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 W - X - Y - Z

  • WABASH
    By Donald J. Heimburger. This book details this 2,500 mile mid-America railroad. This line ran from Buffalo to Kansas City, serving Detroit, Chicago, St.Louis, Des Moines and Omaha with such trains as the Wabash Cannon Ball, Blue Bird, Banner Blue, and the City of Kansas City.
    320 pages, hardcover. $43.95

  • WABASH STANDARD PLANS AND REFERENCE
    By Donald J. Heimburger. Includes an overview history of the line from the late 1880s, a 1925 system map, standard plans from the Maintenance-of-Way department from the '20s, '30s, and '40s, a section on Wabash passenger trains such as the Blue Bird, City of Kansas City and City of St. Louis, color paint guide used by the railroad, and selected reports from the 1925 and 1963 Wabash annual reports.
    128 pages, 105 black and white photos, softcover. $22.95
  • WABASH TRACKSIDE WITH EMERY GULASH 1954-1974
    By Jerry A. Pinkepank. Follow the Wabash as its eclectic diesel fleet highballs hotshot auto traffic and fabled passenger trains. Our book celebrates the color work of master photographer Emery Gulash and continues as the N&W extends its paint and influence after the 1964 merger.
    128 pages, color photos, hardcover. $59.95
  • WARBONNETS AND BLUEBONNETS: The Last Three Decades of the Santa Fe in Texas
    By Joe McMillan. The long-awaited third volume of the Santa Fe In Color series features color photographs of the Santa Fe Railway in Texas from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s. See Santa Fe action at its best, from mainlines to obscure branches, stations, towers, EMD F-units, Alcos, shops, mechanical facilities, passenger trains, locals, hotshots and much more.
    240 pages, 405 all-color photos, hardbound. $64.95
  • WATCHING THE TRAINS GO BY
    By Harry J. Briscoe. On January 4, 1937, Harry J. Briscoe stepped off the Santa Fe train onto the soil of Slaton, Texas, to begin his first year of service with the Santa Fe Railway as stenographer to a transportation clerk. During his career, he worked a number of positions and served the Santa Fe at many outposts before finishing his career at Topeka, Kansas, in 1982 as General Manager of the Eastern Lines. Along the way, he encountered many characters - from the track walkers, to legendary Santa Fe presidents like Fred Gurley and John Reed, and movie stars like Errol Flynn. Briscoe relates stories about them all.
    160 pages, black and white photos, horizontal format, softcover. $30.00
  • WAY OF THE ZEPHYRS: The Postwar Years
    By Geoffrey H. Doughty. This book traces the postwar Zephyr fleet from the birth of the modern dome car in 1945 through to the Burlington Northern merger of 1970. Along the way, readers are introduced to such streamlined passenger train icons as the 1949 California Zephyr and 1956 Denver Zephyr, as well as lesser lights from the CB&Q's timetables. With the American traveling public increasingly opting for airliners and automobiles through the 1950s and 1960s, Burlington Route management aggressively pursued railroad passengers, even though many of their competitors sought service curtailments in the face of declining patronage and rising labor costs. All of these factors are woven into this fascinating story.
    160 pages, over 260 black and white and color illustrations and floor plans, hardbound. $34.95
  • WEST POINT ROUTE: The Atlanta & West Point Rail Road and the Western Railway of Alabama
    By Robert H. Hanson. The West Point Route consisted of the Western Railway of Alabama and the Atlanta & West Point Railroad, operating in Georgia and Alabama. Once considered by David Morgan of TRAINS magazine to be the "All-American Railroad", but not selected because of its short 225-mile length, it had full-blown passenger and freight operations, controlled by Atlantic Coast Line with Southern and forwarding such trains as the Piedmont Limited and the Crescent.
    191 pages, black and white photos, hardcover. $43.95
  • WEST SIDE PICTORIAL
    By Mallory Hope Ferrell. In this book, Ferrell produces text, photos, maps, plans and West Side model pictures, and a complete locomotive and car roster. One of the maps is a full color rail system map drawn by artist Larry Larson. Included are typical train schedules; maps include Camp 45, Camp Niagara, Camp 24, Camp 8, and the Tuolumne yards. Plans include Heisler #2 and #3, Shay #12 and #15, the Milwaukee diesel, and the wedge type snowplow used by the railroad. This book includes action shots of West Side trains, roster shots of locomotives and cars, photos of facilities, structures, trestles and more.
