In this volume, Michael P. Malone provides a succinct interpretive biography of James J. Hill, the "Empire Builder"-so called for his work in developing the region of the United States between the Great Lakes and the Pacific Northwest.

Malone explores Hill's complex life and personality, his activities and interests, and recreates both the story of the railroad race to the Pacific and the complex interactions involved in the development of the region.

"Michael Malone has written a model. . . .interpretative biography of James J. Hill. He has drawn on the research of others, published and unpublished, as he says, but also on his own knowledge of American economic development in Hill's time as a leading historian of mining and of a state in whose development Hill's railroads were major factors." -Earl Pomeroy, Professor of History, Retired, University of Oregon and University of California, San Diego

If you are a fan of trolley cars, interurban streetcars and electric railroading, then The Electric Railway Dictionary is a book you need to have on your shelf! This historic text is far more than just a dictionary, although it does contain over sixty pages of definitions of terms. Most of this nearly 400-page book however, is devoted to cataloging various types of trolley cars and electric locomotives, their components, and related hardware. Hundreds of illustrations, including car plans and photographs, make this book indispensable for the railfan, modeler and museum docent. This high-quality reproduction even includes all of the original ads in the back.

When it was originally published in 1899, The Locomotive Up to Date was hailed as ..".the most definitive work ever published concerning the mechanism that has transformed the American nation: the steam locomotive." Filled with over 750 pages of text, diagrams and photos, this astonishing volume remains one of the most important railroading books ever written. From steam valves to sanders, trucks to side rods, bells to whistles, it's a treasure trove of information, explaining in easy-to-understand language how the most sophisticated machines of the 19th Century were operated and maintained. This new edition is an exact duplicate of the original. Reformatted as an easy-to-read 8x10 volume, it's delightful for railroad enthusiasts of all ages.

Founded in Pennsylvania in 1857, the Bethlehem Steel Corporation grew to become the second largest steel producer in the United States and one of the largest shipbuilding companies in the world. It was also a major supplier of components for the nation's railroads. this catalog, which dates from the 1950's, shows mine and industrial trackwork, including railway switches and stands. it contains tables and diagrams to assist customers in ordering special frogs, turnouts, tie sets, crossings, and mine safety apparatus. This book is a useful reference for the railroad enthusiast, model railroader, and museum docent.

L T C Rolt was one of a small group of amateur railwaymen who made their dream of running their own railway come true. His vivid and often amusing account of this unique achievement is a record of individual enterprise and creative effort as refreshing as it is rare. Established by Act of Parliament in 1865 and unaffected by mergers and nationalisation, the Talyllyn Railway has been serving a remote and beautiful valley in the Merioneth mountains ever since. In 1950, the line was threatened with closure, and it was at that moment that the amateurs came to the rescue. It is now the oldest surviving railway of its kind in the world. This book is delightful reading for both railway devotees and lovers of the Welsh countryside, which is so beautifully described here. 'Come and join this railway adventure set amidst the magnificent mountain background of Wales - this should appeal to a whole new generation of enthusiasts.' Steam Railway News. 'This book remains essential reading, not only for those who love this corner of Wales and its railway, but all who have a genuine interest in what motivates people to try and preserve this part of our heritage.' Push and Pull

Originally printed in 1898 and then periodically revised, Ludwig Guttman's The Motorman and His Duties served as the definitive training text for a generation of streetcar operators. A must-have for the trolley or train enthusiast, it is also an important source of information for museum staff and docents. Lavishly illustrated with numerous photos and black and white line drawings, this affordable reprint contains all of the original text. Includes chapters on trolley car types and equipment, troubleshooting, brakes, controllers, electricity and principles, electric traction, multi-car control and has a convenient glossary in the back. If you've ever operated a trolley car, or just had an electric train set, this is a terrific book for your shelf!

Originally printed in 1919, W.P. James' The Engineman's Manual was intended to be used in the instruction of locomotive engineers, firemen, and railroad mechanics. It features dozens of chapters concerning every aspect of the steam locomotive power plant and control systems, including the air brakes. Complete with detailed examination questions and answers, The Engineman's Manual remains one of the most complete books ever written about the working components of the railroad steam engine. This high quality reprint includes all of the original text - nearly 500 pages worth - in an easy-to-read 8x10 format. It's a must-have for any fan, of the age of steam!

In the heyday of the railway age Gloucestershire had a bustling railway network. Many thriving industries including farming, quarrying, coal and iron mining, and timber production for the shipbuilding and charcoal industries depended on the railways.

