A symbol of the "new Japan" displayed at World's Fairs, depicted in travel posters, and celebrated as the product of a national spirit of innovation, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen—the first bullet train, dubbed the "dream super-express"—represents the bold aspirations of a nation rebranding itself after military defeat, but also the deep problems caused by the unbridled postwar drive for economic growth. At the dawn of the space age, how could a train become such an important symbol? In Dream Super-Express, Jessamyn Abel contends that understanding the various, often contradictory, images of the bullet train reveals how infrastructure operates beyond its intended use as a means of transportation to perform cultural and sociological functions. The multi-layered dreams surrounding this high-speed railway tell a history not only of nation-building but of resistance and disruption. Though it constituted neither a major technological leap nor a new infrastructural connection, the train enchanted, enthralled, and enraged government officials, media pundits, community activists, novelists, and filmmakers. This history of imaginations around the monumental rail system resists the commonplace story of progress to consider the tug-of-war over the significance of the new line. Is it a vision of the future or a reminder of the past, an object of international admiration or a formidable threat? Does it enable new relationships and identities or reify existing social hierarchies? Tracing the meanings assigned to high-speed rail shows how it prompted a reimagination of identity on the levels of individual, metropolis, and nation in a changing Japan.

The first of the English Electric Type 1 design, what we now know as the Class 20s, appeared in June 1957. With their distinctive 'chopper' engine sound, these single-cabbed locomotives soon gained a reputation for rugged reliability brought about by their simplicity and use of tried and tested components. British Rail Class 20 Locomotives looks back at the operations of these fine locomotives since 1957, covering their varied workings and duties, regional use and railtour operations. The book also covers the technical aspects and specifications of the locomotives, including liveries and detailing.

The Pennsylvania and the New York Central railroads helped to develop central Pennsylvania as the largest source of bituminous coal for the nation. By the late 19th century, the two lines were among America's largest businesses and would soon become legendary archrivals. The PRR first arrived in the 1860s. Within a few years, it was sourcing as much as four million tons of coal annually from Centre County and the Moshannon Valley and would continue do so for a quarter-century. The New York Central, through its Beech Creek Railroad affiliate, invaded the region in the 1880s, first seeking a dependable, long-term source of coal to fuel its locomotives but soon aggressively attempting to break its rival's lock on transporting the area's immense wealth of mineral and forest products. Beginning around 1900, the two companies transitioned from an era of growth and competition to a time when each tacitly recognized the other's domain and sought to achieve maximum operating efficiencies by adopting new technology such as air brakes, automatic couplers, all-steel cars, and diesel locomotives. Over the next few decades, each line began to face common problems in the form of competition from other forms of transportation and government regulation; in 1968 the two businesses merged. Branch Line Empires offers a thorough and captivating analysis of how a changing world turned competition into cooperation between two railroad industry titans.

`The Last Years of Steam Around the East Midlands' covers most of the railways across the county and the locomotives that worked over them. In the main, the time period covers the ten years or so from the late 1950s up to the end of steam working in the East Midlands. In addition to steam locomotives, their diesel replacements will also be shown. A number of industrial locations will also be visited, and in particular, the book explores the now-closed Ironstone Railways of the East Midlands. The photographs, a mixture of colour and black and white, come mostly from those taken by the author and his late father, with the balance coming from his father's old friends. Most of the photographs have never been published, with all images accompanied by an extensive and informative commentary.

'Stations and Lineside Views in and Around London' features photographs taken by retired British Medical Council researcher/author Dr B. W. L. Brooksbank and captions by railway author Peter Tuffrey. The photographs span the last years of steam traction c. 1946 to c.1962 and the book uses the M25 motorway as a parameter to define the London area. All the capital's main line railway stations belonging to the four former constituent railway companies are featured. Over 3,000 negatives were scanned while only approximately 250 photographs have been selected for inclusion to maintain a very high standard and give a real indication of this last gasp of steam. It is remarkable that when good photographic materials were painfully scarce after the Second World Wat that Ben Brooksbank was able to achieve some exceptional results from limited resources. Some of his images from the late 1940s are not only pin sharp but exude an almost palpable atmosphere of Britain's run-down post-war railways. He has captured freight trains, expresses and local trains along with staff carrying out their mundane duties or blatantly hanging off a locomotive cab eager to be caught on camera forever.Ben has photographed many of the railway stations in a dilapidated condition before massive renovation work.

