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...

Ghosts traditionally make their presence felt in many ways, from unexplained footfalls and chills to odours and apparitions. This fascinating volume takes a look at some of the strange and unexplained hauntings across Britain's railway network: signals and messages sent from empty boxes; trains that went into tunnels and never left; ghostly passengers and spectral crew; the wires whizzing to signal the arrival of trains on lines that have been closed for years.... Based on...

'The best of the genre' - Duncan Campbell, The GuardianBorn in inner-city Birmingham, from an 'impeccable working class pedigree', Graham Satchwell was diagnosed with a serious illness at age 7 – a condition which should have barred his entry to the police force. Forty-two years later, he was Britain's senior-most railway detective. In a career that encompassed every CID rank and involved some of the country's toughest gangsters, ...

Britain's rail network is now among the safest in the world, but the journey that brought it to that point has been long and eventful. Early incidents like the felling of William Huskisson MP by Stephenson's Rocket (1830) showed how new ideas could bring new dangers; yet from disaster came new safety measures, and within fifty years better signalling and braking methods had been made mandatory. The twentieth century saw accident repeatedly lead to action and further advances in rolling sto...

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...

Packed with extraordinary photos, illustrations, and historical facts, a celebration of the legendary Manhattan rail terminal's first century.Opened in February 1913, Grand Central Terminal—one of the country's great architectural monuments—helped create Midtown Manhattan. Over the next century, it evolved into an unofficial town square for New York. Today, it sits astride Park Avenue at 42nd Street in all its original splendor, attracting visitors by the thousands....

Britain is a country in love with its railway past. Nowhere else do the workhorses of the age of steam exert such a pull; in no other country is the nostalgia for the days when the railways extended to every corner of the kingdom so strong. However, the history of station buildings and signal boxes, steam and diesel engines, goods and postal services, main lines and branch lines is only part of the story told here.As a cherished part of Britain's heritage, it is the impact of the ra...

An extensive number of trolley car lines linked the city of Philadelphia to the rich farmland and picturesque towns of southeastern Pennsylvania. These trolley lines traversed miles of narrow streets lined with row houses whose residents were proud working-class Americans. These historic photographs trace the trolley cars� routes, including Route 23, the region�s longest urban trolley route, from the expanses of Northwest Philadelphia�s Chestnut Hill through the crowded commercial Center C...

An affectionate and humorous look at life on board Great Western Railway's famous trains.First published for the centenary of the Great Western Railway in 1935, 'Railway Ribaldry' incorporates some of William Heath Robinson's own trademark madcap contraptions.Featuring almost 100 cartoons – including amusing takes on the varied duties of railway police, the first 'ladies only' carriage and countless 'ingenious plans' and inventions – it is the perfect gift ...

"[A] wealth of vignettes and more than 100 black-and-white illustrations . . . Does a fine job of humanizing the iron horse" ( The Wall Street Journal).In this social history of the impact of railroads on American life, H. Roger Grant concentrates on the railroad's "golden age," from 1830 to 1930. He explores four fundamental topics—trains and travel, train stations, railroads and community life, and the legacy of railroading in America—illustrating each w...

In the 1950s and 1960s south Lancashire and Cheshire was criss-crossed by a web of railway lines, servicing the various needs of local industries. The region was a haven for railway enthusiasts who pursued the hundreds of steam workhorses based at British Railways depots in 'chemical towns' such as Warrington, Widnes, Wigan and Sutton Oak, besides Southport and Northwich. While these facilities appeared less glamorous than larger counterparts in Liverpool or Manchester, th...

This book contains classic material dating back to the 1900s and before. The content has been carefully selected for its interest and relevance to a modern audience.