Trains and Railroads Books

My son has been obsessed with trains since he was six months old. This book opened up a world for him. He has learned rhythm, how to rhyme and how to read from this book. I started to read this book to him when he was six months old, and now as a five year old, he is reading it all by himself.

This book also introduced Thomas the Tank Engine to him ... all of the Thomas videos and books are outstanding. He has learned so many valuable lessons from them ... the importance of manners, friendships, respect, etc.

I would HIGHLY recommend this book to any parent whose child is fascinated by trains and by Thomas and his friends. It is a stable book that will withstand much handling. It is definitely a treasure to be kept for future generations.

I really like the concept of using beloved characters to introduce children to different types of poetry. I like the types of poetry selected; I like the character selection; the art is nice, and the book is VERY nicely put together, with its durable silver-edged pages and thick cover.
But oh, the issues with the text! The author strays beyond the restrictions of meter frequently, which makes it easy for tongues to trip when reading the poems aloud. "Real" is used instead of "really" at least twice. The poem about whether or not Thomas has a heart goes back and forth on the issue enough times to be confusing about its stance. The poem about Trevor says that Thomas, rather than Edward, saved him from scrap; the poem about Emily says that she is the only female steamie--and, although Rosie and Molly might not have been around when the book was published, I have trouble believing that Lady hadn't been introduced yet.
Am I nitpicking? Probably. But when you read a book to your kid over and over again, little things can seem a lot bigger.
My 2 1/2-year-old son really enjoys the book and giggles at the repetition of "chop chop chop" in the poem about Harold. Railway Rhymes is a good buy and lots of fun, but don't expect perfection.

Mentions all the main characters in Thomas. My son loves having the stories read...and read...and read to him.

The pictures are great. The poems themselves are a little strained sometimes but hey, it makes the the little one happy.

I think you do have to be a Thomas fan to really enjoy this book.

Railway Rhymes is a large, colorful board book with "puffy" (padded) covers. What's extra special about this book is the silver edging on this book. Remember those large family Bibles that had gold edges that shone when closed? This book has the same edging, except in silver--making it truly special.

My son asks me to read a few poems every night and enjoys looking through the book. It's great to hear from some of the lesser known residents of the Island of Sodor (Bulstrode, Murdoch, Rheneas, Stepney, Trevor, et.al.), too!

What I found particularly interesting is that the poems aren't written in the same style. Some feature longer lines, almost like a story--while others are quite short. For example, here's the rhyme from The Breakdown Train:

"The Breakdown Train, he has no name.
He's quiet, strong, and spare.
But if there's a crash and trains go smash,
The Breakdown Train is there."

Here's a fun poem from Bertie the bus:

"Faster, wheels!
Round and round,
To Wellsworth Station, I am bound!

Honk! Honk!
Make way!
I have stops to make today!

Waah! Waah!
Babies, hush!
Don't cry--I'm in a rush!

Vroom! Vroom!
Beep! Beep!
There's a schedule I must keep!

Crossing's down,
Boo-hoo!
Thomas goes to Wellsworth, too!

Stop sign!
No fair!
I really want to beat him there!

Hurry, Driver!
Please give chase.
Who do you think
will win this race?"

Thomas and Friends Railway Rhymes is an excellent introduction to Sir Topham Hatt and the denizens on the Island of Sodor. Fans of Thomas the Tank Engine will likely be thrilled to see colorful illustrations of all their favorite trains and other vehicles--as well as fun rhymes.

This book is amongst the best of the Thomas & Friends' series as it has tons of poems and rhymes of various engines working in the Isle of Sodor that every kid would love to read if they are Thomas & Friends' fans! My kids love it very much and I have to read to them everyday!

I was buying this to replace an old one, but the train gets stuck 4-5 times on track so it's not much fun for a kid. FYI

... This little train is so cute. We have had it for about 6 years and break it out every so often. It folds up nicely. You can take it wherever you go.

My 1 1/2 year old loves his Choo Choo Charlie train book. He asks for it every night. His grandparents bought it at a book sale and we have actually worn the little wind up train out with all the use..definately worth the price and I'll be ordering another one immediately.

