what is your favorite train book?

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yarrow

yarrow

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Feb 25, 2006
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far ne washington state, 1/2 mile from canada
i say this topic is related to amtrak and thus worthy of being on the board. reading books about the yesteryear of rail travel(which is where most of my train reading is) helps me plan and enjoy my amtrak trips of today. it also allows comparison between travel then and amtrak now.

anyway, my favorite train book is "the milwaukee road olympian, a ride to remember" by stan johnson. a great story, in words and picutres, of a 13 year old boy and his solo journey in 1941 from kansas city to chicago and then on the olympian from chicago to tacoma, wa.

i would be very interested to know what rail books other members, with their wide experience, would recommend as their favorites. thanks
 
I recently purchased the book (used) off of Amazon titled: The Zephyr, Tracking A Dream Across America by Henry Kisor. I'm loving it and reading it quite quickly. I have learned even more about Amtrak in this book such as, Omaha NE being a place where the EB Zephyr will leave supplies that they have plenty of since they are near the end point of Chicago for the WB Zephyr who may have left Chicago without enough supplies for certain parts of the trip. So they will stow items at the Omaha station. I think one of the things was a toaster oven. Both were broken on the #5 so the #6 left a toaster oven there for the chefs on the CZ.
 
Recently purchased: Allies of the Earth, Railroads and the Soul of Preservation. (Alfred Runte)

Promises to be an outstanding book. Time in sidings has been minimal, hope to have the opportunity to peruse soon.......
 
I agree with RAIL ROOKIE, I bought "Zephyr" to read on a trip next month,and I should finish it up tonight.

GregL
 
"Burlington Northern Adventures" is a must read for everyone. Its a new book just published in 2004. The author tells about his days working in Grand Forks, ND as a brakeman back in the 80's, and has lots of good stories. I lived in GFK for awhile and can relate to his being out in the cold -40 degree temperatures at 3 am.
 
Any book by Don Ball or Lucius Beebe. Not a lot of 'heavy reading', but great photo essay's. I grew up reading my father's Beebe collection and transformed to Don Ball as I entered my teenage years. Now, my young son and I spend time thumbing through the books, discussing the various photos.
 
Does Thomas the Train count? LOL I am a preschool teacher and I just bought some toys related to Thomas the Train. Couldn't resist.
 
I decided to "google" Henry Kisor last night who wrote the Zephyr book that I mentioned earlier in this thread and he sent me a real nice e-mail back. Sometimes the internet provides us with too much info but not on this situation.
 
A good novel is The Christmas Train by David Baldaaci. You can read it rather quickly, say as you take the SWC from Chicago to LA where most of the action takes place. I couldn't figure out "who did it" until almost the last page.
 
I don't if this fits the topic or not, but I just finished reading Rolling Nowhere: Riding the Rails with America's Hoboes by Ted Conover. The book has been out for quite awhile, but I found it to be fascinating reading.

Dan
 
My best and worst (in that order):

Paul Theroux: The Old Patagonian Express

(a wondrous journey from Boston, MA to the very southern tip of South America... and all by train......... perfect railroad reading)

Jennu Diski: Stranger on a Train

(just the most unexceptional boring self indulgent stuff I've sat through... all the boring bits of an Amtrak trip and none of the wonder, and a rather annoying self indulgent author)

There you go... be sure to take the first one with you on your next trip, and be sure to burn the second one if you see a copy.

*j* :blink:
 
due to my childrens love of trains i would say every childrens train book ever written. i also really like the movie polar express. i know it is not a book but my life consists of childrens books with an occassional visit to the library for myself a good book. so a good movie that is a childrens movie and includes trains is my favorite.

thomas the train always counts and does the alphabet.
 
Well, there are lots of good books out there.

But one which I think would make a really good introduction to the streamlined era is "Classic American Streamliners" by Mike Schafer and Joe Welsh.

This book does not claim to be complete but does gives a brief focus on about 75% or more of the pre-Amtrak streamliners. Not much in there about the heavyweights, mostly lightweights, which most resemble Amtrak equipment anyway .

Makes a good read---just reasonably detailed (nothing like, say, an Official Railway Guide) but should not bog you down. Pleasant afternoon skimming.

There is at least one good shot of El Capitan after it was re-equipped mid 50's with Hi-Level equipment. Most of you are familiar with those cars, and it would be neat for you to see them in their original assignment.

Oh and you would get a widely different view of Union Pacific from what one might have today. Esp. a great shot in the dome diner on UP--some of the most beautiful pre-Amtrak equipment there ever was.
 
