Locomotives and Multiple-units - USA: Books - Overviews

American Passenger Trains: WWII to Amtrak

Focusing on the 1940s to the 1960s, this book provides railroad hobbyists, historians, museum operators, and transportation instructors and planners with information about the types of train services and operations in various corridors, such as Chicago - Milwaukee; overnight and daytime long-distance service; transcontinental trains, and the various local trains on both main lines and branch lines.

The book reviews the types of sleeping car, coach, parlor car, food and beverage services available at that time. This historic review, including train schedules and advertisements, also provides valuable information on train consists.
It is our hope that readers will find this book informative, not only for the enjoyment of looking at history; but also for the possibility of creating new passenger train services in North America that reduce energy needs, traffic congestion, and pollution, and improve travel safety, as well as enhancing the art of model railroading.

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Classic Streamliners Photo Archive: The Trains and the Designers

The Streamlined Era began in the 1930s, when American industrial designers created a whole new class of trains with names like Rocket, Mercury, and Zephyr - names that implied speed, comfort, and modernism. The trains were shaped from sleek stainless steel and featured smooth surfaces, flowing curves, and bullet shapes.
Almost as famous as the trains themselves were the industrial designers who styled them: Henry Dreyfuss, Raymond Loewy, Otto Kuhler and the Electro Motive Division styling team. For the industrial designer, no object was as exciting as the streamlined passenger train.

This book features the streamliners designed by Raymond Loewy for the Pennsylvania Railroad, Henry Dreyfuss for the New York Central, Otto Kuhler for the Milwaukee Road and the B&O, and the Electro Motive Division styling team.

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American Streamliner : Pre-War Years

Between the years 1933 and 1942, America rose to the forefront of deluxe passenger train travel, fielding hundreds of streamlined trains that crisscrossed the United States. From boat-tailed observation cars to dome-diners and Slumbercoaches, the Streamliner Era added a multitude of words and images to our collective heritage.

Fancy, fast and flashy, North American streamlined passenger trains rolled off Depression era drawing boards and onto railroad tracks that saw a multitude of luxury trains carrying hundreds of thousands of business and vacation travelers, as well as politicians and movie stars.
These "aircraft with wheels," with names such as Zephyr, Champion, Chief and Rocket, served up passenger amenities such as full carpeting in lounge cars, wide windows for viewing the passing landscape, coordinated interior paint schemes, built-in radios, Flexwood paneling, indirect lighting and air conditioning. Services included stewardesses who offered advice and comfort, on-board barbers, showers, and porters at every beck and call.

Full-course meals, served on heavy china plates with sparkling silverware, proudly engraved with the name of the railroad, were standard features of on-board dining. After dinner, passengers crowded the lounge car for drinks, entertainment and conversation. Retiring to a bedroom compartment or bedroom suite in a Pullman car, passengers found their beds ready and their blankets turned down. It was all part of the passenger train experience.
This hardbound includes 200 color and black and white photographs.

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The American Streamliner - Post-War Years

When World War II came to an end in 1945, America was on the verge of an unprecedented economic boom that carried over to its vast rail transportation system. Soon after hostilities subsided, railroads placed orders for new streamlined passenger trains from builders such as American Car & Foundry, Budd and Pullman-Standard.
Heavyweight passenger cars which had served well throughout the war, were coming to the end of their useful lives, and were clearly outdated, as well. Passengers wanted new, fashionable trains with streamlined, sleek cars and locomotives.

In addition, steam was out, diesels were in, and Electro-Motive of La Grange, Illinois continued development of the popular E series locomotives that matched the new streamlined cars. These powerful engines, self-contained in their own steel shells, were easier to maintain than steam locomotives, and they also acted as colorful rolling billboards for the now fashion-conscious rail lines that crisscrossed the country.

Passenger trains of all names - West Coast Champion, Texas Special, Golden State, New England States and Gulf Coast Rebel - and trains destined for all major cities such as the Chicago Mercury, City of Memphis and the Bostonian, plied the rails in an age that was soon over. By 1971, Amtrak had taken over America's passenger service, and left behind the colorful cars, the exquisite service and the fun of train travel.

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American Passenger Train Equipment 1940s-1980s

Beginning in the late 1930s in North America, the new streamlined, lightweight passenger equipment was being designed by a number of companies including Pullman Standard, American Car and Foundry and the Budd Company.
After being sidetracked by WWII, new streamlined passenger equipment came rolling off the assembly lines. Trains, such as the Great Northern's Empire Builder, once equipped with heavy-weight cars, became a new generation of streamliners. The new streamlined cars soon became mixed with the heavy-weight cars, creating some rather interesting consists.

Photos, drawings and detailed captions document the huge variety of passenger cars in operations from the 1940s into the days of Amtrak. Includes information such as dimensions, passenger seating capacities, heating and air-conditioning systems, and the types of train services.
Long time railroad author Pat Dorin puts all the various types of passenger equipment and designs into perspective. Even model railroaders are sure to glean new ideas for their modeling projects.

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Amtrak Across America - An Illustrated History

Amtrak is an essential part of America's transportation system for over 28 million passengers. This book profiles every line from the past and present. Whether it was a legacy Streamliner of the pre-Amtrak era - Champions, Chiefs, Eagles, Rockets, Zephyrs - or today's modern Acela Express, or even one of the anticipated, high speed "corridor trains", they're all here.

With evocative photos, postcards, memorabilia and other collateral, this book is a journey through the past 40 years of Amtrak across America, and all the preceding rail lines that transformed the nation. This expanded edition has new information on all Amtrak's routes making this useful for anyone thinking of riding the rails.

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