Railroad Books

Book titles by first letter:
A - B - C - D E - F G H - I J K - L - M - N
O P Q - R - S - T - U V - W X Y Z

Books I - J - K

  • I NEVER KNEW THAT ABOUT COLORADO
    By Abbott Fay. This book is a fascinating compendium of bits and pieces of obscure Colorado history. Its pages are filled with obscure facts such as: Hitler owned a ranch in Colorado, that Colorado was bombed by the Japanese during WWII, it once snowed ducks off I-70, and much more.
    192 pages, 32 illustrations, softbound. $12.95

  • ILLINOIS CENTRAL COLOR PICTORIAL: Volume 1 - Passenger Service
    By Clifford J. Downey. See IC's colorful orange and chocolate brown E-units in operation on famous name trains. See Geeps assigned to the Hawkeye, the Seminole, the Governor's Special, and the Land O' Corn. Included are ads, system maps, timetables, heavy and lightweight passenger car photos and more between the 1940s and May 1971.
    128 pages, 250 color photos, hardbound. $59.95

  • ILLINOIS CENTRAL COLOR PICTORIAL: Volume 2 - Cairo, Illinois, to New Orleans, Louisiana
    By Clifford J. Downey. This book covers the Illinois Central line between Cairo and New Orleans, and also includes chapters on all-weather railroading, cab units, cabooses and IC locomotives.
    128 pages, all-color photos, hardbound. $59.95

  • ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD
    By Tom Murray. Even casual observers of railroad history are familiar with the legend of Illinois Central engineer Casey Jones' ride to glory, and have likely heard of that railroad's most famous passenger train, City of New Orleans. From the IC's early years, when it garnered support from a young Illinois attorney named Abraham Lincoln, right through to its 1999 acquisition by Canadian National, the author recounts IC's motive power and rolling stock, the roles of major players in the railroad's development, its acclaimed passenger and freight operations, and its routes throughout the Midwest and the South.
    160 pages, black and white and color photos, hardbound. $34.95

  • ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD 1854 TO 1960 PHOTO ARCHIVE
    By Kim D. Tschudy. Epitomized in song and story, the Illinois Central was arguably the most interesting and colorful railroad in America. Begun in 1851, the IC was the first land grant railroad in the United States. While other railroads ran east and west, the IC ran north and south, so when the Civil War began the IC was able to haul 30% more of all war material, supplies and troops to the battlegrounds of the south. This book of IC locomotives and depots dating from 1854 to 1960 gives the reader an intimate look at the railroad that called itself the Mainline of Mid-America.
    128 pages, 144 black and white photos, softbound. $29.95

  • ILLINOIS TERMINAL: The Road of Personalized Service
    By Dale Jenkins. A complete history of the Illinois Terminal Railway, from the very beginning through the very end - including the diesel years. With complete coverage up through merger with the N&W.
    328 pages, 132-page color section, black and white photos, maps, appendix, roster, hardbound. $69.95

  • ILLINOIS TERMINAL IN COLOR: Volume 1
    By Gordon E. Lloyd. The personal photography of a noted traction authority takes the reader on a tour of the IT from 1952 up to the N&W takeover.
    128 pages, color photos, hardcover. $49.95

  • ILLINOIS TERMINAL IN COLOR: Volume 2
    By William D. Volkmer. Through the camera lens of master traction photographer Eugene Van Dusen, the reader is taken across the Illinois Terminal System in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Both freight and passenger operations are viewed.
    128 pages, color photos, hardcover. $54.95

  • ILLUSTRATED TREASURY OF THE AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVE COMPANY
    By James W. Kerr. This is a pictorial roster of Alco. A condensed history, a calendar of notable Alco achievements, steam locomotives listed by wheel arrangement, electric locomotives photos and data, diesel-electric locomotives photos and data.
    224 pages, black and white photos, hardcover. $59.95

