Tracking the Iron Ghost: A History of the Locomotive Mississippi and Its Times, 1834–2025
by Andrew R. English
“The old locomotive holds the distinction of representing a transatlantic hybrid of sorts. Spanning decades of operation, mostly in the forests and cottonfield hinterlands of the Deep South, the little wood-burner witnessed other, more powerful locomotives roar down the rails and eventually go their way to the breakers and fall under the cutting torch.”
English-made and American-adapted—a layperson would consider this a perfectly satisfactory capsule history of the “famous but mysterious” 1834 loco that came to the US in 1836, most likely in kit form. To the railroad geek who can hold forth on boiler clothing and the difference between bar and plate frames, matters are more complicated, which probably explains why this small 176-page book contains 21 pages of notes and a 13-page Bibliography! The author freely admits that it answers—can answer—only some of the questions he himself has, and has had ever since first coming across the Mississippi as a Boy Scout.
People who do have an awareness of the Mississippi will appreciate that the book contains an update to the post-2015 history when it was sold at auction into private ownership and received its most thorough teardown and evaluation/examination yet. The author was able to clap his own eyes on the project at that time and was so able to adjust his thinking accordingly, but the key take-away remains: the Mississippi “belongs in a category all its own.”
The book has something for everyone but the words “and Its Times” in the subtitle are what makes it eminently suitable to anyone who may not even have a particular interest in the “King of Machines” but can appreciate that steam power remade the world, not just in terms of transportation but all facets of the attending infrastructure and even society in general, from the new skills that had to be taught and learned to the raising up of a labor force to raising capital so that a small-time blacksmith could start up a foundry and then a factory and not only produce large pieces and machines at scale but then also take his product to market, even overseas: English makers exported 106 engines to the US between 1828 and 1837 (which also involves brokers, lenders, insurers). This book is a crash course on the early days of the Industrial Revolution and its very brevity makes it easy to apprehend the full arc of change. Moreover, there is the US-specific aspect of the Civil War at whose end the War and Navy Departments sold off surplus material which comprehensively reshuffled economic fortunes.
Thanks to online newspaper sources, including British archives, Andrew English has unearthed a plethora of period quotes and rare illustrations. This is his fifth book. He is a retired decorated Air Force officer whose work on the intelligence side must have given him a sharp eye for both the small detail and the big picture.
Copyright 2026, Sabu Advani (speedreaders.info).
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