Our toddler loves trains, so we have many railroad-themed books and toys around the house. Choo-Choo Charlie is a favorite with every member of the family. It looks almost like a book sitting on the shelf, but in two simple unfoldings you have a complete little old-fashioned American rural town (circa 1910?) with pop-up buildings and cardboard stand-up characters and a cute wind-up engine and tender that run along the tiny track. I think that alone fascinates our son. He takes it off the shelf, "assembles " it, plays with it, puts it away, and does it all over again -- just for the delight of having a little town appear so magically. A push button outside the station cafe renders realistic train noises, and the inside flaps of the "book" feature a poem about Choo-Choo Charlie and his busy day.

The only problem with the set is that it's made of thin cardboard and our son has already torn many of the buildings up. On the other hand, it is one of the few toys that we will willingly replace because it is so delightful. A charming toy.

This is one of the best presents my two year old got this year for his birthday! My sister found it during a booksale at her workplace. I'm buying another one because our little guy has played with Littletown so much that the only thing left intact is the train track...I recently repaired the pushbutton "choo-choo" on the pre-recorded electronic box that comes in the middle of this book to our son's delight. He calls for this book by name pratically every night. The reader from Idaho (Nov 99) sums up this fantastic three dimensional storybook toy combination.

Very nice photography, I love it yeah, yeah, yeah, I love it yeah, yeah, yeah, I love it yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. As usual with Hans Halberstat, the text isn't great, but it passes the F test. He talks of the early geeps and the latest MACs, and the full body locos (F-units). He also interviews engineers, and they give him the goods and the bads of driving trains. Personally, I am a fan of GM's locos much more than GE's, and now that I have read this book, it seems that many engineers agree with me.
Trevor

I thought the text was well written and informative and the pictures were wonderful but there was absolutely no link between the two. Text sections about the EMD had pictures of unrelated locos. It was frustrating to read about a certain locomotive and then have to search the entire book to try and find a picture of it. It was like the text was written, then they bought the nicest stock pictures of locos they could find and pasted them into the text wherever the art director wanted them, without ever reading the text. I was also hoping for more description of how a GP7 was different from an SD40 and such. Still looking for a book with that info.

This book has everything I ever wanted to know about trains, the difference between AC and DC motors, how the modern locos operate and too much more to type!

This book has a lot of really nice pictures of the latest locomotives, but is seriously short on text. It's written in a disjointed style - that is, some of the information is repeated multiple times in the same chapter. It also seems to be written for younger readers.

As books about US Railroads are hard to get in Europe (albeit amazon.de is very helpful in providing them), I was looking for a very "basic" work on modern US diesels, describing what makes the engines roll in words and pictures. I think that Hans Halberstadt did a good job there, yet some chapters seem a little short and do noe quite entirely cover the respective topic. Short eyewitness reports lighten up the reading. Nice book; I caught myself every now and then checking certain things on my HO models, to see if they were there, too. This book is also highly recommendable for everyone who wants to spend his spare time browsing around in his/her spare time now and then. It helped me explain certain things about railroad equipment to some of my "uninitiated" friends.

Perhaps you have never ridden the South Shore, or even heard of it...this book will walk you down a nostalgic path of its history. The illustrations are beautiful and worthy of framing. Moonlight in Duneland would be a wonderful gift for anyone who has ever lived in the Michiana area, or dreams of doing so.

I bought it mainly for the poster art. It's too bad there is a "no image available" on the cover here on Amazon. You would see (and appreciate) the artwork. There is history of the area and the South Shore Railroad, as well.

We will never see these lovely posters on the hoardings in Chicagoland or Northwestern Indiana, but this wonderful book does as much as is possible to capture the glory of that long-gone, pre-Depression advertising age. The articles are interesting to railway aficianados and help to put the artworks in their proper context, but the crowning glories of the book are the full-page reproductions of all the known surviving South Shore Line posters. Yes, it was a simpler time; and No, the artists were not on the forefront and fringes of experimentation. But the posters do not pretend to be anything other than what they are--railway advertising--and they are superb examples of that, comparing favorably with the contemporaneous works of the Big Four in Britain, who were themselves experiencing a Golden Age at the time. Now if only someone would do for North Shore Line posters what this book does for the Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railway! Buy two copies: one for the shelf, and one to cannibalize for prints to frame. (I know, I know, the thought of cutting up a book was anathema to me at first, but the results were spectacular.)

