NEW! A PHOTO ESSAY OF STEAM NORTH OF THE 49TH PARALLEL From Nova Scotia to British Columbia the inimitable locomotives of Canadian National and Canadian Pacific roam main line and branch in summer foliage and in deep snow ... in the exhilarating photography of a brand-new book whose single aim is to refresh the memory of Royal Hudsons and 6100-series 4-8-4's and many other "Where the trains will catch the spray” 1 WE would not debate the African's insistence upon self-determination on his native soil; may he be accommodated without another Congo. But at the same time we must tip our hat in respect and nostalgia to the British colonials who, like Jim Hill, left a mark that could not be rubbed out. To the empire builders in pith helmets and shorts who laid 3-foot 6-inch railways into the marrow of nowhere and there took high tea as if they'd just arrived Euston from the Midlands. Conquest was simply assumed. Hear it again in the words of Cecil Rhodes (developer of the Rhodesias) who, having been told of Victoria Falls (354 feet high vs. 167 for Niagara) and the necessity for a railway crossing, said, "Build the bridge. . . where the trains as they pass will catch the spray from the falling Zambezi." And of course, they do, for the Garratts that traverse the 650-foot Victoria Falls Bridge are frequently given a shower even though they roll along 400 feet above water. Such bridges first illumined the Dark Continent. D.P.M. |