Life on the head end

the long version

A book about railroading by an engineer who handles Canadian Pacific's pride of the line, "The Canadian". Here are rousing stories of pre-diesel days in Canada when the Iron Horse -- the steam-propelled, coal-fired engine -- dominated the railroad scene; when the toot of the whistle brought a glow to the cheeks of pretty girls in cottages along the track, a smile to the lips of old ladies waving aprons from their doorways, and a dream to small boys hanging over the fence. (from the book's inside cover)