Trains and Railroads Books

Great pictures from early days of the EBT at turn of century to its demise in 1956 and subsequent resurrection as a tourist trip. EBTs magificant scenery and intact roundhouse (still used), machinery shops, rusting unused equipment, jewels of Mikado live steam, and miles of Pennsylvania countryside to trek to find remenants of the original EBT ROW, etc are ALL displayed in this excellent volume. A great overview, many great pictures, good histrical commentary. Great gift!

As a model railroader I was happy with the loads and loads of information, together with the many pictures in this book. I liked the American Passenger Train better but not much.

Another good book about Mike Schafer, very comprehensive but in my opinion a bit unsatisfactory about interurban trains that played a key role in moving people around for over 40 years in the whole America

Any book by Jane Yolen is sure to be good and this one is no different. My kids love the clever rhymes and lifting all the fun flaps. The pictures are bright and interesting and there is a wealth of details to be discovered on subsequent readings. The only suggestion I have (as in all flap books) is covering the flaps with clear contact which makes them a bit more durable! Lots of fun!

I was roped into reading this for a story time and really got on board! The story is of a train traveling down the track at night picking up animals for a concert party. The book has fun pictures and a sing-song rhythm. Kids will catch on quickly and join in for the animal sounds. Great picture book.

This is one of those books you want on your shelves for any 4 - 8 year olds in the house. Boys, in particular, would identify with the story. It's a gentle, though unsentimental tale of bear meets trainline, while a boy looks on. No, the furry fellow doesn't meet his maker because of this interaction. Rather, this particular bear takes advantage of a ready-made den and food supply on board a train car, as it travels the very long and beautiful distance across the Canadian mountains and prairies. The accompanying illustrations are absolutely wonderful. My own two small boys love the poetic chant repeated whenever the bear and his train pull into town. My older child brought it into his grade one classroom when the topic of hibernation was on the roster; all 25 classmates clamoured for another reading, and another.

This book is mostly about trains, diffrent kinds of trains, and how they work. If your a train lover this book is for you. It tells you the history about trains and the first trains ever built, it gives you every single detail about steam locomotives and diesel trains, it tells you how the tracks were built, it tells you every single thing about trains. I liked this book a lot and I hope you will too.

This is a great collection of memories about the building of a local landmark. Many of the wood trestles and structures were so well-made that they are in active use today.

Coal and timber sustained the Clinchfield over many, many years. Now mixed freight trains carrying chemical tankers, containerized freight and all manner of cargo use these peerless miles.

You'll love the pictures, and the story itself.

I have read about streetcar and interurban systems for several years and have been interested in them since I was a kid. This book is unique in its coverage of the Ohio companies (plus others) that manufactured rolling stock and components for street railways and interurbans. It is very well written and produced. However, it is written for more of a general audience and does not have a lot of hard-core technical detail. Although I was hoping for more of the latter, I still liked the book very much. In particular, I found the author's comments on the era's business environment and the actions of the various companies quite interesting.

Perhaps this is a telling detail. The picture on the cover (also reproduced inside the book as Figure 4.1) shows streetcars in Cleveland. The author draws the reader's attention to the stove vent on the roof of the trailer, but nowhere mentions in the text that the car and trailer are being towed by a rubber-tired maintenance of way truck. Of course, this detail is irrelevant to the book's purpose, but it's the kind of stuff I like.

Again, this is a very good book, but it is different from a typical book on streetcars and interurbans as produced, say, by the Central Electric Railfans' Association.

I have booked a holiday travelling from one side to the other of Canada by rail. This book is just what I need giving me a mile by mile guide of the track. I will be taking it with me to increase my enjoyment of the trip.