A beautiful treasury of railway memorabilia Journey back to the 1950s and '60s with this nostalgic look at Britain's railways in their glory days. Beautifully illustrated throughout with a unique collection of photographs, train spotting notebooks and railway ephemera. Packed with hundreds of photographs, trainspotting notebooks and ephemera. This is a vivid recollection of the whole atmosphere of the railways as the age of steam ended and diesels were introduced. Take a journey through each of the major regions, guided by bestselling author and railway expert, Julian Holland Revel in the imagery of the mighty steam engines as they ran their final schedules Savour some of the magic that trainspotters experienced during that glorious era

In this engaging social history of the impact of railroads on American life, H. Roger Grant explores the railroad's "golden age" of 1830-1930. To capture the essence of the nation's railroad experience, Grant looks at four fundamental topics-trains and travel, train stations, railroads and community life, and the legacy of railroading in America-illustrating each topic with carefully chosen period illustrations. Grant recalls the lasting memories left by train travel, both of luxurious Pullman cars and the grit and grind of coal-powered locals. He discusses the important role railroads played for towns and cities across America, not only for the access they provided to distant places and distant markets but also for the depots that were a focus of community life. Finally, Grant reviews the lasting heritage of the railroads preserved in word, stone, paint, and memory. Railroads and the American People is a sparkling paean to American railroading by one of its finest historians.

Reveals the legacy of the train as a critical site of race in the United States Despite the seeming supremacy of car culture in the United States, the train has long been and continues to be a potent symbol of American exceptionalism, ingenuity, and vastness. For almost two centuries, the train has served as the literal and symbolic vehicle for American national identity, manifest destiny, and imperial ambitions. It's no surprise, then, that the train continues to endure in depictions across literature, film, ad music. The Racial Railroad highlights the surprisingly central role that the railroad has played-and continues to play-in the formation and perception of racial identity and difference in the United States. Julia H. Lee argues that the train is frequently used as the setting for stories of race because it operates across multiple registers and scales of experience and meaning, both as an invocation of and a depository for all manner of social, historical, and political narratives. Lee demonstrates how, through legacies of racialized labor and disenfranchisement-from the Chinese American construction of the Transcontinental Railroad and the depictions of Native Americans in landscape and advertising, to the underground railroad and Jim Crow segregation-the train becomes one of the exemplary spaces through which American cultural works explore questions of racial subjectivity, community, and conflict. By considering the train through various lenses, The Racial Railroad tracks how racial formations and conflicts are constituted in significant and contradictory ways by the spaces in which they occur.

The author came to London from Lancashire as a nine-year old, having developed an interest in buses and trams at a very early age. He remained in south-west London for the next forty-five years. As a young teenager he took up locospotting, joining a small group of fellow enthusiasts who met regularly by the lineside at Clapham Junction, and avidly followed this hobby for roughly ten years. For the first half of that decade, his hobby was centred largely close to London because of age and money restrictions, and his trips further afield were rare. In this book, he describes his experiences: visiting stations, lineside watching, bunking sheds, and making more official trips to depots and works. He gives us a spotters-eye view of the changes to British Railways at the time: new steam locomotives still arriving; the early days of the Modernisation Plan; and seeing elderly locomotives at the end of their service life. Towards the end of this period, he acquired his first camera and uses these photographs to illustrate his exploits in the early years of his hobby.

Discover the Sunset Cluster—railroads that were doomed to fail? The first two decades of the 20th century were the twilight of the railroad age. Major routes had long been established, and local service became the focus of new construction. Beginning in 1907, a cluster of five shortline railroads were established in otherwise unconnected parts of Iowa. By the dawn of the Great Depression, all these routes would be discontinued. The five Iowa 'sunset cluster' railroads might appear to deserve eternal obscurity, being at best minor footnotes to American railroad history. After all, their total mileage barely exceeded 100 miles. Their average life span, moreover, covered about five years, and the Des Moines & Red Oak Railway (DM&RO) never turned a wheel. Yet, to understand the rise of the railroad empires of the 19th century, it is necessary to study their fall. Using contemporary newspapers, government reports, and other little-known sources, renowned railway historian H. Roger Grant offers a fascinating look at these shortline railroads. Sunset Cluster explores the almost desperate desire by communities to benefit from steel rails before the regional railroad map finally imploded and the challenges faced by latter-day shortline builders.