A must-have coffee table book for anyone connected to N.W. Indiana. Living history in a medium long past.

"Moonlight in Duneland" is a wonderfully subtle exploration of a marriage between the golden age of advertising and twilight of passenger rail service in suburban Chicago and northwest Indiana.

The Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad has served the region for about ninety years, but in the 1920s the once floundering commuter train became a sudden success due to the advertising campaign commissioned by new owner Samuel Insull.

Intending to create a ridership for the line, the ad campaign showed sophisticated Chicagoans what wonderful scenery and activities waited for them a short ride east in Indiana. The lithographs reprinted on the pages of "Moonlight in Duneland" are wonderfully rendered in the style of such illustrators as Maxfield Parrish and the Prairie Deco artists of the day. Each poster illustrates one of the many activities in different seasons. One could see Notre Dame football in the fall; relax on the Lake Michigan beaches in the summer; or snow ski on the Dunes in winter. The pages are mainly full page reprints of the photos with just enough text in the front of the book for explanation.

This book is very well made and the prints are very well reproduced. I recommend it to anyone, but fans of Art Deco design and railroad enthusiasts will enjoy it.

In this little book we have Thomas, a train who loves children.
The children are going on a school trip, but Thomas has work that he must do and he can't take them. Thomas is sad. Sir Topham Hatt tells Thomas if he does his job and hurries back, he can take them home. On his journey Thomas learns that by doing his job things have a way of working out for us. He learns how important it is to help others. This is a simple book for children to read, with short sentences and colorful illustrations.

In this book tomas is awaiting to take the kids home due to a broke down bus so he is very happy he gets to take these kids home but in the mean while tomas has to run arrons for his boss first he has to make a bunch of stops befor he can return to the train station.

So tomas is racing as fast as he can with all his jobs he has to do and trying to get back to the train station befor Henry is ready James is ready and even Sir topham Hatt is ready but tomas says he will hurry so he chugs and chugs he goes up the hill over the bridge through a tunnel and tomas stops at everystation at last his work is done right on time now he has to hurry back.

But tomas cant hurry tomas has to wait and wait and wait agin oh no will tomas be late will james or henry take the chirlden home? Oh my now what will come ahead it is bertie the bus he has broken down. But tomas wanted to help his friend but then he though he would be much to late h though stop or go help or hurry what do you think tomas should do but tomas cannot leave his friend behind will you take a passenger asks bertie?

Look at last tomas reaches back to the train station it is the hirlden bertie was taking hem home but hten agin hooray for tomas you have saved the day.

We received this book in a book club offer and it was our first experience with Thomas. That said, it's one of our favorites after 4 years of constant reading! The illustrations are SO much better than other books - the children and other characters look more like cartoon drawings instead of the "wooden" figures that you see in the videos. We prefer that in our house quite a bit. Also, the children are so grateful for Thomas picking them up in the end when Bertie breaks down, that one of the little girls gives him a kiss. Thus, sending Thomas into a very cute blush at the end of the story.

A very cute story - Ages newborn up to first to second grade. Highly recommend!

What a delightful story. It is one of our new favorites and I think it would make a fine addition to the home sheds of many a young Thomas fan.

As the story begins, everyone at the train yard is getting ready. The engines are getting shined up and are waiting... but for what? Why, the local school children are going on an outing.

Well, as we know, Thomas loves children and he very much wants to take them on a ride, but he has work to do on his branch line. Sir Topham Hatt tells him, however, that if he finishes his work fast, that he may take the children home. Thomas works hard to accomplish this goal, but is thwarted by fate, sheep and cows. The book builds excitement about whether Thomas will get back in time.

"Oh, no!
Will Thomas be late?
Will James or Henry take the children home?"

