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ICS Steam Book CD
The International Correspondence School (ICS) of Scranton, PA published a large series of books on steam locomotive maintenance and operation. They used these books as part of a correspondance training course for locomotive engineers and firemen from the 1930s to the 1950s. With very detailed, yet practical, drawings and text, these books explain the fundamentals of boilers, feedwater heaters, injectors, compressors, brakes, locomotive operation, and other related topics.
As a model railroader, I have found these books to be an excellent reference for adding devices and piping to a model. These are not dumbed-down "coffee table" books, and they aren't a dry ramble through the laws of physics. They hit a sweet middle ground between the two extremes.
Photos of the actual books
These are some of the actual ICS books I own.
CD Copies Available!
To order a CD, see "How To Order a CD" below
I own 14 ICS steam locomotive books. I have had them professionally scanned into .pdf files, and I have received written permission from the original publisher to offer copies of these for sale at a nominal price in order to recoup my expenses. The CD is readable in any Mac, Linux, or Windows computer. There are 14 .pdf files on it, readable with the standard free Adobe Acrobat reader (Mac or Windows) or Preview utility (Mac OSX or Linux).
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!
The files are fully text-searchable! That means you can open the file on Boiler Feeding Devices, for example, search on "Nathan", and quickly find all the sections on Nathan injectors.
Samples of the CD
Here are sample screenshots of exactly what is on the CD, so you can get a good idea of the scan quality.
List of Books
There are 14 books, titled as follows. They are all on one CD. The volume numbers are the actual ICS catalog numbers.
| Vol 501 | Locomotive Boilers |
| Vol 503B | Locomotive Valves and Valve Gear |
| Vol 504C | Walschaert and Baker Valve Gear |
| Vol 505C | Locomotive Valve Settings |
| Vol 506 | Firing of Locomotives |
| Vol 507B | Locomotive Stokers |
| Vol 508D | Locomotive Boiler Feeding Devices |
| Vol 510C | Locomotive Management |
| Vol 514B | Compressors and Brake Equipment |
| Vol 515D | Number 6 and Number 8 ET Brake Equipment |
| Vol 516B | Air Brake Troubles - Brake Rigging |
| Vol 519 | Automatic Control Equipment |
| Vol 530 | Automatic Train Control |
| Vol 598 | Freight-Car Brake Equipment |
How To Order a CD
If you'd like a copy of the CD, please send an email saying you want one to:
The price is $20 (US dollars). Upon receiving your email inquiry, I will send you instructions for ordering. In general, payment can be by money order, certified check, or PayPal. The ordering instructions you receive will contain all the details.