I second the Paul Theroux book. My late uncle left me that book. I'll bet I have read it at least 7 times.

Other good non-fiction rail books are:

"Booked On The Morning Train" by George Scheer

"All Aboard! by Jim Loomis

"Making Tracks" by Terry Pindell

"Last Train To Toronto" by Terry Pindell
 
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Woa there! No Way should you burn Jenny Diski's book..it is a fascinating journey within her psyche foremost, as well as on Amtrak.. it did win a major book prize a year or two back. (Just to annoy James, I recommend her "Skating to Antarctica" book too! (that one is sparse on trains though!)

Parallel Lines by Ian Marchant is a great read also "part bill bryson, part nick hornby, wonderfully funy - The Times"

Ed B)

PS I enjoyed the Paul Theroux Great Railway Bazaar in the 1980's too
 
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I must admit,

that the last book I read: The Men who Loved Trains by Rush Loving Jr. was quite the page turner and I throughly enjoyed it! I wasn't sure that was going to be the case, but once I started it, I couldn't put it down!

I also agree with Track-sentinel above...all great reads!
 
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I am also a fan of Paul Thereoux, here are the ones I recommend :

* Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Cape Town: by Paul Theroux

* Great Railway Bazaar by Theroux, Paul

* Old Patagonian Express by Theroux, Paul

* Riding the Iron Rooster [Mass Market Paperback] by Theroux, Paul

* The Kingdom by the Sea: A Journey Around the Coast of Great Britain

you can get these all from amazon used for 1 cent ( plus 3.49 S&H )
 
boy, this is a great list. i love to read and these sound like wonderful selections. as faraz recommends, most of this stuff is available cheap from amazon or half.com. i do my reading at home though. i always take a book or two on a train trip but never read as i can't take my eyes off the window(even at night).
 
yarrow said:
boy, this is a great list. i love to read and these sound like wonderful selections. as faraz recommends, most of this stuff is available cheap from amazon or half.com. i do my reading at home though. i always take a book or two on a train trip but never read as i can't take my eyes off the window(even at night).
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Actually several of Paul T.'s book are available in audio format . Dark Star saffari I got from a public library on CD and burned it to mp3 to listen to while on the move. I then deleted the mp3s after i was done.
 
Guest_Gingee_* said:
How about any good train books about women or written by women?
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Altho Linda Niemann's books are mainly about freight railroading (she was a brakeman/conductor for the Southern Pacific), she is an excellent writer. Her first book, "Boomer: Railroad Memories" was published in the late '80s and is out of print, tho it can be found at amazon, abebooks, alibris, etc. About 1997 "Boomer" was reissued under the title "On the Rails: A Woman's Journey" and is still in print, as is "Railroad Voices: Narratives by Linda Niemann, Photographs by Lina Bertucci."
 
Three favorites, and yeah I know that's cheating.

1. The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Sorry, no pretty pics, just the facts of the rise, heyday, and fall (and the reasons for each) of this most American form of transit.

2. Riding the Iron Rooster, Theroux. I adapted a passage from this book into both an essay and audition that got me into college. They were both about the way the Chinese spit. HAHAHA!!

3. Shouldn't this be at the top of every list? The Little Engine That Could. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. How inspirational can you get for a young boy? Better than Captain Kangaroo on train days.
 
racer1735 said:
Any book by Don Ball or Lucius Beebe. Not a lot of 'heavy reading', but great photo essay's. I grew up reading my father's Beebe collection and transformed to Don Ball as I entered my teenage years. Now, my young son and I spend time thumbing through the books, discussing the various photos.
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The Lucius Beebe books are great. I also grew up reading those. My very first train book was Forest Crosen's "The Switzerland Trail of America" about the narrow gauge railroads to the west and northwest of Denver. It is out of print but is a great book particularly if you are interested in western history.

Two really good books about the people who work on trains are David Perata's "Those Pullman Blues" and Larry Tye's "Rising From the Rails". Both are about Pullman Porters. Perata's book is fun to read because it is a collection of interviews. Tye's is a little more academic
 
I really enjoyed Francois Maspero and Anaik Frantz's "Roissy Express" which is about the communter line through Paris and its suburbs. They describe a month-long trip of riding from stop to stop and finding hotels or lodging within walking distance of each stop. It really isn't a train book, more a discussion of Paris and its suburbs. But the key feature is the train. It includes some amazing photos of people and places. Perhaps jamesbrownontheroad may want to visit Paris and report on the route.
 
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