    700 black and white and color photos and illustrations, 312 pages, hardbound. $53.95
  • WEST VIRGINIA CENTRAL AND PITTSBURG RAILWAY: A Western Maryland Predecessor
    By Alan Clarke. The author takes a scholarly and literate look at the West Virginia Central & Pittsburg, which opened rich mining and timer regions of northern West Virginia at the turn of the 20th century, creating such towsn as Elkins, Thomas and Davis. It became part of Western Maryland in 1905, forming most of the West Virginia portion of that road.
    176 pages, 300 illustrations and photos, hardbound. $32.95
  • WEST VIRGINIA LOGGING RAILROADS
    By William E. Warden. A history of logging in West Virginia in the last 25 years of its pre-eminence, including big operations at Cass, on Buffalo Creek & Gauley, at Rainelle, 1940s-1960s. Shays, Heislers, Climaxes abound. Maps, photos of mills and logging as they related to railroads. Rare and unusual photos, and much detailed history, including the why and how of logging operations. 112 pages, hardcover. $22.95
  • WEST VIRGINIA'S LAST LOGGING RAILROAD: Meadow River Lumber Company
    By Philip V. Bagdon. The history of West Virginia's biggest and last logging line. With Shays, Heislers, Climaxes and ending with diesels. From 1913 to 1971, detailed story of locomotives, cars, trackage, etc.
    80 pages, 130 photos, hardbound. $19.95
  • WESTERN PACIFIC IN COLOR
    By Jim Boyd. A wonderful chronological look at Western Pacific's motive power development, from the end of steam to the UP merger. Lots of great action.
    128 pages, all-color photos, hardbound. $59.95
  • WESTERN PACIFIC COLOR PICTORIAL: Volume 1 - 1940s, 50s and 60s
    By Adam Clegg. This book features WP steam and diesel locomotive rosters and a complete California Zephyr passenger car roster stating assigned CB&Q, D&RGW and WP stainless steel cars. Rare photos of WP steam and FT's in the "as delivered" green and yellow scheme.
    128 pages, all-color photos, hardbound. $49.95
  • WESTERN PACIFIC LOCOMOTIVES AND CARS: Volume 1
    By Patrick C. Dorin. The Western Pacific was a perennial favorite of fans and modelers. This book looks at the diverse equipment of the "Feather River Route" from the 1930s until the 1985 UP merger and beyond. Ideal as a modeling reference.
    128 pages, over 270 all-color photos, 76 diagrams, hardbound. $24.95
  • WESTERN PACIFIC LOCOMOTIVES AND CARS: Volume 2
    By Patrick C. Dorin. A continuation of photos and data, supplementing and expanding on those presented in the first volume, which give an appreciation for the variety, type, and style of WP equipment in its operational environment.
    124 pages, color and black and white photos, hardbound. $29.95
  • WHEAT BELT ROUTE: Wichita Northwestern - The Story of a Dust Bowl Railroad
    By Lee Berglund. "Wheat Belt Route" is the story of the hard luck Wichita Northwestern Railway, originally known as the Anthony & Northern. This little railroad with big aspirations chuffed across the prairies of southwest Kansas for only 28 years (1912-1940). "Wheat Belt Route" describes Great Plains railroading during the adverse depths of the Dust Bowl era. All this describes one of the most colorful and historic of Kansas short lines.
    92 pages, softbound. $22.95
  • WHEELING & LAKE ERIE: Ohio Coal Hauler Volume 2
    By John B. Corns. This is the fascinating story of Ohio coal hauler Wheeling & Lake Erie from its 1870s origins through its lease by the Nickel Plate Road in 1949. Photos showcase the W&LE's employees, locomotives, freight and passenger cars, stations, shops, yards and ore piers.
    128 pages, over 360 black and white photos and illustrations, horizontal format, hardcover. $29.95
  • WHEN THE RAILROAD LEAVES TOWN: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment - Volume 1 - Eastern United States
    By Joseph P. Schwieterman. Railroads once spread across the American landscape, radiating from towns like spokes on a wheel. They were the backbone of the municipal economy and essential to commercial and civic life. In thousands of communities, however, this remarkable era has ended. The nation's railroads have eliminated more than 120,000 miles of routes - about half of their total mileage - since 1916. This book considers the rise and fall of rail service in 64 eastern US communities distinguished by their notable railroad histories or unusual experiences with rail line abandonment.
    350 pages, 136 black and white photos, 65 maps, index, softbound. $24.95
  • WHEN THE RAILROAD LEAVES TOWN: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment - Volume 2 - Western United States
    By Joseph P. Schwieterman. Thousands of miles of railroad routes steeped in history are now dusty trails bereft of their former significance. Rendered expendable by evolving market forces, these bygone corridors are testaments to the profound changes in the way we travel and conduct business. This volume illustrates the circumstances surrounding the rise and fall of rail service in 58 western US communities distinguished for their notable railroad histories.
