Reading List

 These are a few of the books that have influenced the Lockwood & San Emigdio, and my modeling generally:

Prototype

Mixed Train Daily by Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg. A classic work on small-time railroading that I discovered in my local library when I was a teenager and read several times. I later bought my own copy.

Railroads of Nevada and Eastern California, Volumes 1 & 2 by David Myrick. Covers dozens of railroads, from the big transcontinentals down to tiny mining and logging lines. The look of the L&SE in its various iterations draws heavily on Myrick's monumental work.

San Diego & Arizona: The Impossible Railroad by Robert M. Hanft. I grew up in San Diego County and was always intrigued by the SD&AE, and my H.O. Bakersfield & Ventura was heavily influenced by it.

A View From the Ridge Route Volume 4: The Resources by Bonnie Ketterl Kane. Kane's seven-volume opus covers virtually every scrap of history of the mountain communities, centered around Frazier Park, where Ventura, Kern and Los Angeles Counties meet. This volume extensively describes the mines and logging in the mountains around Lockwood Valley.

Modeling

Track Planning for Realistic Operation by John Armstrong. The best book out there for model railroad track planning, and for understanding railroad operations from a modeler's perspective.

Model Railroad Bridges and Trestles by The Model Railroader Staff. Mine is the 1992 edition.