Trains and Railroads Books

Just to clarify -- this item is a 2-volume set, ISBN#0801827434. Part 1 is also listed individually as ISBN#0801827221. Part 2 listed individually as ISBN#0801827477.

These books are unusual in their focus on the history of technology, explaining how it works, and how it changed over time. It gives a comprehensive account of the development of these cars with many fine pictures.

I like this book because it is funny. Thomas the Tank-Engine stars in this book. But there's also his friend Percy in this book. I have read this story on the Salty's Secret DVD at the Read-Along storybook at the Fun & Games Shed. I really suggest that you get this book and read it to your children. Thanks! I am Mike Nicholson, Thomas' fan. And out! Goodbye!!

Both my sons (ages 1 & 3) love this book - it's their favorite bed-time story, with it's colorful illustration and fun/humorous storyline. They even pretend to read the story themselves, as they point to the egg on Thomas' nose & giggle. It's a delightful storybook for little ones.

Just picked up the paperback edition at the cable car museum in San Francisco, and loving it. Everything you've never dreamed of asking about cable cars is present in these 484 pages. Despite billing itself as a 'treatise', Hilton's prose is lively and readable. (Of a flimsy trestle bridge built for the Spokane Cable Railway, he writes: "The structure, which was widely expected to collapse, surprised the local population by burning instead.") Hundreds of photos and diagrams, really a delightful book to take a dip into. Any transport buff or engineer would love it...

George Hilton's book is the most thorough study of the technology and the history of cable cars ever written. I am happy that it is available again; this book taught me that cable cars existed in many places besides San Francisco.

The book was sealed and packed with an air pillow to prevent damage to the book. It arrived in perfect condition. All Canadian Pacific fans would love the dramatic photos in this book.

Another Excellent Book from a Great Canadian Author!

We have a 3 year old son and a 1 year old son. The book doesn't just make train sounds it also has lights up. The book opens up like a train on the tracks. On one side you have the story on the other you have pictures and lights. This is one awsome book. It is not have annoying sounds like some books I recomond it highly!!

This book is very interactive and you can set it upright and unfold it and it turns into a train. When you press the train's nose, the train lights up throughout the book. Very cool and keeps our son interested for long periods of time.

As a recent visitor to China where I took several trains I look for books about this fascinating country. This book is really a mix of the political history of Tibet and China and the building of the train line. The author gets into the background through the lives of some Tibetan people, by far the best way to help understand the impact on ordinary people. But he doesn't get lost in the details. The other half of the book, the actual building is also interesting, both the political pressure of an impossible building schedule and problems with unproven construction solutions especially of building on permafrost. A quick, easy and interesting read.

What a an enlightening read. Brilliant imagery and a wealth of knowledge. This is not one to be missed.

This book is wonderful. My 11 month old son received it as a party favor. This is the only book he actually hands to us to read...and it has to be read several times. I never leave home without it. I also bought a couple of more copies for the grandparents houses. Inexpensive and perfect for little hands!

I bought this for my son when he was 8 mos. old. He loved the pictures and different colors. He is now 12 mos and entertains himself by flipping through the pages in search of the elephants. This is a small book, so it's perfect for little hands. Don't expect a great learning experience from it, but it does cover basic colors and a few objects related to the train (freight car, caboose) and has cute clowns in every color, but someday my son will probably ask why the train carries green balloons....

A fine companion to the volume on the older Diesels. Lots of pictures, good information. Comprehensive and easy to read.

Being a neophyte to the train world, I picked up this book to learn the different models of locomotives I would hear rumbling through my town.

Not only does the book teach you the tricks of the trade for recognizing different manufacturers and their models, it presents line drawings to highlight the distinguishing features of each type of locomotive.

We purchased this to add to our ever-growing Thomas and Friends collection of books and audio files. One note: this version is narrated by Ringo Starr -- very cool, but don't be expecting the American version.

The stories are adorable, narration is great. Using the CD should pose no problem -- just note that the CD's audio levels are a bit lower than the American versions we have of other stories.

The only issue we've had is that the low levels on the CD present a problem when listening to the stories on an iPod in the car using an FM adapter: lots of static, because you have to turn the volume way up, which also increases the volume of any interference.

This CD/book set is great in the car for short trips (20 minutes, each story is aroun 5 minutes long). My son enjoys listening and following along in the book. The stories on the CD are exactly as on the videos (same narration, sound effects) and the photos in the book are also taken from the videos. The text is not simplistic, but is verbatim from the narration, so the book is not a beginning or easy reader.

If you have a train-loving tot like I do, you will be thrilled by these books and trains. My 3.5 yo has been Thomas the Tank crazy since before he was two. He got his first Railway Adventure book, The Torpedo Run, last Christmas when he was 2.5. That is the 3rd book in the series, so we have bought the other two since.

The series starts with the storey of Tuck and Billy (girl) at their home in San Luis Obisbo, CA. The Daylight Limited goes by their house daily, and the whole family stops what they are doing to watch it go by. Tuck dreams up an idea for a train car, and the Holden family enters it into "The invention of tomorrow" contest in the 1939 World Fair. This starts the adventure that has Tuck and Billy riding on the Daylight Limited, the President Washington, and finally, the Torpedo.

The trains all existed, and there are pictures of the actual engines. The text is much more than I normally read for my 3.5 yo, but he has been captivated since he was 2.5. Now, he has started asking me questions, and these books have really grown with him.

In addition, Learning curve with Lionel has created toy replicas of the engines that run on batteries and are compatible with the TTT or Brio track and trains. We have all 3 engines.

I was surprised to see the age level of this book to be 9-12 years. Technically, I would agree, but I read it to my 3 and 5 year olds several times the first day and they were engrossed. We purchased it in a museum gift shop as a gift set incl. tape and toy train - look for it. Train lovers of all ages will be delighted.