American Passenger Train

by Mike Schafer

Before the jetliner connected both coasts in a matter of hours, the train embodied the zenith of passenger travel. This sprawling photographic history rambles though two centuries of passenger trains, presenting a wealth of archival imagery and modern and period color photographs that depicts everything from East Coast steam operations in the 1830s to modern Amtrak and high-speed inter-city services. The variety featured ranges from the swank Santa Fe Super Chief that connected Chicago and Los Angeles to the no-frills, single-car Zephyrette that ran daily between Oakland and Salt Lake City. From the New York Central's famous 20th Century Limited to the Eastern Illinois Railroad 's obscure Meadowlark, the plethora of railroads and regions featured is staggering. And because passenger trains were the most important public relations tool of any railroad, special focus is given to the locomotives, customer service and passenger amenities offered by passenger railway operations.

168 pages, Hardcover

First published November 26, 2001

Reviews

[Lydia Gates · Rating 2 out of 5]

The print is SO SMALL in the Introduction and when Mike is writing. This is full of photos--just read the descriptions. Unless you have a magnifying glass, you are going to have a very hard time reading the rest. Not worth buying.

[M.J. Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is highly recommended for anyone who is a student of passenger trains, or anyone who enjoys the legacy of classic trains across America.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a functional but uninspired coffee-table book written by a lifelong railfan. It's got a lot of pictures, simple prose with few surprises, and a somewhat strange internal organization. It is also more than a decade old, which hurts the chapter on Amtrack. To it's credit, there is material on Canada's Via Rail, but absolutely nothing on anywhere else in the Americas. (That's a minor quibble, I confess.) Reading it was an interesting diversion, but not a deep experience.

[Ken N]

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