Sunday, May 6, 2012

the conquest of the Andes by rail


The Andes is a formidable mountain chain, the literal counterpart of NZ's Southern Alps, but of course much longer and higher.  This recent book from Chile looks at the Trans-Andine railway built over the top of them - a maximum altitude of over 4,000 metres - between Los Andes (Chile) and Mendoza (Argentina) which has variously involved steam, electric and diesel traction as well as rackrail sections (see earlier posts).

This book has produced to photographic art book standards (printed on expensive 170 gsm paper) as the subject deserves. All photos are b/w. For transport enthusiasts the accompanying text provides the descriptions of what was involved, but if you struggle with Spanish the photos often speak for themselves regardless (the designer hasn't helped by putting the captions in what looks like a mere 6 pt type).  It's a book we're keeping a copy of for the library.  126 pages in 290 x 250 mm format, hardcovered.

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