The climax comes when Thomas is finally free to race home, only to be confronted by the scene of his friend, Bertie, who has broken down.

"Thomas wants to help.
But then he will be late-
much too late.
Stop or go.
Help or hurry.
What should Thomas do?"

Well, OF COURSE, Thomas stops to help his friend and it's a good thing he does because Berties' passengers are the very children that Thomas was racing back to see.

The pictures in this little book are great. The drawings show Thomas up close and with lots of facial expression. The print is large and clear. (I don't need my spec's. LOL) But...

...Here is where I have to disagree with the publishers. They say that children from `preschoolers to grade 1' should be able to "recognize familiar words and sound out new words with help."

I've included some text above so you can judge for yourself if the level is appropriate for your child, but in my opinion this is not at kindergarten level.

Five Stars. Great Price. Story and drawings are great, and if your child (like mine) can't read it now, they will be able to in the future.

Briefly the school children are shown as they arrive in their uniforms, the girls are in straw hats with the boys wearing red ties. It is never mentioned where exactly this class trip is and hard to tell by the way they are dressed. What is portrayed is how much fun it would be to be the train that takes the kids on the school trip. Before they depart the trains, known as Henry, Thomas and James are scrubbed so their engines are shiny and bright. " The train yard is ready."

Thomas the Tank Engine is all excited when the children arrive wanting them to see him push and pull. But it turns out that Thomas the Tank Engine has work to do on his regular branch line, which makes him sad as he would rather have fun taking the children on their school trip. " Sir Topham Hat has an idea. Do your job, Thomas. Then hurry back. You can take the children home." This sets the train in motion to rush about his regular routine just so he can take the kids home. What this shows in my opinion is Thomas the Tank Engine slacking off on his duties just so he can have fun. This is not a good message for my son to learn at this point in time.

Instead of the happy Thomas the Tank Engine content on his rides he is sad and thinking of hurrying back for the kids instead of focusing on the task at hand and gets upset when he has to wait for his loads and obstacles along the route. His face is red as he is riding up a hill and over a bridge and then through a tunnel. All the while the coaches Annie and Clarabel are reminding him to hurry back so they can take the children home. If they are late another train will do the job. Up ahead Thomas sees Bertie the Bus broken down, but first he ponders whether he should stop and help or continue on hurrying to get to the station before another train to take the kids home.

My son was able to read through Thomas the Tank Engine and the School Trip several times, but it was boring for him since he knew the ending. He also had many questions like where the kids were going on the trip and why they were all dressed in the same clothes. The last page is a green background that makes the text hard to read for my son also. He also wanted to know about what age the kids were on the school trip. It was hard to tell but they appear to be older like ten to thirteen perhaps.

For kids who are fans of Thomas the Tank Engine they will like the book. I would hope others reading will instill to their children how rushing through a job is not the answer.

My oldest son received this for his 3rd or 4th birthday and we loved reading it to him. It was one of the few books my daughter would sit still and listen to at the age of 2 or 3. The binding did not hold up well on the first book, but we kept the pages together and continued to read it to the kids. I had been looking in stores to get a new one, but I couldn't find it. Once I found out it was out of print, a friend recommended looking online.

We just received our book a few days ago and we gave it to our 3-year-old son for his birthday. It's so nice to have the complete book again! He loved hearing the story and making the sounds along with us. Thank you so much for bringing our search to an end! I would recommend this book to anyone with little boys and girls. My oldest son now loves reading it to his little brother!

A great book for introducing the concepts of big and little and loud and soft. The story follows 2 trains, one big one little, from Kalamazoo to Timbuctoo. Great sounds, and a cute little poem at the end.

This book became my son's favorite when he was about 3. He loved the rhythm and hearing Mom say "WHO-OOOO!" and "Whee-eeee!". He would often sit and read it to himself, repeating the fun train sounds. He and his brother have "loved" it so much that our copy is now beyond repair, so I'm glad to know that it's still available for purchase!