  • IN THE TRACES: The Railroad Paintings of Ted Rose
    Introduction by Thomas H. Garver. "In the Traces" presents 60 paintings by Ted Rose, with commentary by the artist. The works are an eloquent and absorbing view of industrial America, especially of railroads as an integral part of the manmade landscape.
    152 pages, 60 color plates, hardbound. $49.95

  • INSULL CHICAGO INTERURBANS IN COLOR
    By Gordon E. Lloyd. This book takes the reader on an all-color tour of the three Chicago interurban lines: Chicago, Aurora & Elgin, Chicago, South Shore & South Bend, and Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee. The fascinating background of Sam Insull's traction empire is related through its stored history and over 300 color photos taken during the 1950s and 1960s.
    128 pages, all color photos, hardcover. $49.95

  • INTERURBAN ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES: From Baldwin-Westinghouse
    By Joseph A. Strapac. This book is concerned with the products of the Baldwin-Westinghouse consortium. A typical interurban electric locomotive was able to negotiate tight corners on city streets and drew 600 volts direct current power from an overhead wire just like a streetcar.
    128 pages, black and white phtos, softbound. $32.95
  • INTERURBAN ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES: From General Electric
    By Joseph A. Strapac. This book focuses on the locomotives from General Electric Company for the years 1893 to 1955. In these pages, we examine the production of electric locomotives weighing between ten tons and eighty-five tons. Only the smallest of the articulated truck open pit-mining locomotives are included in these pages.
    128 pages, black and white photos, softbound. $32.95
  • INVISIBLE GIANTS: The Empires of Cleveland's Van Sweringen Brothers
    By Herbert H. Harwood Jr. One of the most dazzling business phenomena of the 1920s, Cleveland's two bachelor Van Sweringen brothers seemingly came out of nowhere to control the country's largest railroad network - while simultaneously creating the model upper-class suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio, Cleveland's landmark Terminal Tower building, and an innovative "city within a city" complex unduplicated in 20th-century urban design. 
    360 pages, 72 black and white photos, hardcover. $49.95
  • IOWA'S LAST NARROW-GAUGE RAILROAD
    By John Tigges and James Shaffer.     In 1848, the people of Cascade, Iowa needed a railroad as soon as possible; without direct access to navigable rivers other than the Mississippi over 36 miles away, the community could very well fade from existence. Their hopes and dreams became reality in a three-foot-gauge line in 1879. In 1880, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway purchased the River Road, which included the narrow-gauge branch line to Cascade. This book relates the story from the beginning to its abandonment in 1936. Today Bellevue and Cascade survive as thriving small towns and are economically healthy. Despite the fact that 70 years have passed since the last spike was pulled, many people know of and recall Iowa's last narrow-gauge railroad.
    127 pages, black and white photos, softbound. $19.99

  • THE IRON HORSE AND THE WINDY CITY: How Railroads Shaped Chicago
    By David M. Young. With the coming of railroads, upstart Chicago quickly became the Midwest's center for commerce and trade, overtaking its older rival, St. Louis. The first tracks to link the East Coast with the West ran through Chicago, and within a few decades the city grew to be the hub of an immense transportation network that stretched across the nation.
    270 pages, black and white photos, hardbound. $39.95

  • JAWBONE: Sunset on the Lone Pine
    By Phil Serpico. Beginning in 1908, the Southern Pacifici railroad commenced construction of a standard-gauge railroad running north and east from Mojave to Owens Valley to facilitate the massive Los Angeles Aqueduct project that would bring water to the growing populace of Los Angeles. This book examines the history of the Mojave-Owenyo Branch (better known as Lone Pine Branch or the Jawbone), and the subsequent business relations along the route, including service to the Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake, the valuable interchange at Searles station with (and history of) the Trona Railway and the beloved narrow gauge railroad between Laws and Keeler, the southern portion of the old Carson & Colorado Railroad.
    128 pages, 16 color and over 200 black and white photos, timetables, maps and station plats, hardcover. $35.00

