Steam and Rail in Slovakia by Catchpole, Paul - 1998

Birmingham, West Midlands, UK: Locomotives International Publication, 1998. 1st Edition . Soft cover. New/No Jacket. 72 pages b/w photos - Number Two in an occasional series published by "Locomotives International", "Steam and Rail in Slovakia" was published to coincide with the August 1998 150 Anniversary celebrations of railways in Slovakia, one of the youngest republics in Europe. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first work in English devoted to Slovak railways. As a companion for visitors to Slovakia it fulfills its task admirably. It offers a good general survey of the development of both standard and narrow gauge railways in this rather forgotten country in central Europe. There is also a brief section on the railways of Karpatske Rus in present-day Ukraine, but which was part of Czechoslovakia between the wars. "Steam and Rail in Slovakia" is well illustrated with a surprisingly large number of historic photos, sparing us from the endless shots of preserved locos, which these days all too often decorate such works. The generic title is, however, somewhat misleading, as the book also discusses and illustrates modern forms of traction.