Trains and Railroads Books

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.

The book was in excellant condition for a 'used' book, and arrived very fast, within 10 days! I'll be back!

I really enjoyed this book,useful for information.Another book
full of excellent photographs showing locomotives in various duties.

This book gives history and interesting facts with color illustrations; a very good choice. All American manafactures covered. I always enjoy my copy finding new information i missed the last reading.

Oh, I must agree. This book is great! My 22-months little boy loves this book and all others from the original railway series. I was concerned at the beginning that it was going to be over his head (and it is, he does not understand everything that is read to him), but he does listened quietly every story and ask for more and more!!! When he looks at the books by himself he "reads" the book aloud and points at the pictures and he comes to me and shows them to me. I guess he's "telling" me the stories. It is very nice to watch and hear. And I agree with other reviewers about the quality of the pages. the book is a hardcover and the pages are thick and strong. My son takes them everywhere and not one page has been torn yet. I think this is a must buy.

This book has a bit more sadness than earlier books in the series. Edward is crying in the first story becuase he never leaves the shed and the other engines pick on him for being old. Then in another story, he helps one of the favorite TV Show charactors who's scheduled for scrapping (don't want to spoil the suprise by saying who.)

The original books are FAR BETTER than the newer picture stories based on the TV show. My son loves the show too but ignores the newer books now that we have the originals.

I read several reviews on The Railway series where Moms thought the railway series was too dark/scary. I disagree and love to have my son snuggle up to the very last word in a book that's pretty long for someone his age.

My 2.5 year old loves these Railway Series books. The illustrations in the books are great. The paper is durable but some of the hardback covers have not held up to everyday toddler usage.

My son and I used this book as a reference and took a summer vaca to the Milwaukee-area. Well laid out and accurate info. Highly recommend for train enthusiasts who also like to travel.

This, the 41st Edition (2006) of the best guide to railroading, continues the tradition of this great annual series listing and outlining hundreds of railroad museums and tourist trains across the US and Canada. Arranged by state, each site features a photo, a description of what's there, a schedule, the admission fees, special events, and directions on how to get to it. Contact information (addresses, phone numbers, email/internet info) is also provided. And, as usual, there are about a hundred discount coupons enclosed. Anyone interested in railroading or who plans on taking a vacation trip that might include visits to railroad sites or museums will find this guide indispensable.

Over 600 railroad-related attractions the general public can visit are packed into a listing guide which blends in photos and practical info such as hours, fees and directions - but wait, there's more! Don't forget the coupons for discounts on ticket prices --for avid train buffs, worth the price of the book itself - plus maps, photos, 'editor's choice' listings of special recommendations, and details on what kinds of trains may be found at each location. Rail and travel buffs will find this a 'must' reference.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

This is one of those great books that is a simple story that small children can relate to, with things they recognize from their life. We also checked it out from the library and will be buying it. My daughter is 21 months and can't get enough of "Train Book!"

From the day we first read this to our 2-1/2 year-old, he could not get enough of it. It's an easy read, he loves the characters and the story line, and he talks about it incessantly. I think the beauty of the book is that kids can identify with it because it is based on actual experiences - the excitement of an oncoming train, biking with mom or dad, anticipating arrival of something exciting, and dreaming about it in bed later. This is a must for any kids book collection.

I checked this book out at the library and both of my children love it! They are four and two. My two year old, when it is time to read books before bed, says, "Here comes train?"

Excellent read-aloud with plenty of opportunity for motions, volume changes, etc. It starts out so quiet, builds to a fevered pitch, then ends with the little boy going to sleep.

I'll be buying this one!

