In Search of the Narrow Gauge

David E. Smith is a professor of political Studies at the University of
Saskatchewan and the author of Building a Province: A History of
Saskatchewan in Documents and The Invisible Crown.

Trainspotting is a minority pursuit, narrow-gauge exploration an even
more select pastime. Why men—and aficionados are virtually always
men—love trains is open to speculation. The affinity begins in
childhood, but the lure persists. On the basis of this book, it is
evident that part of the attraction of narrow-gauge lines lies in the
appeal of the miniature.

Bob Whetham eschews explanation. He is content to let his text and
photographs speak for themselves: 15 short chapters are devoted to
narrow-gauge lines on five continents (Australia is omitted). The sole
North American entry is the White Pass and Yukon Route, which runs from
Whitehorse to Skagway, Alaska. The result is as informative as it is
infectious.

The different gauges (three feet, six inches; two feet; 60 centimetres;
and more), rolling stock (a Garratt “articulated steam locomotive”
in South Africa, along with Baldwin and Henschel engines in Peru, are
only two examples), grades, stations, yard layouts, and company
histories convey the range of detail that perennially fascinates
enthusiasts. Whetham has ridden them all—having known them, in the
case of the Peruvian lines, since childhood.

In Search of the Narrow Gauge, a simultaneously whimsical and serious
study, recognizes the little working railways that it describes as
integral though eccentric modes of transportation and communication.