Trains and Railroads Books

I am a second grade teacher and LOVE to integrate literature into all my curricular areas. This book is GREAT for enriching the teaching of history about our states in Social Studies. One of my second graders brought her own personal copy to school for me to read to my class and I was so impressed with it that I ordered two copies from Amazon! One for my own classroom library and another for my daughter who teaches kindergarten. A great investment for teachers and parents concerned with instilling a love of country and history in young children!
Rhonda Hooper
Victoria, TX

Fascinating drawings for mid-older elementary may help students learn curricular content about the states. Each train car provides key information about the state, including the date of statehood, historical facts, and items of interest. This book could tie into building the railroad westward also.

All Aboard! Get ready to learn about the 50 States of America. There is a train coming past the school yard. Each train car has a state listed and facts about the state. We see the states pass by in order of the date they came into statehood. We will learn about the state capital, tree, flower, and bird, along with a fun fact.


This book was full of great information of the 50 states. It will be a useful reseacrch tool for stududents who come to the library for information on any or all of the 50 states!

We would recommed this book to others. The book presented useful information in a fun and exciting way.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends Peter Sis' THE TRAIN OF STATES as a splendid way to learn not only the names of all our states, also which came first & for what best each is known.

THE TRAIN OF STATES is the kind of book that will be read from generation to generation, teaching math, geography, history, patriotism & the fantastic use of imagination.

Very well done!

I am the librarian and archivist at the Ogden Union Station which houses the Utah State Railroad Museum. The museum happens to own the last remaining car from the Train of Tomorrow. It is the Moon Glow, the lounge car at the end of the train. I began volunteering at the Union Station 10 years ago. I became aware of Dr. Morgan's original manuscript and long efforts to publish his work. Thanks to Indiana University Press, the book has finally seen the light of day!! And what a book it is. A record of an entire train from design concept through building and operation and ultimate death through scrapping except for one remnant...the aforementioned Moon Glow.
Dr. Morgan's text is unique in that it takes one on a "walking" tour through the train as if you were back in 1947 and being personally escorted through the locomotive and each car. The photographs are extensive, covering everything from full length photos of the train to the air conditioning system, dishes and silverware in the diner.
The reviewer for "Trains", the most popular rail fan magazine, called the book a masterpiece and I couldn't agree more.

At first glance I did not care for this book. Yes, I judged the book by its cover. Guilty.However, after reading this well thought out and well researched book I found the author to be passionate about his love for this historic train. There are some great photos, some I have never seen before. Mr Morgan blends buisness, technical matters and history into a entertaining volume. It should be noted that all proceds from this book goes towards the restoration of the passenger car Moon Glow. I believe this man walks his talk. Enough said. Cheers to you Mr. Morgan.

Perhaps my review of this book will not be as technical as a review should be. But for me, The Train of Tomorrow is as much about emotions, as it is the wonderfully laid out details of the Trains manufacture.

As a boy of 10 in 1948, my brother and I were taken to see the Train while it was on exhibit in Dallas. My Dad was serving as a GM Host on one of the cars, and my memories of that evening, are a composite of the awesome beauty of the Train, especially the sleek and powerful locomotive, but also of the excitement of the event. It was something one might expect from a movie star gala of some kind, so many important people everywhere - or so it seemed in the eyes of a 10 year old. Mr. Morgan's book brought back all those good and positive feelings of starry eyed amazement. As my mind has drifted back to it, I still find myself being uplifted by that memorable event and that special, beautiful Train. I never gave any thought as to why it had such an emotional impact on me until I read the book. This is what it was developed to do, to uplift and encourage; and my ongoing positive feelings about it stands as testimony of the genius of the project and its planning.

As Mr. Morgan brings out, the Train resulted from the forward, creative thinking of one GM executive. His vision was to get the country traveling again, enjoying the great outdoors; and, by rail - which is interesting since GM is in the car business. Also brought out, is that they even declined to put a patent on their new dome design, which again, is even more than interesting. This Train was not about making money. It was about promoting the healing of a wounded nation just after WWII; about getting the nation going, and its modern dome car was designed just for that purpose. The project, if I've grasped it correctly, was about reassuring America, that we have not only survived, but by this Train as witness, we are sleek, fast, modern and powerful....come and see! And, they did. I was positively imprinted by it for the rest of my life. Even its name was part of the brilliant PR package, for the Train of Tomorrow....was truly about a bright tomorrow. The whole project was absolutely amazing.

