Product Description: Beginning with Frederick Douglass' escape from slavery in 1838 on the railroad, and ending with the driving of the golden spike to link the transcontinental railroad in 1869, this book charts a critical period of American expansion and national formation, one largely dominated by the dynamic growth of railroads and telegraphs...read more

Product Description: This all-color album follows a similar style to the hugely successful in the Colour for the Modelling and Historian series, and covers the history of electric locomotives in Britain. Gavin Morrison fills a gap in the market for literature on these specific locomotives with this new title...read more

Product Description: The last of a long line of Chief Mechanical Engineers on the GWR, Frederick W. Hawksworth took over the highest position at Swindon in 1941, his reign destined to last just eight years. Despite the restrictions placed upon him by war, it remains an enigma as to why a highly competent and experienced engineer failed to pursue both the development of the steam engine, as his contemporary Bulleid did, or likewise continue to increase production efficiency, as in his direct predecessor, Collett...read more

Anyone who has watched in anticipation as a hundred tons of hot, black, smoky iron rolls into the station, or who thrills at the smell of creosote and the plaintive blue note of a steam whistle, will revel in Charles McShane’s detailed examination of the inner workings of the classic steam engine. In this new, quality-paperback edition of the 1909 classic, fans of classic American steam locomotives can pore over hundreds of fascinating mechanical illustrations as McShane explains every aspect of how these impressive juggernauts operated.  As impressive as the sum of the parts may be, the steam engine is made up of hundreds of discreet systems-slide valves, steam injectors, lubricators, pressure gauges, pneumatic brakes and more-all of them scrutinized in loving detail in Classic American Locomotives. Starting with a brief history of the locomotive, McShane addresses every aspect of locomotive construction, even treating how each company manufactured the various parts, how an engineer or rail worker should maintain these components, and the relative merits of the different systems. Classic American Locomotives will be an essential reference for experts and curators, and the centerpiece of any train fan’s library.

Product Description: A gorgeously illustrated collection of the world's greatest railway maps and posters, historical and contemporary. Transit Maps of the World was an extraordinary and unexpected success and is now a cult favorite. In his irresistible follow-up Mark Ovenden has produced a mesmerizing compendium of historical and contemporary railway maps and posters from every corner of the world...read more

Product Description: From Michael Palin to Nicholas Crane, a riveting anthology of railway travel covers every kind of train from the luxurious Orient Express to the insanely crowded commuter trains of Bombay In an age when low-cost airlines have reduced travel to a point-to-point aerial bus service, the train can still take travelers on a genuine journey, nosing through sweeping valleys, across vertiginous viaducts, stopping at tiny halts in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night...read more

Product Description: O. Winston Link photographed the Norfolk and Western, the last major steam railroad in the United States, when it was converting its operations from steam to diesel in the 1950s. Link’s N&W project captured the industry at a moment of transition, before the triumph of the automobile and the airplane that ended an era of passenger rail service...read more

Product Description: The 1950s saw a realisation that British Railways needed to modernise its equipment and rationalise its network if it was to hold its own in the face of growing competition from road and air transport. The next decade brought line closures, new liveries and the last breath of steam, as Doctor Beeching and his successors strove to break even and build a new business from the old...read more

Product Description: In 1857, the Desjardins Canal bridge collapsed under a Toronto-to-Hamilton train, creating one of the worst railway wrecks in North American history. Sixty lives, including that of the main contractor, were lost. The story of how the Great Western Railway was conceived, where it was located, and how it was constructed is replete with high irony covering political intrigue, commercial skullduggery, and bold entrepreneurship...read more

Product Description: In this social history of the impact of railroads on American life, H. Roger Grant concentrates on the railroad's "golden age," 1830-1930. To capture the essence of the nation's railroad experience, Grant explores four fundamental topics—trains and travel, train stations, railroads and community life, and the legacy of railroading in America—illustrating each topic with carefully chosen period illustrations...read more

Product Description: "Informative and very satisfying to read." --Library Journal "For those of you who cannot get enough of railroad history, this book will brighten your day." --Livesteam Completely revised and updated edition of this best-seller Regional histories of the great railroads and relics of rail culture Rail stories of the people and events that shaped history Rails-to-Trails paths, tourist attractions, and other traveler information Includes 10 maps for easy referenc...read more

Product Description: This is the story of an industry that began in the North of England, with small engineering concerns building engines that powered early railways like the Stockton and Darlington and Liverpool & Manchester. Once railway companies had become firmly established, the industry expanded dramatically as they set up their own engineering workshops to build and maintain not only locomotives, but also carriages, wagons and all manner of other items of equipment...read more

Product Description: How two of America’s greatest authors took on the Central Railroad monopoly  The notorious Central Pacific Railroad riveted the attention of two great American writers: Ambrose Bierce and Frank Norris. In The Great American Railroad War, Dennis Drabelle tells a classic story of corporate greed vs...read more

Product Description: Rails Across the Prairies traces the evolution of Canada's rail network, including the appearance of the first steam engine on the back of a barge. The book looks at the arrival of European settlers before the railway and examines how they coped by using ferry services on the Assiniboine and North Saskatchewan Rivers...read more