Set Up Running: The Life of a Pennsylvania Railroad Engineman, 1904-1949
An engaging book, one likely to become a railroad classic. The major strength of Set Up Running is detail, particularly when it involves locomotives, train movements, and patterns of operation. Especially enjoyable are the depictions of Orr as a loyal Pennsylvania Railroad employee and of his overall pride of workmanship. --H. Roger Grant, Clemson UniversitySet Up Running describes life in engine service as seldom told before. You will like it. The good and the bad, the long, long nights, broken knuckles, pulled couplers, firemen that don't know how to fire and don't want to learn, derailments, engines that won't steam, washouts - it's all here. Not only is this an unvarnished story of what engine service was really like but it is also a valuable sociological portrait of railroading seldom explored in this detail. This was a difficult book for me to lay aside.... You will enjoy riding with engineer O. P. Orr in this true story of running an engine in the days of steam. --Robert E. McMillan, The Lexington QuarterlySet Up Running is a book well worth reading even if you are not a railroad enthusiast. It helps to illuminate a part of the vanishing past when Williamsport was a major rail hub. The book is a major contribution to an important aspect of the social history of the area. There are plenty of references to local towns and spots to make it interesting to area readers. But, perhaps, more importantly, it s just a good story written with love and respect for a man and a time by his son. --Lou Hunsinger Jr., Williamsport Sun-GazetteSet Up Running describes life in engine service as seldom told before. You will like it. The good and the bad, the long, long nights, broken knuckles, pulled couplers, firemen that don't know how to fire and don't want to learn, derailments, engines that won't steam, washouts - it's all here. Not only is this an unvarnished story of what engine service was really like but it is also a valuable sociological portrait of railroading seldom explored in this detail. This was a difficult book for me to lay aside.... You will enjoy riding with engineer O. P. Orr in this true story of running an engine in the days of steam. --Robert E. McMillan, The Lexington QuarterlySet Up Running is a book well worth reading even if you are not a railroad enthusiast. It helps to illuminate a part of the vanishing past when Williamsport was a major rail hub. The book is a major contribution to an important aspect of the social history of the area. There are plenty of references to local towns and spots to make it interesting to area readers. But, perhaps, more importantly, it s just a good story written with love and respect for a man and a time by his son. --Lou Hunsinger Jr., Williamsport Sun-Gazette