I am looking for a reading copy of this book, as I fear for the life of my first edition since my two daughters, ages 2 and 4, have discovered it. They don't want to look at it by themselves -- they want me to read it, because this is one of the all-time great books for reading aloud. The pictures are nice, but it's the rhythm that makes the story. When read in the proper spirit, the text sounds like a train going over railroad tracks. The contrasting sounds of the big and small trains help to hold the kids'attention, and best of all, my kids love to make the sounds with me as I read. What kid can resist a hearty "Whooooooo!" or a quiet "wheeeeeee! or a quiet chant of "picketa picketa picketa picketa" for the small engine and a loud chant of "POCKETA POCKETA POCKETA POCKETA" for the big engine? Mine can't. And they're girls who aren't overly excited by trains. They do love music, though, and that's what the rhythm of this book most closely resembles.

My two-year-old (almost three) absolutely loves this book and I thoroughly enjoying reading it. The rythm and rhymes and imagery are just plain fun. My son likes to make the train whistle sounds himself when we get to those parts. This is a book I would definitely think of giving as a gift. It's simply a classic.

Perhaps the best book of its type, the postwar Lionel train owner should have it in his library. It tells how to bring those old trains back to life, run them and enjoy them. Beyone rudimentary repair is everything from layouts to wiring to operating accessories. The author has the ability to explain detailed concepts succintly and understandably. In a genre that's usually repetitive, Beginner's Guide to Repairing Lionel Trains stands out as unique, fresh and useful

Don't pay $140.00, I paid $14.00 plus change. I called amazon customer service about the price, but just got an (It's Not My Problem). They said I needed to call the seller's which were not associated with amazon.

Well, I called around and finally got the book for $14.00 and change. This does not include shipping as it will very depending on where you live.

The place is called The Western Depot Model Railroad Needs located in CA

Good luck, but don't pay the quoted price.

This book not only will help you learn to repair Lionel trains, but it also serves as a great introduction to Lionel for the newcomer. Very easy read, but packed with info.

Good Book but wish it had a little bit more on switch repair.Some of my older switches have bad return springs and the text talks about it but has no diagrams.

This book allowed me to take a box of old trains and tracks that hadn't been used in over 30 years and get it going again with only a few hours of work.

How dare they let this book go out of print! This is one of the best children's train books around, and I thought it was destined to become a bona fide classic. It's a beautiful book to look at, and has a lovely rhythm which the reader will enjoy. It is Funny Where Ben's Train Takes Him, as the tracks run off the drawing pad, past the toy cows on the bedroom floor, out the window and into a tunnel where they are passed by another train carrying a dinosaur, and back safely into a rural landscape of plowed fields, the checkerboard pattern on his bedspread. I can't recommend this gentle and imaginative book too highly.

I am always surprised when I find a good book that is only available in the after-market. What's with that?! (LOL).

This book is sweet, a good candidate for a `good night' book, and is bound to appeal to the train-fanatics amongst us. (Certainly my 3 year old son liked it.)

In this story, Ben draws trains and increasingly he, and we, get pulled into his imagination. His blanket becomes hills in the background. His blocks become tunnels, skyscrapers, and trees, and his toys become real cows and horses until at last he comes to the last station, "In my bed".

"Slow, slow, and slower.
Ben nods his head.
And arrives at the station
Called In-My-Bed.

Where filled with travels,
And train-wheel hums,

He'll dream train dreams,
Till morning comes.

Four Stars. A good read-aloud and good-night book. The artwork is sweet and clever and at least my little Thomas fan likes it.

While there are other books in the boy draws train motief -at the moment I'm thinking of Margaret Wise Brown's "Two Little Trains" book- we think this one is better.

Note: `funny' is indeed an difficult word for preschoolers and young children to understand in context. We substitute `interesting' when reading.

Children will love the illustrations in this picture book. Most younger children will have a hard time grasping the subtle humor. Children will have fun searching for things during the ride that are in Ben's room before the adventure starts. Can be good with students learning varying meanings of words in 3rd grade and up to think about what the word funny is meant to mean in the story.

While my 2-year-old likes the pictures, the concepts of imagination and fantasy are apparently over his head. He clearly doesn't understand the concept, although he does enjoy the clip of the rhyming text. My advice: wait until your child is a little older before trying this book.

