Twilight of the Great Trains, Expanded Edition

by Fred W. Frailey

In the years following World War II, a potent combination of new prosperity, a renewed love affair with the automobile, improved highways, and the availability of commercial air travel contributed to the dwindling number of rail travelers. By the 1960s, rail passenger service had become an endangered species in an unfriendly environment. Fred W. Frailey recounts the demise of the pre-Amtrak passenger train in Twilight of the Great Trains. Drawing upon a lifetime of experience as a reporter and editor, Frailey uncovers the reasons behind the disappearance of these great trains and explains how 11 railroad systems withstood or welcomed, fought or embraced the inevitable decline of their passenger services. Stimulating and informative, this book offers a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most challenging eras in American railroad history.

Genres: Railways

216 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1998

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on railroading that I’ve ever read. This book goes beyond simple nostalgia for streamliners and recounts the economic realities that doomed the privately operated American passenger trains and peels back the complex nature of the men who premises over their last days.

[Tyler Lees · Rating 5 out of 5]

A railroad by railroad look at the remaining great trains and the famous passenger railroads in the decade before Amtrak's creation.

Anybody interested in the state of passenger rail in the 1960s and the circumstances leading up to Amtrak's creation need to read this book.