This book tells for the first time the definitive history of this innovative 15-inch-gauge railway on the Blakesley estate in rural Northamptonshire and the Victorian transport engineering family that created it. The Bartholomew family, although almost unknown today, represented a waterway and railway engineering dynasty in Yorkshire for many decades. Prior to the railways, two Bartholomew brothers were in engineering control of virtually the entire waterway network of the West Riding. Blakesley's Squire, Charles William Bartholomew, created a miniature estate railway based deliberately not on British ideas but on state-of-the-art equipment from America and Germany, which was to act as a model for such lines in Britain for the next century. For the first time, this book attempts to outline the evolution of the American 'Cagney' miniature railway products, which he adopted, in comparison with the 'minimum gauge' ideas of Sir Arthur Heywood. The Squire was also one of the very first - in 1905 - to produce in-house a petrol locomotive, and followed this by commissioning the world's first steam-outline version - a locomotive able in 2009 to celebrate, in working order, its centenary as the world's oldest surviving internal combustion locomotive. The line survived the Squire's death in 1919, and functioned in a declining role into the 1930s, when much of it went to create a similar line in Sussex, a role newly revealed by the author's researches for this book. The family also became embroiled in one of the biggest fraud scandals and court cases of the Second World War, involving a middle-aged spinster family friend. The line's remaining equipment was also acquired by this lady, before being repossessed by the family and sold on for a somewhat nomadic existence around the North East. Amazingly, one complete locomotive, parts of another, and a carriage bogie have survived into preservation, the first and last being in the author's care.

To Follow

At one point in time, no place in Iowa was more than a few miles from an active line of rail track. In this splendid companion volume to Steel Trails of Hawkeyeland (IUP, 2005), H. Roger Grant and Don L. Hofsommer explore the pivotal role that railroads played in the urban development of the state as well as the symbiotic relationship Iowa and its rails shared. With more than 400 black-and-white photographs, a solid inventory of depots and locations, and new information that is sure to impress even the most well-versed railfan, this detailed history of the state's railroads including the Chicago & North Western, Cedar Rapids & Iowa City, and the Iowa Northern will be an essential reference for railroad fans and historians, artists, and model railroad builders."

The aim of this series is to appeal to readers of all ages, perhaps for different reasons...In this volume: We travel back to the year 1960 For the younger reader there are wonderful pictures of trains, real trains. There will, for example, be tank engines, steam engines, electric trains and multiple units and many more varieties besides! Some will be recognised from train sets, model railways and books, while others will be seen for the first time. For the older reader the books are designed to build into a collection placing the railway in the context of key events thus providing an historical perspective of travel in times past. For those old enough to remember the years depicted, the series will, we hope, provide reminders for many of school days, time perhaps spent train-spotting, shed bashing and generally gricing! The books also make ideal theme gifts for the year of birth, marriage, retirement, starting work and other such events in life.

The most easterly of the Irish provinces, Leinster includes the counties of Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath and Wicklow. This book provides a nostaligic survey of the railway lines that emanate from Dublin, featuring a wealth of images from bygone days.

George and Robert Stephenson are well known names in the canon of railway history. Henry Booth (who designed Rocket's boiler) was the world's first railway manager and was instrumental in the adoption of Greenwich Mean Time. Timothy Hackworth, the Methodist engine-wright from Shildon, established his own engineering firm, which built one of the first locomotives to run in Russia. Although his locomotive Novelty was a failure, John Ericsson found fame as the designer of the USS Monitor. This book seeks to explore the social history of the Rainhill Trials, who these engineers were and the times they lived and worked in.

Following the demise of steam, there was for a while the impression that the contemporary railway scene would be of little interest to the enthusiast. Faceless boxes on wheels pursuing their efficient course through the landscape with little in the way of variety. With hindsight, this was far from the case and as time has moved on, more and more enthusiasts are looking back at the railway scene in the decades after the end of steam with a great deal of nostalgia. Fortunately there were people around who continued to record what was an ever changing spectacle in those years. One of these was John Dedman. His photographic efforts were focused on the area around Southampton and the New Forest which he knew well. His good local knowledge and connections allowed him to record both the unusual as well as the regular workings.

In 1710 an obscure Devon ironmonger Thomas Newcomen invented a machine with a pump driven by coal, used to extract water from mines. Over the next two hundred years the steam engine would be at the heart of the industrial revolution that changed the fortunes of nations. Passionately written and insightful, A Brief History of the Age of Steam reveals not just the lives of the great inventors such as Watts, Stephenson and Brunel, but also tells a narrative that reaches from the US to the expansion of China, India and South America. Crump shows how the steam engine changed the world.