I found the meticulous building of the model particularly fascinating; miniature people for each car, down to miniature furniture, dishes and even food items in the kitchen. That this elegant and important piece of American history was sold, worn out, and sold again for scrap metal in the 60's, broke my heart.

Thanks to researcher and writer Ric Morgan for his talent, heart and diligence. His book captures the true essence of the Train, which includes its purpose, and preserves its rightful place in history forever. Also, thanks to Indiana University Press for publishing it, and especially to General Motors for their vision and ability to bring the project into reality. Every home should have a copy of this book, for The Train of Tomorrow is far more than just another train book.

The author accomplished what no previous one has done was to document a post-war "concept" train from start to finish. His research is well done as he made use of General Motors, Pullman Techology, Electro-Motive Division and Union Pacific archieves to include photos, trip logs, press releases, and bill of sales.

The author states he is not a railfan, and in some of his writing he shows it. But forgot the little mis-informed mistakes and enjoy the book as a history of the state of the nation's railroad after VJ Day.

I'm not a fan of the series but this one is great. I read hurricane{boring} and attempted titanic [to boring to finish] but this was great! Max is a future lion tamer and jodi used to walk the highwire. {her mom was injured badly when she fell off one and she can't find the will to go back on} when the train crashes they escape alive but it might have been better they did'nt with what they are going to face.

Now I would like the world to know that everyone who likes to read should be reading these books. These books are da' best in da' world. I've read every single one of them and they got my 2 thumbs and five stars. Karen and Kathleen better be able to hear this, they also get my two thumbs up and my five stars. Keep writin'. The next book should be #12 Tornado, #13 Tsunami, and #14 Avalanche.

These books are way awesome. They are so real and lifelike you feel like you are there. And they way they put fictional characters in famous or every day disaters is very intriguing. Duey and Bale had better keep writing these because no one wants to lose a good thing.

Maximo Reyes is a Mexican orphan who joined a travelling circus and hopes to become a lion tamer. Thirteen year old Jodi Jamison and her father are performers in the same circus. Jodi used to be a high wire walker, but ever since her mother was badly injured after a fall last year, Jodi has lost her nerve. When their train wrecks one stormy night, both Max and Jodi must face their worst fears if they can even begin to hope to live through the most dangerous night of their young lives. I highly reccomend this book, along with the other Survival! books by Kathleen Duey and Karen A. Bale.

My 3 year old has loved this book since he was two. The artwork is unique and fun and the text has a great rhythm. Fun for reading aloud. Glad we finally have our own copy since the one at the library is always checked out.

This is a great book. Both my 3 1/2 year old and my 1 1/2 year old love it. We borrowed it from the library and ended up having to buy it because we needed it for bedtime every night. They both have some of the lines memorized from the book because of the fun writing and rhyming. I would recommend it to everyone with small children.

My 2 year old son is a train fanatic and this is his favorite train book. It is my favorite as well. An excellent book to read aloud.

My 3 yr old loves trains. He wants this book read to him 3 times in a row. The writing is very rhythmical and easy to remember. My son "reads" along with it. He loves pointing to the pictures. Great book!

While the stories in this book may appear wordy or (dare I say it) even dreadful at first, as you read them more and more (and I garuntee you will) they will grow on you as they did on me and my toddler!

This collection of stories has a central group of characters, which even the youngest of children can seem to become invovled with. The stories include plot lines that invovle lessons like teamwork, commradery, honesty, modesty and being humble. The stories are fun and have action (which is more then I can say for some of the Thomas books).
It's really wonderful to see my two year old acting out "Thomas Goes Fishing" with his toy trains or the day I realized he had "Terence the Tractor" memorized. This book has really reached my child!

Okay, Ringo Starr is not the best narrator, and the pictures are a bit fuzzy and not all that great having been taken from the TV series video tape and enlarged past what their quality would support; and Thomas (on the cover) does look like his going to `hurl', but little people just don't seem to care and so we give this book and cassette, Four Stars.

There are 4 stories in this collection:

Trouble for Thomas
Thomas Saves the Day
Thomas Goes Fishing
Terence the Tractor

For those of you who can't remember the plot lines I have summarized them below.

In `Trouble for Thomas', kind Edward trades jobs with Thomas so that our favorite Steamie is off to end his boredom by pushing freight cars instead of coaches. The cars get the better of him though because he hasn't listened to Edwards advice. (A frequent Thomas problem.)

