Clear the Tracks!: The Story of an Old-time Locomotive Engineer

Clear the Tracks!, first published in 1943, recounts Joseph Bromley's career as a locomotive engineer on the Lackawanna Railway in New York. Beginning as a teenager as a callboy, by age 17 Bromley was aboard the engine, throwing wood pieces into one of the last of the old wood-burning models. At 20 he was promoted to the right-hand side of the cab, becoming the youngest engineer with the line. His entertaining reminiscences describe the more relaxed freight schedules of the day, when the crew could stop on a siding for several hours of fishing or to visit family and friends. Illustrated with line drawings.