The definitive story of Southern Pacific’s high-reaching experiment in horsepower, tech and traction is back — this time in an expanded second publication. Southern Pacific & The KM Hydraulics: Second Edition features the full story of SP’s remarkable foray into imported road diesel power during the great horsepower race of the 1960s. Drawing richly upon never-before-seen materials from the U.S. and abroad, author Robert J. Zenk weaves a compelling tale of SP’s audacious spirit of mechanical and corporate innovation meeting the hope-filled ambition of the German postwar economic boom.
Quality hardcover printing with fine color throughout, the book is lavishly illustrated with archival material from deep inside German and American operations. KM Hydraulics traces a surprisingly logical evolution of thought leading to an experiment perhaps doomed to fail, but nevertheless leaving a permanent imprint on U.S. motive power and an indelible visual spectacle for fans of the Southern Pacific.
2014’s First Edition from SPH&TS sold out almost immediately; this Second Edition expands on the original’s breadth and depth of coverage with 80 new pages, expanded text, rich with new illustrations and accounts, and a bounty of additional images by some of SP’s finest photographers.
New for this edition:
• New photos by Steinheimer, Benson, Heard, Patterson, Taylor
• Expanded tech sections on Voith hydraulic transmissions & Maybach motors
• Drawings and coverage of little-known design proposals by KM and others
• Expanded coverage of competing Alco Model DH-643
• Complete account of the restoration of SP 9010, the sole survivor
• New chapter on Southern Pacific KMs in scale
Hardcover with dust jacket, 8½”x10½” landscape format, 384 pages. Quality printed in the USA.