Railroads of the Hudson River Valley: 1979-2008

Bill McBride, 2008. Softcover. New. Softcover, 144 pages, 8.5 x 11 x .25 in., all color photographs. Railroads of the Hudson River Valley is Bill Mc Bride’s first book but railfans will recognize his name from photo credits and articles he has had published in Trains, Railfan & Railroad, TRP, Railpace, The Short Line and Railroads Illustrated. His photographs have also graced the pages of other authors books when they required high quality photographs. In Railroads of the Hudson River Valley the author takes you on a scenic tour of one of the most beautiful and famous river valleys in the country. Railroads line both banks of the river and during the past twenty-nine years Bill Mc Bride has climbed mountains, hills, rocks and trees to get spectacular scenic photographs of various railroad trains, both freight and passenger, that called the valley home. The intrepid photographer has also waded into the river and walked out onto frozen ice shelves to further his documentation of the railroads. In addition to the 244 color photographs, you will find an account of a 1927 train wreck at Iona Island that claimed four lives, stories about the history and origin of Iona Island, Bear Mountain State Park, Bannermans Island and Dicks Castle. Also covered is the history of a very ambitious railroad that was started but never built. The author tells his story of the Railroads of the Hudson River Valley in a first-person narrative that shares his adventures and misadventures in making so many unique photographs. The reader will get the sense that they are sitting with the author as he goes through his photographic collection. Many of the photographs presented in the book cannot be taken today for various reasons ranging from trees that have grown, buildings that have been constructed and 911 restrictions. Tom Nemeth, the editor and publisher of Railpace Magazine, did the layout and editing for the book. The book was printed by GRIT Printing of Montoursville, Pa. who are responsible for the outstanding quality of photographs in Railpace. 2009 celebrates the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s first voyage on the river that would eventually be named for him and Railroads of the Hudson River Valley fits deliciously into that celebration!