  • JERSEY CENTRAL STEAM IN COLOR
    By Bert Pennypacker. Steam expert Pennypacker takes the reader on a class-by-class tour of the CNJ's varied roster, from diminutive 0-6-0s to heavy-duty 2-8-2s, then out on the road for an excursion up the mainline, featuring almost all classes extant from 1941 to 1954.
    128 pages, color photos, hardbound. $54.95

  • JOHN NORWOOD'S RAILROADS
    By John Norwood. This former general manager and assistant to the president of the Rio Grande recounts his experiences and the historical background of numerous standard and narrow gauge lines in the US. Packed with hundreds of photographs and vivid text, John unfolds remarkable details about such railroads as the RGS, C&S, White Pass & Yukon, Uintah, DSP&P, D&RGW (standard gauge), GM&O, UP, SF, KCS, RI, Frisco, CB&Q and NP.
    192 pages, black and white photos, hardcover. $44.95

  • JOURNEYS TO YESTERYEAR: A Chronological History of the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club and Rocky Mountain Railroad Historical Foundation, Denver, Colorado 1938-2003
    By David C. Goss. This book tells the story of the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club and its excursions over 65 years, both in photos and the written word from the members who were there. Many of the early members have passed away, but their photos live on for others to enjoy. 
    176 pages, black and white and color photos, softcover. $19.95

  • KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN COLOR PICTORIAL
    By Steve Allen Goen. See the Flying Crow and famous Southern Belle ply the rails between Kansas City and the Gulf Coast. Represented are the years from the end of steam to the present. Like many roads, the Kansas City Southern early diesel fleet wore many colorful paint schemes, and all are presented in this volume.
    128 pages, all-color photos, hardcover. $49.95

  • KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN LINES
    By Louis A. Marre and Gregory J. Sommers. This photo essay provides documentation of the equipment and operation of the Kansas City Southern and Louisiana & Arkansas during the period when color film of various types became widely available for amateur use, from the mid-fifties to approximately the end of the twentieth century. What will be found here is a color photographic record of the motive power, rolling stock, and train operations.
    192 pages, all-color photos, hardcover. $59.95

  • KANSAS CURVE
    By Robert P. Olmsted. This pictoral is about "Don Ball Curve" in Lawrence, Kansas. Informally named for a master of railroad photography and book publishing, the curve is located along the Kansas City-Denver main line of the Union Pacific. Devoted to the Union Pacific and Rock Island trains (the latter using trackage rights) that have rolled through the Don Ball Curve between 1948 and 2007, this book can also serve as a guide for railfans interested in visiting Lawrence and the Curve with its current high volume of train traffic.
    48 pages, black and white photos, softcover. $19.95

  • KATY RAILROAD AND THE LAST FRONTIER
    By V.V. Masterson, with new foreword by Donovan L. Hofsommer. This account traces the railroad from its beginnings, depicting the problems involved in constructing a line through the new territory, the growth of towns and cities along the railway's route. New foreword brings this detailed history up to date.
    312 pages, 6 x 9, softbound. $29.95

  • KEY SYSTEM GALLERY
    By James H. Harrison. A photographic visit to the trans-bay and city streetcar olines of the Key System and its affiliated street railways in Oakland, Berkeley and East Bay cities from 1902 to 1958.
    96 pages, black and white photos, softbound. $25.95
  • KEY SYSTEM STREETCARS
    By Vernon J. Sappers. This long-awaited volume is a complete history of the streetcar lines in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay area, from 1869 to 1948. Centered on Oakland, but spanning from Richmond through Berkeley to Hayward, this extensive network had quite diverse equipment, fully covered in complete rosters. Route descriptions, and superb historical photos of street scenes, are the core of the work.
    480 pages, 778 black and white photos, 47 maps, graphics, bibliography, index, hardcover. $70.00