In `Thomas Saves the Day' it is poor James' turn to get into trouble with those troublesome trucks. They force him to go off the line. (Wooden brakes, you know). Thomas saves the day by quickly getting the break-down train to the scene, where fortunately James is embarrassed, but unhurt. At the end of this story, James gets new brakes, and Thomas gets his own branch line and Annie and Clarabel.

In `Thomas Goes Fishing', we find out that Thomas loves to stop and watch the river, unfortunately fate and his driver seldom allow him to do so. When he meets the other engines he repeats his dissatisfaction and says, "I want to fish." But they would all say the same thing in reply: "Engines don't go fishing."

Trouble comes when Thomas stops at the river station for water and the pump is out of order. His driver and fireman use a bucket to top him off, but unbeknownst to them, they have put fish in Thomas' boiler. Steamie chaos (and a bit of a stink) ensues.

In `Terence the Tractor', Thomas gets himself into trouble when he bangs up his much hated snowplow so that he actually can't wear it. And when a heavy snow falls, he gets stuck. Terence comes to the rescue and Thomas finds out that `caterpillar treads' are good things indeed.

Four Stars. My son plays this tape over and over and over, all of its faults forgiven.

My 3-year-old son listened to this cassette repeatedly with a walkman when we took a 4 hour flight. A stress-free flight courtesy of Thomas.

My son loves Thomas the Tank Engine and this book, with the cassette, helps him with his pronunciation of the words that he is having trouble saying. I wish that there were more then 4 books on tape with Thomas.

Thank heaven someone was thinking of an imaginative new twist on the illustrated toy train book. There are a few clever twists in this book, as the train we are following is revealed to be a toy train, and the "trouble" the engineer is cautiously anticipating turns out to be the household cat, aptly named "Trouble", who tends to wander in and wreak havoc on the delicate tracks. Children will love figuring out this story and pointing out the clues to Trouble's identity on the cover and throughout the text.

My 18 month old loves this book. All you have to do is say people and he runs looking for this book (since the train goes through villages and farmlands were people are familiar). He also enjoys pointing out the cat that's lurking at the end.

Even the cover is deceiving.

We see a big black and red locomotive steams towards a dark tunnel, but as "Trouble" gradually reveals, all is not as it seems in this cleverly surprising book. There are sly hints about the real setting, but adults and kids alike will be distracted by Kathy Mallat's bright colors, and tricked by her slyly composed text and detailed but deceptive pictures. Kathy Mallat opens with low perspective pictures of people boarding a train, the conductor shouting: "All aboard! Next stop, Black Cat Crossing."

The train "rumbles through villages where faces are familiar." It speeds along under the engineer's watchful eye, until he spots "trouble" ahead. Soon, the figures watching the train seem unusually static and their faces look indistinct. Many of them point upwards, striking a similar pose--as if they all came from the same mold. Still, it's not enough to give away the surprise, or that there even is a surprise--until the next page, where two large golden eyes stare out at us from a black face, and the engineer yells, "Oh no, Trouble on the tracks." (Note that it's capital "T," Trouble--as in a name...)

Finally, after the train is partially derailed, and trees have fallen (and we begin wondering, "What kind of a book IS this, anyway?), Mallat introduces Trouble the Cat, a cat owned by the "engineer" who constructed the toy train and its realistic-looking town. Mallat changes to human-level perspective, and we seet the black cat dwarfing the train set; suddenly, we notice that the people are posed on barely visible, translucent stands. As the young engineer fixes the train and sounds the whistle, the train once again "rumbles through villages where faces are familiar," and "Trouble" (seen hiding behind "Bapa's Village Store") lurks and waits for another pouncing opportunity.

"Trouble in the Tracks" is an enchanting tail within a tale, and it triumphs both as a straight train book and as a trompe de l'oeil. Like a magician's audience that has been told what to look for, Mallat's reader and listeners are now her confidantes, and they will want to revisit this book looking for clues, proud of their newfound expertise. Some may even get the urge to own a train set, especially if they have their own four-legged "Trouble" at home to complete the create-destroy-repair cycle that makes pretend play so exciting. A wonderful book that will be read many times over.

