During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson established the U.S. Railroad Administration. One of the USRA s first acts was to rationalize the railroad supply industry by standardizing rolling stock designs, including twelve locomotive types, at a time when customized designs were taken for granted. Uncle Sam s Locomotives looks at these magnificent locomotives and discusses how and why the designs were chosen, how they related to existing designs, what standardizing entailed, and how each performed.
Huddleston deals masterfully with the complex and often controversial relations between the U.S. Railroad Administration, the railroad companies, the major locomotive builders, and the numerous smaller companies that supplied locomotive accessories. Featured is a Picture Gallery of USRA Locomotives light and heavy Mikados, Pacifics, Mountains, Switchers, Santa Fes, and Mallets.