Railroads Across North America: An Illustrated History

by Claude Wiatrowski

From the first steam-powered locomotives of the early nineteenth century to the high-speed commuter trains of today, the American railroad has been a great engine powering the nations growth and industry.

This book celebrates the glory and grandeur of that legacy with a lavish tour of the history of the American railroad and the culture surrounding it.

Generously illustrated with vintage photographs, modern images, maps, timetables, tickets, brochures, and all manner of memorabilia, this volume offers a fascinating look at the rail industrys beginnings and development, as well as its place in American history.

From the might of the major rail companies and their empires to the romance of rail travel, this is the full and fabulously colorful story of the industry that moved a nation--and stirs our imaginations to this day.

Genres: Trains, Railways, Reference

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Dan Downing · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the exception that Mexico has been excluded from North America, we have a wonderful railroad history here, an over sized coffee table book, of course. Divided into chapters titled for individual railroad companies, interspersed with specialized chapter topics such as "Fishy Trains", "Mail by Rail" and "Dinner in the Diner", the text, while informative and detailed, takes second place to the well selected and excellently reproduced photographs. Yes, we have pictures of trains---steam, diesel, electric and so on---but also posters, postcards, menus, schedules, maps and more, so well printed that almost all the print is legible.
The history includes mergers right up to publication in the mid aughts, an Index, and Appendices listing Railroad Societies and preserved Railroads, as well as rail Museums and Historical Sites.
One advertisement tells us we could travel from NYC in 1958 to Miami Beach, with the fare including travel between the station and the beach front hotel. Between May 1 and November 15 this round trip ticket cost...$89.81. Yes, there have been changes.
Recommended.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable, relaxing book to read. Wiatrowski notes that his book is by no means a comprehensive review of the railroads in North America. This is correct. There are so many railroads then and now, that he can only touch on them with a brief 1 - 3 page history in the briefest of text, with accompanying snapshots of rails, trains, locomotives, and other rail-related oddities.

The book is still quite thick, despite the brief nature of discussion per railroad. In essence, this is a very good intro book for an interested person who knows little about North American rail history. Fun to peruse, a great conversation starter, and an excellent resource to look into topics of interest more deeply on one's own time.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent basic reference for anyone interested in railroad history. The author provides about 1/2 to 1 page of text and two or so pages of photographs about nearly every railroad that has ever existed in North America, along with text and photographs of many other related concepts (such as Harvey Girls). The book is nicely bound, and the pages are high-quality gloss material that brings out the colors in the photographs very nicely. This book is not only an excellent resource, but it can also be a great coffee table book and is a beautiful addition to any book collection about trains.

[Timothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice coffee table book for the railway enthusiast!

[Lydia Gates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would like to add to my collection!

[Duffy Laudick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice brief history of railroads in America. I recommend you read Claude's book on the history of the Colorado railroads called, "Railroads of Colorado: Your Guide to Colorado's Historic Trains and Railway Sites",