"All aboard! Next stop, Black Paw Crossing!" The engineer makes his final train check, a few last minute passengers climb aboard, the conductor gives the all-clear and we're off. The train pulls away from the station and begins its journey across the countryside. Oh Oh...looks like there's trouble ahead on the tracks. That's Trouble with a capital T, because Trouble is the "engineer's" cat. A cat who likes to "upend" trees, "trample" houses and "derail" TOY trains..... Kathy Mallat has authored a charming picture book with a clever twist that will delight and amuse your little engineer. Her spare, simple text takes a backseat to the beautifully bold and colorful artwork that really tells the story and youngsters will love poring over all the marvelous detail in each picture. Trouble On The Tracks is just right for pre-schoolers and emerging readers and is a story all young train lovers will want to read again and again.

For anyone who's a railroad buff or simply interested in all facets of United States history (of which railroads are an integral part), I just can't recommend this book enough. It is a historical document - looked at not only in technical terms but also in terms of how this train fit at various times into the popular and economic culture of this country. Covering the train from its humble beginnings, through its heyday as the "most famous train in the world", to its sad demise in the 1960's and even beyond (touching on Amtrak's current involvement in the lake shore route as well as what happened to much of the old 20th Century equipment), this is an extremely interesting book that's not overly dry and comes off as comprehensive but not overwhelming.

I also can't say enough about the visual materials included - photos, pages of old brochures, postcards, dining car menus, car floor plans, etc. There is just a wealth of stuff to look at, all of it relevant, much of it beautiful and if not then at least incredibly interesting. It's obvious that a great deal of effort went into gathering materials for this book and it shows.

There is not a bad thing to say about this book - if anything, you'll wish there were just a few more pages, but that's more a testament to the quality of what's there than a commentary on what might be missing.

The 20th Century Limited comes alive in this fascinating book and I guess Karl Zimmermann has now written the definitive story. Well researched and fortunately not overloaded with too much technical detail that spoils some other railroad books. I'm interested in anything streamline and chapter four, 'Henry Dreyfuss' Elegant Streamliner' explains how he created this railroad icon, not just the stunning engine shrouding but the livery, interior carriage design, tableware, printed graphics, in fact everything throughout the train to the final logo plate on the back observation carriage. Needless to say the train was a hit from day one but would it have been if Dreyfuss had not been involved and the New York Central staff, who clearly knew how to run a railroad, created the new train, probably not.

Visually there is plenty of lovely period graphic material to look at, ads, menus, renderings of the carriage interiors designed by Dreyfuss, timetables and brochure covers. As usual with historical railroad books I find that the photo selection is not as rigorous as it should be, predictably, several here could be left out because they are not sharp enough or have a soft focus, the layout also is rather pedestrian, with photos butting into each other, inefficient cropping and a lack of a thin keyline round the photos to stop white sky merging with the whiteness of the paper. A pity because I would have expected the elegance of the train to be reflected in the presentation, rather than just look like another bland railroad book. A bibliography would have been useful, too.

The 20th Century Limited was the classiest of the great streamliners and a wonderful example of creative styling for which America has become rightly famous. Karl Zimmermann's text will help you relive the experience.

FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

Karl Zimmermann did a wonderful job with this book. Photos are plentiful, pictures of brochures and ads are inserted amongst the pictures. The book does a good job of conveying what it must have been like to ride the 20th Century Limited.

I am currently working on a project that will help boost the literacy rate here in America. I have chosen the 1860's as my time period. This book gives a lot of background that I needed to compose great stories. The stories will center on trains, both those who worked them and those who rode them. A great deal will be about the life of orphans. The best part about these stories will be that everyone will be allowed to participate in writing them.

A very interesting book with all you need to know about the railroad, transcontinental or Robert Louis Stevenson. Very descriptive, Great Literature.

This is a short easy and fun history book that blends excerpts Robert Louis Stevenson's "Amateur Emigrant" and "Across the Plains" with Jim Murphy's prose and descriptions. I was expecting a kids book but far from it - while not academic or even pretentiously so, it's on par with a PBS episode of "American Experience" and reminds me of how fun history can be. The historical photo's are excellent, numerous and tightly connected to the text. Highly recommended for anyone interested in RLS, American history and the immigrant experience of the late 19th century. Jim Murphy has written about a dozen books like this including some Newbury award winners, hope to read some more, the language and prose is easy and leaves a strong impression of time and place, very enjoyable.

