. With hundreds of vintage photographs, detailed rosters, and schematic drawings it is an invaluable resource for railroad buffs and historians. But even casual readers will be swept up in Prince's history of the growth and diversification of the L&N. Richard E. Prince is author of nine railroad books. He attended Georgia School of Technology in Atlanta. During World War II, he joined the Merchant Marines and sailed on steam Liberty ships. He worked in several capacities for the L&N Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad. He is now retired and lives in Omaha, Nebraska. Among his many books are Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Seaboard Air Line Railway (Indiana University Press).