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Overhaul
A Social History of the Albuquerque Locomotive Repair Shops
by Richard Flint and Shirley Cushing Flint
Published by: University of New Mexico Press
248 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in, 72 figs., 5 tables
Winner of the 2021 Southwest Book Award from the Border Regional Library Association
In Overhaul, historians Richard Flint and Shirley Cushing Flint present the largely forgotten story of Albuquerque's locomotive repair shops, which were the driving force behind the city's economy for more than seventy years. In the course of their study they also document the thousands of skilled workers who kept the locomotives in operation, many of whom were part of the growing Hispano and Native American middle class. Their critical work kept the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe's steam trains running and established and maintained Albuquerque's unique character in the region.
Including a generous selection of historic photographs, Overhaul provides a glimpse into the people, places, culture, and special history found in Albuquerque's locomotive shops during the boom of steam railroading. The Flints provide an engaging and informative account of how these shops and workers played a crucial role in the formation and development of the Duke City.
Richard Flint is the coeditor of The Coronado Expedition:From the Distance of 460 Years, and The Latest Word from 1540: Peoples, Places, and Portrayals of the Coronado Expedition and the author of Great Cruelties Have Been Reported: The 1544 Investigation of the Coronado Expedition (all UNM Press).
Shirley Cushing Flint is coeditor and coauthor of The Latest Word from 1540: People, Places, and Portrayals of the Coronado Expedition, The Coronado Expedition: From the Distance of 460 Years, and Documents of the Coronado Expedition, 1539-1542. She and her husband and collaborator, Richard Flint, live in Villanueva, New Mexico.
"A welcome addition to railroading lore."--Denver Westerners Roundup
"Overhaul: A Social History of the Albuquerque Locomotive Repair Shops, by noted historians Richard Flint and Shirley Cushing Flint, engages readers in more than a local history of trains and tracks. In these pages, a story emerges about Albuquerque's multicultural growth spurt during the twentieth century. May it deepen people's respect for these buildings and spur our resolve to save them."--Kate Nelson, New Mexico Magazine
"A comprehensive history of the shops."--David Steinberg, Albuquerque Journal
"The importance of the Albuquerque shops to the evolution of the city has long been known, and many authors have mentioned it in passing. However, in this dedicated history, the Flints have taken the story from beginning to end in a carefully researched yet highly readable book. This is a must-have for Albuquerqueans, historians, and railroad buffs."--John Taylor, author of Bloody Valverde: A Civil War Battle on the Rio Grande, February 21, 1862
"This impressive work by two of New Mexico's outstanding scholars is thoroughly researched and elegantly written. Overhaul addresses a long-neglected and crucial piece of Albuquerque industrial and cultural history."--Rick Hendricks, coauthor of Four Square Leagues: Pueblo Indian Land in New Mexico
Contents
List of Illustrations
Introduction
Chapter One. Albuquerque and Western Steam Railroading in the 1870s
Chapter Two. The Requirements of Steam
Chapter Three. Albuquerque and the Locomotive Repair Shops in the Early 1880s
Chapter Four. The Railroad's Immediate and Lasting Impact: The 1880s and 1890s
Chapter Five. Overhauling Steam Locomotives
Chapter Six. Job Specialties
Chapter Seven. The Workforce: 1880-1900
Chapter Eight. Work Schedules and Routines
Chapter Nine. Albuquerque and the Locomotive Repair Shops: 1901-1922
Chapter Ten. The Railroad Shopmen's Strikes of 1893 and 1922
Chapter Eleven. State of the Art: Building the New Shops, 1914-1924
Chapter Twelve. The Heyday of the Shops: 1925-1950
Chapter Thirteen. The End of Steam: 1950s
Chapter Fourteen. Shopwomen and African American and Hispanic Shopmen
Chapter Fifteen. Purchase and Redevelopment of the Rail Yards by the City of Albuquerque
Chapter Sixteen. Conclusion: The Impact of the Shops on Albuquerque and New Mexico
Appendix One. Agreement Between William Hazledine and Franz Huning
Appendix Two. Ethnicity of Shopworkers (Surname Proxy)
Appendix Three. Guide to Steam Locomotive Components
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Also Of Interest