I was the editor of the greatly expanded 1997 edition of this railroading classic of the 1970s. E.M. Frimbo was the alter ego of Whitaker, a writer who spent more than 50 years at the New Yorker, one of the original coterie that included A.J. Liebling, Joseph Mitchell, and others. Beginning in the 1940s, Frimbo began chugging through the pages of the magazine, right up to and beyond Whitaker's death in the early 1980s. In the 1960s, Tony Hiss had come along and become Whitaker's collaborator on these travel essays. When Hiss began to assemble this new edition, he discovered many pieces that were not in the earlier edition, so the book grew by 50%, and includes many photos of Whitaker never published before. Hiss unearthed such articles as one about the railway in Wales that travels through the Potemkin village where the classic TV show "The Prisoner" was filmed, and a final tribute to Whitaker, appropriately mounted to him at Cumbres Pass, the highest elevation in the USA reached by a train. If you have affection for the open (rail)road, then you will love this book.

The old nostalgic ways of travel -- railroad trains and ocean liners -- have a romance to them that cars and airplanes just can't match. Rogers E.M. Whitaker, the man behind the pseudonymous E.M. Frimbo, and his sometime collaborator, Tony Hiss, capture some of that romance and interest in these essays by and about the world's greatest railroad buff. Detailing some of Whitaker/Frimbo's great train experiences from the '30s to the '70s, and recapturing the all-but-vanished world of life on the rails, the pieces gathered here make for fascinating and evocative reading.

As with any collection of essays, some of the chapters here are better than others. And generally, I found the chapters added to this "greatly expanded edition" to be less satisfying than the earlier ones, though the obituary of Whitaker and the long closing piece, "Frimbo's Peak," were both rather moving. Much of Tony Hiss's preface I could likewise have done without. His predictions for the revival of government-funded passenger rail in the early years of the twenty-first century seem, fortunately, not yet to be coming to pass. But then, it wouldn't be the first time a Hiss was on the wrong side of history.

But don't let the preface distract you. The essays themselves are by and large great reading, and have me hoping to hop a train before too much longer myself. Whether you're an inveterate train buff, a long-time Frimbo fan, or just a fan of great travel writing, I recommend grabbing this book and taking to the rails, if only in your mind.

I read this book as an 11 year old boy, and still remembered it over all these years as a wonderful railroading book. It really captured the glamour and joy of passenger rail travel in those days.

And I was excited and thrilled when I met Tony Hiss by chance on the Boston-NYC shuttle, and he told me that the book had been reissued and was available on Amazon. I (virtually) ran right out and purchased it...as much for my 9 year old (also a rail fan) as for myself.

A wonderful soft back book of posters designed for instant nostalgia. I rather liked its comprehensiveness, mainly featuring US railroads but nicely chapters devoted to Canadian and European posters. Another nice touch is the inclusion of ads, baggage labels and several black and white photos.

Predictably the posters tend to feature the streamline diesels of the thirties and forties (certainly a lot easier for the illustrators) rather than the European style of picturing the destinations. The travelling experience was the selling point rather than getting somewhere quickly and this, by the late forties and fifties, was rather a lost cause as plane travel was slowly becoming commonplace. There is great 1958 photo of the General Motors Aerotrain on page fifty-four making a PR stop in San Diego, possibly the last true streamliner.

Most of the posters shown have a graphic rather than literal style though there is a stunning 1940 Santa Fe brochure cover that has an E8 somewhere west of the Rockies done in a very photo realist style. The last chapter Rails for Victory covers the WW2 years when railroads lost no opportunity in telling everyone they were doing their bit. There are couple of beautiful Dean Cornwell paintings used as calendar art by the Pennsylvania RR in 1943 and 44.

The European chapter has some excellent British posters issued before the railroads were taken over by the state in 1947. If these take your fancy have a look at Railway Posters 1923-1947: From the Collection of the National Railway Museum, York a gorgeous book of over two hundred posters and quite remarkable because of the range of artistic styles that were used just to push train travel.

All Aboard is an easy-on-the-eye quick tour of rail posters. A more detailed look can be found in Travel by Train: The American Railroad Poster, 1870-1950 with plenty of super graphic material.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

This book covers railroad advertising from the early 1900s to the late 50s. All color art and a few B&W pictures showing the real trains that influenced the advertising. It shows examples of railroad advertising from posters, timetables, brochures and luggage tags as well as railroads in the US, Canada and Europe. There is a breif history introducing each chapter and the captions for each picture are descriptive and accurate. At the end of the book, there are a few pages explaining how to collect railroad art, which I found very informative. An easy read and very entertaining. An excellent coffee-table book.

As always, Chronicle Books beautiful graphic series has captured a wonderful look back at riding the rails. Johnson and O'Leary have compiled a romantic collection of railroad commercial art.