During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson established the U.S.Railroad Administration. One of the USRA's first acts was to rationalize therailroad supply industry by standardizing rolling stock designs, including twelvelocomotive types, at a time when customized designs were taken for granted. UncleSam's Locomotives looks at these magnificent locomotives and discusses how and whythe designs were chosen, how they related to existing designs, what standardizingentailed, and how each performed.
Huddleston deals masterfullywith the complex and often controversial relations between the U.S. RailroadAdministration, the railroad companies, the major locomotive builders, and thenumerous smaller companies that supplied locomotive accessories. Featured is aPicture Gallery of USRA Locomotives -- light and heavy Mikados, Pacifics, Mountains, Switchers, Santa Fes, and Mallets.