    333 pages, black and white photos and maps, index, softbound. $24.95
  • WHERE THE RAILS CROSS: A Railroad History of Durand, Michigan
    By I.E. Quastler. Railroads have been an integral part of Durand, Michigan for well over 100 years. Although the first railroad arrived in 1856, not until 1876 did Durand become a railroad crossroads. In 1895 the community began its development into one of Michigan's busiest railroad towns when the Ann Arbor Railroad moved its division point there. This is the story of the development of Durand, the town where the rails still cross. 
    192 pages, over 190 photos, 17 in color, horizontal format, softbound. $34.95
  • A WHISTLE UP THE VALLEY: The Story of the Peavine, Vermont's White River Railroad
    By Robert C. Jones. This book features a unique Vermont shortline that ran through the White River Valley between Bethel and Rochester from 1898 to 1933. The 19-mile White River Railroad faced adversity in many forms - poor location and construction, heavy snows in winter, and flooding most of the rest of the year. The Peavine, as the locals called it, provided the Valley with invaluable freight and passenger service.
    120 pages, over 150 vintage photos, hardbound. $30.00
  • WHITE PINE ROUTE: The History of the Washington, Idaho & Montana Railway Company
    By Thomas E. Burg. The Washington, Idaho & Montany Railway (WI&M) from Palouse, Washington, to Bovill, Idaho, was built to access the world's finest stand of white pine. The fifty-mile line was the Potlatch Lumber Company's conveyance for timber to the mill, cut lumber to outside connections, and the artery of commerce for the region.
    300 pages, over 400 photos, maps and roster, index and bibliography, hardbound. $49.95
  • WINDY CITY TO THE TWIN CITIES: A Burlington Route/BN/BNSF Color Pictorial
    By John Leopard. Featuring in vivid color the busy and very scenic line between Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul during the CB&Q/BN/early BNSF era. Photos captured by many of the area's most talented photographers.
    128 pages, all-color photos, hardbound. $59.95
  • WORKING ON THE RAILROAD
    By Brian Solomon. This book follows the major occupations that have developed along with the industry and its technologies since the 1830s. The author presents chapters dedicated to each of railroading's major job groups: brakemen, conductors, engineers and firement, operators and dispatchers, and maintenance workers. Thorough descriptions explain what is expected of each occupation and how it has evolved over the decades to meet the railroads' ever-changing needs.
    160 pages, color and black and white photos, hardcover. $34.95
  • WORLD OF STEAM
    By Nils Huxtable. All shots are the work of the author, who provides extended captions for each view. You will see steam locomotives from all over the world, including places like Zimbabwe, Germany, China, Finland, and more. Only four photos are from the United States and Canada.
    48 pages, 45 color photos, horizontal format, softbound. $19.95
  • YELLOWSTONE BY TRAIN: A History of Rail Travel to America's First National Park
    By Thornton Waite. Tourists traveled to Yellowstone National Park on passenger trains for many years. The Union Pacific Railroad, the Northern Pacific Railway, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, the Milwaukee Road, and the Chicago & North Western Railway all operated trains to the park. These railroads were responsible for the development and popularity of Yellowstone National Park, America's first national park. This history of the rail service details how these railroads both competed and worked with each other to provide the tourist a memorable trip.
    168 pages, black and white and color photos, softbound. $24.95

  • "YET THERE ISN'T A TRAIN I WOULDN'T TAKE": Railway Journeys
    By William Middleton. A collection of stories about favorite train journeys by an inveterate railway enthusiast and train traveler. A half-century career as an engineer, naval officer, and university administrator took William Middleton to almost every part of the globe. Guided by his passion for railroads, he traveled with notebook and camera to record his adventures on the world's most fabulous trains - not only the glamorous and luxurious passenger lines, but also hard-working freighters. Middleton's North American treks included a long journey through Manitoba to polar bear country on Hudson Bay, a trip to Minnesota's Messabi Range to haul a boatload of iron ore to Lake Superior behind a giant Yellowstone articulated steam locomotive, and a ride across Costa Rica from the Atlantic to the Pacific by narrow gauge railway. His European travels have afforded him a Pullman seat on the crack London-Paris Golden Arrow and the chance to take the slow trip across Thrace on one of the last runs of the celebrated Simplon Orient Express. In Asia he traveled through the Toros Mountains of Turkey on the famous Istanbul-Baghdad Toros Express, experienced modern high-speed railroading in the cab of Japan's Bullet Train, and rode to Asia's highest mountain east of Himalayas on the little trains of Taiwan's Ali Shan Forestry Railway.
    256 pages, 130 black and white photos, hardcover. $39.95