The author mentions that even though this book is recommended for ages 4 to 8, he's had a good response from all ages. For good reason. For adults, the beauty of this charming little book is that it evokes the wonder of that age, both of the little boy, but also the Great Depression when those Hiawatha trains began running. The railroad itself was in bankruptcy, as so many were, but through management and mechanical innovation, these powerful steam streamliners blasted their way into America's consciousness. To little boys, they were that magical machine to everywhere. To adults, they were a powerful symbol of optimism in despairing times. The Milwaukee Road's famous train was the fastest steam powered train service in history. Smaller engines of the same design had been static tested at 169 miles an hour. To children and adults, there was somethng mythological about these great machines; for the kids, it was travel and adventure, and there was nothing more exciting than these trains blasting past at 110 mph. For the adults, it was hope for better times, the thundering message of these amazing Milwaukee Road Hiawathas ... at every Hiawatha Passing.

This book takes me back to my own childhood visits to my grandparent's 100 year-old tin-roofed farmhouse along a train route in rural Pennsylvania. Now my 4 year-old son enjoys real-life "Hiawatha Passing" everytime we go to visit his great-grandparents and he gets to sleep in the upstairs bedroom facing the tracks. My son has memorized every word of this book including the postscript. The book is and will always be a family favorite. The story is captivatingly told and the illustrations are beautiful.

Such a wonderful story. It really pulls you into it. I had the honour of meeting the authour; he is one of my 6 year old son's teachers. The paintings are perfect for the story. So well written, you are there with the boy watching the train zoom by the house. We read it again and again!!!!!

Passengers used to look out the window and see "Slow to 90 MPH" signs! It's schedule still stands as the fastest scheduled run by a steam locomotive - in the world! It's design and implementation was the standard many countries are still trying to copy! We are talking about Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha, the 1930s-era streamliner, the Hiawatha. It's story is told in Jim Scribbin's treatis - 'The Hiawatha Story' by Kalmbach Publishing.

Scribbin's books clearly and factually tells birth of this legendary train, it's rise to fame and slow decline in liberally used photos and tightly written text. The best thing about it is that is does so with an entertaining mix of factual information, statistics and first-person accounts. If you have an interest in railroads - especially ones that regularly exceed 120mph, this book is a requirement for your library

Profusely illustrated with historic black-and-white photography, "The Hiawatha Story" by railroading enthusiast Jim Scribbins provides other railroading fans with an impressively informative pictorial history of the Midwestern railroad that ran from Chicago, Illinois to the Twin Cities of Minnesota. Beginning as a single experimental coach and evolving into a full fledge railroad fleet, the Hiawatha became a kind of railroading legend with its radical streamlined look and industrial design. From 1935 to 1970 the Hiawatha was an integral part of American railroading. A work of seminal scholarship and very highly recommended for academic library Railroading History reference collections, as well as engaging and entertaining reading for railroading enthusiasts, Jim Scribbin's "The Hiawatha Story" is an informed and informative account of those golden yesteryears of a truly great American fleet and system.

This is the paperback republication of Jim Scribbins' classic 1970 "The Hiawatha Story". A decade ago I was happy to obtain the original hardcover at many times the price of this new paperback. As the standard text on this subject, its republication is most welcome.

While the production of the new book is excellent, its wide format in paperback is a bit clumsy. It is simply too wide to hold and view comfortably sans solid backs. It also would have been nice to have included some color in the new book, but at this price it is not missed.

Through its many black and white photos and conversational text, "The Hiawatha Story" traces the history of these Milwaukee Road streamliners through their glory in the 1930s to the general fading of US passenger service in the 1960s. The reproduction of the photos and text is excellent, although there are a few repagination issues in the reprint, wherein the page numbers referred to in the original text no longer jibe with the 2007 version. The text is necessarily local; few railroad aficionados in the Rocky Mountains will be impressed with the scale of Tunnel City, Wisconsin, nor will the uninitiated find Milwaukee Road diesel number 15 particularly "famous". The reader may also be surprised at Scribbins continued use of "CONsist" as a noun. However, the pride of Milwaukee ownership of this history shines through Scribbins' text. This remains an excellent description of a slice of American railroad history, and is a must for any fan of the Milwaukee Road. It remains a far better book than the recent "The Milwaukee Road's Hiawathas" by Gruber and Solomon, or the error-filled "Milwaukee Road Passenger Service" by Dorin.

