Magnetic North: Canadian Steam in Twilight

Magnetic North is an inspiring chronicle of the brief, bright moment when steam locomotives ran their final miles in Eastern Canada, a time when the certainty of their demise made their presence all the sweeter. From the moment Karl Zimmermann and Roger Cook packed their bags in May of 1958 and boarded a sleeper for Montreal, they were hooked on Canadian steam. They arrived just in time to see and record the end of an era. In a sense, Zimmermann and Cook have been collaborating on this book for 40 years. In carefully wrought essays and in photographs selected from among many hundreds made by the authors and other outstanding railway photographers, this book is a vision of classic steam railroading rendered with first-person immediacy.

Exerpt from Magnetic North
"With armstrong turntable, bucket coaling station, and two-stall enginehouse, La Malbaie reeked of small-time, steam-powered style; it was the epitome of old-fashioned railroading, still rich in humanity. It was labor-intensive to a fault, with stations sprouting train-order boards (and, inside, the operators or station agents to set them) and engine terminals where locomotives sometimes were turned by men with strong backs and strong arms and sometimes were fueled using derricks to wrestle hulking buckets to tender-top. If labor-intensive, it was also irresistible."

Roger Cook's photographs have been featured in numerous books, including several written by Karl Zimmermann. Together they authored The Western Maryland Railway: Fireballs and Black Diamonds. His images appear regularly in such magazines as Trains, Railfan & Railroad, CTC Board, and Locomotive and Railway Preservation.

Karl Zimmermann is a frequent contributor to Trains magazine. His stories on trains and travel have also appeared in such publications as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Toronto Globe and Mail, Railfan & Railroad, Locomotive & Railway Preservation, and Travel & Leisure. He is the author of 12 previous books, including CZ: The Story of the California Zephyr, The Milwaukee Road Under Wire, Sante Fe Streamliners: The Chiefs and Their Tribesmen, Lake Michigan's Railroad Car Ferries, and Domeliners: Yesterday's Trains of Tomorrow.