Trains and Railroads Books

Tourist Trains 2005 is the Empire State Railway Museum's 40th annual guide to tourist railroads and museums. Packed into this 456-page guidebook are more than five hundred railroad-related attractions accessible to the general public, along with listings for attractions that offer trains rides. Included for this rides are listings of their hours, fees, directions, and other pertinent information. Tourist Trains 2005 even offers coupons for discounts on ticket prices! Very highly recommended for the reference collections of dedicated railroading enthusiasts, Tourist Trains 2005 is also of considerable value for planning family vacations for those who want to incorporate their appreciation and enjoyment of America's railroads and railroading history into the life experiences of the children.

This is a true lap-breaker, but one worth the risk of back injury to pick up. (9" x 12" nearly 500 pages)

When other books don't have the historical RR information I need, this will often have at least enough to get me started. It truly covers the entire world of RR, not just Britain and North America: India, Africa, South America, Asia, Australia. On top of this, every page is graced with period artwork or photos, in color as often as possible.

It's a compendium of articles by specialist authors. "History" subdivides by area. Then there's separate ones on Passenger Travel, Locomotive Development, & Civil Engineering. We especially enjoyed the section on the great name trains, from the 20th C Ltd to the Shinkansen Hikari. Other sections are Railway Operation, Freight Transport, Industrial RR, Rapid Transit, Mountain RR, Architecture, Preservation, RR in the Cinema, RR At War, biographies of notable figures, "The Artist's View," Records, Disasters, Chronology, Facts & Figures, and a glossary for the newcomer. All this, and huge beast is indexed, too.

As specific reference on this or that line, no, of course not. You couldn't do all of them in less than a room of books. As a general reference to lots of them, great.

This is the only book needed when travelling around Europe.

I'm a native New Yorker, born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, so the NYC subway system means a great deal to me. I'm also a railfan, so my interests in the inner workings of the IND, BMT, and IRT run very deep as well. That's why I can say that Evolution of New York City Subways truly is a subway fan's delight. Gene Sansone has written an incredibly fact-filled, engaging chronicle of the rolling stock of the MTA and its predecessors, as only an insider can. The comprehensive text is accompanied by excellent interior and exterior photos, plus detailed diagrams and specifications. I predict that this book will soon become the reference standard on this subject. I sincerely urge all subway fans to get a copy immediately: they won't be able to put it down!

This is a great book - the pictures are full of details and the text is just charming. It keeps my three year old enchanted when we read it together. I highly recommend all the Little Red Train books (although they're a little hard to come by...but well worth the effort of tracking them down!).

Father Browne's Trains and Railways is the sixteenth published photography book from the archives of Father Browne's 42,000 images. Most of the black-and-white railroad photographs in Father Browne's Trains and Railways were originally taken in Ireland during the 1930's, although some pictures of trains as far away as Suez and Sydney are included. Photographs portray images of tracks, engines both at rest and in motion, the interior of passenger cars, train stations, and the often bustling passengers who depended on the railways for transportation. Each picture has a very brief caption referring to its time and place; aside from this and the three-page introduction, Browne's remarkable and vibrant photography speaks for itself. A superb addition to railroad buff and photography shelves, and also a great visual reference for model railroad hobbyists. Also highly recommended are previous photography books from the Browne collection, including "Annals of Dublin" and "Father Browne's Titanic".

"First Class: Legendary Train Journeys Around The World" by Patrick Poivre d'Arvor is a truly elegant book showcasing eleven fabled railroad lines during the golden age of train travel around the world. Featured among these iconic railroads are the Toy Train of Darjeeling and its route along the Himalayan mountains; the fabled Orient Express; the mimosa-scented Train Blue, and the now legendary Trans-Siberian Railway. The informed and informative text is liberally enhanced with the inclusion of historic and contemporary photographs (245 in full-color and 30 in black-and-white) and artifacts, maps, and quotations about these railroads taken from the literature of the world. Superbly organized and featuring its own slipcased box in the form of a steamer trunk, "First Class" is especially recommended to the attention of railroad history buffs.

Finally: the first authoritative history of the Wabash Railroad Company: a saga of politics, engineering miracles, business history, and more. Wabash emerged from many small firms and developed a system which would serve as the midwest's gateway system to major cities from Chicago to St. Louis, expanding to New York in the 1890s. A lively survey covers the Wabash company's innovations, evolution and achievements, with vintage black and white photos throughout.

My daughter, who is five, loves this book. She is just beginning to read and enjoys reading this book to me! As a child I owned quite a few of the Bobbsey Twins books, I can remember reading them cover to cover in less than a day. I was happy to see a series of The Bobbsey Twins that was easy enough for her to read and enjoy!

This book is 322 pages in length. I have the second printing released in 1997 by The Frisco Museum. The second printing includes a new color pictorial section. Although most photos in the book are black and white, they are quite stunning. The quality is superb throughout. I have read this book many times and with the good length, you can start right back at the beginning when you reach the end. If you are a Frisco Railroad fan or are learning about the Frisco, this book is a must have! 5 stars are not enough.