My 2 y.o. son LOVES this book. He loves trains and he gets that the little boy in the story is using his imagination to fantasize where the train goes. It's a bedtime favorite and I highly recommend it.

As usual, Cynthia Rylant has written us a funny, warm story about Mr. Putter and his fine cat Tabby. Each book in this series is an excellent addition to every library. My daughter and I read them over and over, enjoying them more each time. The illustrations are perfect. Just be sure to get a copy for everyone who loves reading a great book.

I'm a hard core Cynthia Ryland fan, and the Mr Putter series is my favorite of her prolific works. I love how she brings older people (Mr Putter and his delightful neighbor) to life, and shows their passions and yearnings, and their humanity... in ways that kids can understand and relate with.

I love Cynthia Rylant books. I collect them by the dozens for use in my classroom. I was a little concerned with this book because the character was sneaky in getting his pet on the train. I don't like to give my children the idea that it is okay to be sneaky to get by the rules. I'm not sure that I will put this one on my shelf.

I love the Mr Putter books as well as Cynthia Rylant's work in general. This book is a charming addition to the series, and one especially good for kids who love vehicles/trains as my little boy does. **However, if you're trying to be super-careful about what moral messages you send your kids, you should know the plot before you buy this story. Pets are not allowed on trains, so Mr Putter & Mrs Teaberry _smuggle_ Tabby and Zeke onto the train with them. Not so good for teaching kids to respect rules...**

The bottom line: I read this book with my son because we both enjoy it, but eventually he will start to notice how Mr Putter breaks the rules and we'll have to have a discussion about it.

This book is a reminder of how pleasant it is to ride the train, even though they do smuggle their pets on-board.

This is great work. As someone who grew up in the Northeast during the last days of steam it brought back some good memories.
The maps are easy to read and provide scads of information. For rail buff or model railroaders interested in "the good old days" of coal and hot water, it details many lines long since removed or abandoned.

Carpenter is a man obsessed with railroads. His maps are a testamony to his obsession and an important document to what was once a great rail network in the US. I am waiting for Volume 3.

This book (hardcover), has to weigh a couple of pounds and is ALL maps. It shows the physical plant of Northeast railroading just after World War II. If you are fortunate enough to have a collection of individual railroad-issued maps you will know the routes that these railroads ran, but this book will show you just WHAT was along the routes. Items such as stations, interlocking plants, junctions etc are listed. As a practical aside, if you are reading an issue of a railroad magazine that highlights an area like Maybrook yard in New York, the maps in this book can help you follow the story accurately!. The ONLY thing this book has that keeps it from being a 5-star is that all of the maps are drawn in ink instead of some other reproduction process. For a map affectionado(sic)? like myself this is not a problem, but if someone is wanting a coffee-table picture book with maps, then this book is not for you. For everyone else, HIGHLY recommended!

Volume 2 of the extensive rail reference atlas focuses on New York and New England in 1946 - and there are so many rail lines, the narrowed focus and separate volume are needed. The heart of A Railroad Atlas Of The United States In 1946 Volume 2 lines in color line maps on every page of rail lines. From New Hampshire and Maine to Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and New York, maps chart each track and stops along the way and will prove invaluable to researchers.

I must open by saying that the Railroad Atlas is in fact a comprehensive and valuable source of information; a "labor of love" in the strictest sense. If you have an interest in seeing how and where the various railroads ran and what stations and facilities were on them in the immediate post-war and pre-merger era, then this book is a must-have.

However, the prospective purchaser should be aware that the maps which form the heart of this atlas are not the slick and professionally produced products that we have been spoiled with in the recent years of the information age. They are obviously hand-drawn, and to be honest they look like something done on a kitchen table with a box of felt-tip markers. The basic map information was traced--carefully, but obviously by hand--from USGS topographic maps, and then the railroad information was added.

I am not trying to put off any prospective purchaser, and in fact I intend to purchase the remainder of the series. However, I think that you should be aware of the quality of the presentation in advance. As long as you don't expect something that looks like it was turned out by the draftsmen at Rand McNally you should be fine.