The story ends with its original 1970 publication date, immediately before the demise of Milwaukee Road passenger service and the advent of Amtrak. It would have been nice of the publishers to update and finish Scribbins story, and perhaps note that Amtrak continues to honor the Hiawatha history in its naming of its Milwaukee to Chicago service.

If you want to know what different locomotives in different countries looked like, then this is a great source of information. Set up almost like an encyclopedia of locomotives and trains, you can find what you are looking for here.

Part of the The Illustrated Directory Of series, this book is a real hoot!

Following a reasonable timeline, some of our most importaint locomotives in the history of Railways are covered, Steam, Electric, Diesel and GasTurbine.

All regions are covered but the U.K., Europe and North America get the most coverage as the need to create communications in these large land mass areas saw the most development in locomotive technology.

The contentious issue of who built the first Pacific type (4-6-2)locomotve is settled with Baldwin winning by a couple of weeks with their order from the New Zealand Government Railways for that country's Q class locomotives in 1899-1900.

Other magnificent feats of engineering are covered, the mighty Big Boys, the sleek GG1s, the Hudsons, F7 Diesels etc and the modern locomotives and High Speed passenger trains of today all get a look in. Relevent data is included for those who want to know, other than that, what a great read.

This wonderful book covers over 150 locomotives starting from the very early steam to present day high speed trains. Steam,Diesel and Electric traction are all covered with fairly good descriptions on each locomotive.Though majority of entries are from from US and UK, other countries are covered aswell. Locomotives which brought technological innovations and also ones which performed well are all included.Interesting historical information on each locomotive is also provided.The book contains beautiful color photographs and some superb highly detailed color line drawings.Though without an index this book is very informative and covers the most important locomotives of the past aswell as the present.

I absolutely loved this book! The cryptic rhyme is unmatched by any other. Very informative and fun to read! Young and old will enjoy reading this story and learning.

I can't wait to read more work by this author. Way to go Verla Kay! It was absolutely wonderful.

This writer manages to tell the maximum story in the minimum words. Art is excellent & fits well with words. Good introduction to railroads.

Tight. Spare. Exacting. With great care and skill, author Verla Kay artfully recounts the long, complex, and often confusing story of the building of the transcontinental railway -- in fewer than 200 words! "Railroad barons, Visions, dreams. Thinking, planning, Plotting schemes. Politicians, Congress, vote. 'Build your railroad,' Lincoln wrote." Wow! Even in its simplicity, this book entertains, informs, and makes history come alive. With the help of striking, dramatic illustrations, it shrieks and whistles and pounds and thumps while serving up information in palatable, chewy bites. A welcome introduction to the fabulous adventure that the study of history can be. Kids, as well as stuffy old historians, are bound to love this book!

I have to admit it, I keep expecting to get one of the stories & have it stink. I mean, how can a series keep going & still be entertaining? Many long-running mangas all seem to have the same problem: after a point in time the storyline starts to sag & the characters become one dimensional. Not so for this series!

This particular volume surrounds a traveling troupe of magicians and a death threat. The actions starts on a train (hence the title) and then moves into a hotel as the troupe is no longer on said train. (Sorry for the lack of detail, but anything else would ruin the plot!)

Would I recommend this? Yup! Even if you haven't read any of the other volumes you can still pick up & enjoy any of the manga since each volume is a self-contained story (with the exception of one two parter).

One of my favorite murder mystery mangas. It continues to keep the reader intrigued and guessing as to the idenity of the murderer.

Magic and blood fill the pages of "The Magical Express".

I was awaiting the next book in the series. The minute I saw the email from Amazon about preordering the book I did. I enjoyed this book very much as did my teenager brother. Anyone who is a fan of the series should get this book and even if you're not yet a fan this is a great book.