An illustrated guide to the wide variety of freight car equipment of the railroads that have and continue to service North America, this book covers each type of freight car and what it was designed to haul, as well as the equipment necessary to keep them all ‘on track.’ Equipment designs are based on the type of commodity that would be shipped. For example, 24-foot box cars are designed to handle 75 to 85 tons of iron ore. High cubic capacity covered hopper cars are designed for handling grain traffic, while lower cubic capacity is designed for handling heavy commodities, such as cement. See the changes for each type through time, like the early Refrigerated Cars that required ice which have evolved into today’s much larger Mechanical Reefers. Great book for modelers.

Discover the story of Amtrak, America's Railroad, 50 years in the making. In 1971, in an effort to rescue essential freight railroads, the US government founded Amtrak. In the post–World War II era, aviation and highway development had become the focus of government policy in America. As rail passenger services declined in number and in quality, they were simultaneously driving many railroads toward bankruptcy. Amtrak was intended to be the solution. In Amtrak, America's Railroad: Transportation's Orphan and Its Struggle for Survival, Geoffrey H. Doughty, Jeffrey T. Darbee, and Eugene E. Harmon explore the fascinating history of this popular institution and tell a tale of a company hindered by its flawed origin and uneven quality of leadership, subjected to political gamesmanship and favoritism, and mired in a perpetual philosophical debate about whether it is a business or a public service. Featuring interviews with former Amtrak presidents, the authors examine the current problems and issues facing Amtrak and their proposed solutions. Created in the absence of a comprehensive national transportation policy, Amtrak manages to survive despite inherent flaws due to the public's persistent loyalty. Amtrak, America's Railroad is essential reading for those who hope to see another fifty years of America's railroad passenger service, whether they be patrons, commuters, legislators, regulators, and anyone interested in railroads and transportation history.

Now you can be the human Wikipedia page of trains--from locomotives to rolling stock. No Great American road trip would be complete without seeing trains streaming across wild prairies and through thick forests. All kinds of diesel and even a few steam locomotives can be seen, with everything from boxy frontends to curving streamlined bodies. The containers, flat cars, and boxcars pulled by these locomotives carry diverse freight, and the variety of these cars is wide. Field Guide to Trains: Locomotives and Rolling Stock is the source for easy-to-digest information on locomotives and cars. Model railroaders will also find this book indispensible, as it offers myriad ideas for realistic train systems. The book is divided by diesel-electric locomotives, self-propelled passenger trains, passenger cars, freight cars, rail transit, and preserved equipment at museums and excursion steam locomotives. It also touches on historic diesels, vintage trams, maintenance trains, snowplow engines, and circus trains. Featuring North American and world examples of trains, Field Guide to Trains includes just about any type of locomotive and train car you are likely to see on the rails today, making this book the only available comprehensive guide to locomotives and rolling stock out there. Bring Field Guide to Trains: Locomotives and Rolling Stock along on family trips to see what rolls the rails as you're traveling. Make a game of how many locomotives and car types you can identify. Buy locomotives and certain car types for your model layout. This is simply the handiest field guide for families and railroad buffs that you'll ever find.

This highly illustrated book explains the business of logging railroads and provides examples of prototype operations. Photos of locomotives, equipment, and structures set the stage for modeling logging scenes and designing a logging layout.

An authoritative, lavishly illustrated history of Union Pacific's revolutionary passenger services from 1934 to the end of the railroad's passenger operations in 1971.