SHADES OF POOLE BROTHERS!

I've on occasion referred to one of the finest examples of ferroequinological writing, David P. Morgan's "The Mohawk that Refused to Abdicate, and Other Tales."

Philip R. Hastings, "All the implications of the Book of Revelations," Shelby, Ohio.

That article also included a meditation on the way railroads drew maps for their Official Guide entries and public timetables, in such a way as to exaggerate the size of their territory relative to the continent, to show only the friendliest of connections, and to give the illusion that their lines pursued the most direct course.

Years later, ferroequinologist Gregory Ames wrote a scholarly article in Railroad History, "Forgetting St. Louis and Other Map Mischief: The oddities and deceptions of railroad mapmaking," expanding and attempting to offer understanding of that phenomenon.

That article is behind a JSTOR paywall, sadly.  I'm pleased to report, though, that for now Trains have made "The Mohawk that Refused to Abdicate," which is part of their countdown to a thousand issues in their Best of Trains series, as the best of issues 100-199, is now available to a general audience.