The year 1827 marked the completion of the United States’ first railroad--and the beginning of a transformation of American life. This book, spanning nearly two centuries, offers an exhilarating tour of the railways’ inroads into the economy, society, and culture of North America.Illustrated with more than 400 historical and modern photographs and period advertisements, The Complete Book of North American Railroading takes readers back to the birth of the railroads, then travels th...

The captivating story of how trains shaped American history**“Wolmar’s sweeping history of railroads in America is rich in drama.” —**The New YorkerThe United States was made by the railroads. Promoted by visionaries and built through heroic effort, more than two hundred thousand miles of railroad track and a series of magisterial stations covered the United States by the early 1900s. Trains united far-flung parts of the country, b...

A look back on the brief and spectacular history of Canada’s Great Western Railway.This book chronicles the genesis and all-too-brief existence of one of Canada’s greatest early railways, the Great Western Railway of Canada (1853–1882), a major precursor to the Canadian National Rail system.Today, the Great Western Railway of Canada is a little-known historic line, overlooked even by many railway aficionados. But it was truly a railway ahead of its time. It...

From the 1830s to today, the railroad industry has developed myriad complex mechanisms to help keep North America’s railroad rights-of-ways safe, efficient, and relatively accident-free. In this paperback rerelease of the successful 2003 title, the otherwise-arcane world of railroad signaling is explained in concise language and brought to life with nearly 200 fantastic photographs that depict signaling history and all aspects of modern operations. Author and photographer Brian Solomon bri...

The Union Pacific is the largest and the most powerful railroad in the country. The railroad has been in service since 1862, some 151 years. The Union Pacific is older than any other American Class I railroad today with the Kansas City Southern coming in at second at 116 years. In that time the railroad has become not only one of the most highly respected institutions in the nation but also has seen nearly every major railroading event in our country's history, and accordingly has a very l...

The period from the 1890s to the mid-1950s is generally considered the "golden era" of passenger rail travel in America. It was a time of celebrated locomotives and luxurious passenger service, a time when rail technology saw its greatest advances and railroads became the nation's favored mode of transportation. These glory years come alive in American Passenger Trains and Locomotives Illustrated, 1889-1971. For this volume, author and illustrator Mark Wegman has researched original railro...

From the first, U.S. railroads have carried coal from mines to docks, steel mills, and power plants across the country. In this authoritative book spanning the whole of that history, from the mid-nineteenth century to present, noted rail author Brian Solomon explores the railroads and hardware that have transported the fossil fuels that made America work. Brilliant period and contemporary photographs convey the drama of the enterprise: the very long—and very heavy—trains powering up mounta...

Blending automotive manufacturing and styling techniques with state-of-the-art diesel-electric technologies, General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division conceived and marketed America’s first commercially successful road diesels: the fabulous E-Units and F-Units. This illustrated companion to Voyageur Press’ Alco Locomotives (2009) and Baldwin Locomotives (2010) is the most comprehensive history of the most recognizable locomotives ever built. Beginning with 1937 debut of the...

Philadelphia-based Baldwin began designing and building steam locomotives in the 1830s and gave the U.S. many of its most significant and famous types of steam, and diesel-electric motive power. This history of Baldwin is illustrated with a large selection of rare, superb builder's photos and other publicity images from the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, with the book's large page size showcasing the detail and crisp quality of the images in this outstanding collection. Author Brian Solo...

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 v...

Relive the glory years of American railroadingReturn to an era when passenger trains represented the height of luxury and riding the rails was the only way to travel. Classic Railroad Advertising covers nearly a century of memories - of powerful steam locomotives and elegant streamliners, of the brute force of diesel power and the patriotic effort to keep America on the move during a tumultuous world war.During their heyday, railroads employed the ...

In the late 1860s, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) pushed its first tracks westward from Virginia's Tidewater region across the mountains into what was then the new state of West Virginia. Ultimately its tracks stretched across a half-dozen states and even into Canada. Appalachian coal was the C&O's primary cargo, but its fast freights carried shipments of all kinds, and its crack passenger trains were marvels of their day. In 1963, the C&O merged with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad...