Title: Disappointing
Product review: This book purports to account for USRA and derivative equipment, and does a decent job of that. It is, however, completely joyless to read. The author complains time after time about poor and conflicting recordkeeping on the part of the builders and railroads about where the equipment actually went. Enough already-- a single disclaimer in the foreword or introduction (amply provided) would have sufficed! The author also takes a strong advocacy position in favor of the USRA designs, and completely dismisses the objections of the railroads. This may be justifiable in most cases, but what about the cases where the design really was flawed? And why must the reader be subjected to the author's defensive handwringing on this point so many times?Bottom line-- if you absolutely need a reference work on USRA equipment (but primarily in an accounting sense, and much less so in a technical sense), then buy the book. But don't expect to enjoy it.
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