CrossCountry Trains Ltd won the right to operate the CrossCountry franchise from 11 November 2007 when the Strategic Rail Authority determined that its bid for the franchise was the best value for money and the most sustainable. CrossCountry operates the most extensive passenger rail network in the UK covering 16 million route miles per year; it also operates the longest rail service in the UK - the 08:20 a.m. Aberdeen to Penzance (774 miles). Based in the centre of England in Birmingham, the company serves seven of the country's largest cities and provides 295 services every weekday, which equates to around 30 million passenger journeys per year. It also employs around 1,626 employees. The company does not operate any stations itself, but CrossCountry's trains do call at more than 119 stations stretching from Aberdeen in the north, Stansted Airport in the east, Cardiff in the west and Penzance in the south west. With Birmingham New Street at the hub, its services crisscross the country in a similar pattern to that of the UK motorway system.

Railway photography has never been more popular. Good quality images, once only achievable with expensive professional hardware, are now within everyone's reach. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced photographer wanting to broaden your horizons, Digital Railway Photography: A Practical Guide will help you get the best from your camera with clear advice and how to avoid common pitfalls. Whether you have an entry level compact camera or an all-singing high-end digital SLR, you will find no nonsense advice and practical tips. Digital Railway Photography: A Practical Guide is written by Jeremy de Souza, a British railway photographer with almost 40 years of experience. From mastering the basic camera controls to more advanced techniques such as panning, time exposures and creative projects, this essential book will help and guide you. You will also find advice on how to save your images securely in the digital age and make simple adjustments in order to present them at their very best. For those with film collections, you will also find advice on how to get the best results from scanning.

Who travelling through Totteridge and Whetstone is aware that the station got its name from the medieval soldiers who sharpened their swords at the whetstone before the bloody Battle of Barnet? Or that Canary Wharf was built for importing fruit from the Canary Islands? Or that Shepherd's Bush was previously known as Gagglegoose Green? The names of the 300 or so underground stations are part of everyday life for Londoners, but we hardly ever question their meanings or history. This entertaining book delves into their origins, ensuring you never view your journey beneath the city in the same way again.

There are more than 400 miniature railways in Britain. Some are hidden away and privately owned, others are parkland attractions, and some - such as the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch - are large commercial enterprises. They come in an array of gauges (from 5 inches up to 15 inches and sometimes beyond), but their most definitive characteristic is that they can carry passengers, whether sitting astride the rolling stock or inside enclosed carriages. In this colourfully illustrated guide, David Henshaw offers a concise history of miniature railways from the nineteenth century to the modern day, including a whistle-stop tour of the most notable examples open to the public - including the Ravenglass & Eskdale and Eastleigh Lakeside railways - exploring their layouts, engineering and rolling stock.

Explore 44 of the best rail-trails and multiuse pathways across two states. All around the country, unused railroad corridors have been converted to public multiuse trails. Here, the experts from Rails-to-Trails Conservancy present their list of 44 of the best, most highly rated rail-trails and other multiuse pathways in Iowa and Missouri. Each entry includes detailed maps, driving directions to trailheads, activity icons, and succinct descriptions. Explore the region's history by hitting the Frisco Highline Trail, retracing a 35-mile route of Harry Truman's "Whistlestop" campaign. Enjoy one of the most well-known trail art installations in the country along High Trestle Trail. Meander along farmlands and forests on the 21-mile T-Bone Trail, or visit some of the region's most welcoming communities on the nearly 240-mile Katy Trail. You'll love the variety in this collection of Midwestern multiuse trails-from beautiful waterways and scenic areas to the hustle and bustle of the states' urban centers. So whether you're looking for a trail for a leisurely stroll, a bike ride with the family, or something a bit more challenging, you'll find it in this comprehensive trail guide.

In January 1, 1885, Wells, Fargo & Company's chief detective James B. Hume and special agent John N. Thacker published a report summarizing the company's losses during the previous 14 years. It listed 313 stagecoach robberies, 23 burglaries, and four train robberies but included little or no details of the events themselves, focusing instead on physical descriptions of the robbers. Widely circulated, the report was intended to assist law enforcement in identifying and apprehending the criminals believed still to present a danger to the company. The present volume revisits each crime, updating Hume and Thacker's original report with rich new details culled from local newspapers, personal diary entries, and court records.

Being an avid collector of old photographs, particularly those featuring railways, well-known Yorkshire writer Peter Tuffrey was aware of the vast photographic archives lurking in the depths of the Yorkshire Post newspaper. Recently renewing his contact with an old acquaintance and newspaper editor, Peter Charlton, the author was presented with a marvellous opportunity to select some of these photographs for use in Yorkshire Railways: From the Yorkshire Post Archives. Under a number of interesting chapter headings such as 'Views from the Lineside', 'Staff', 'Crashes', 'On Shed and Works' and 'Preserved Railways and Railway Stations', we see the many different ways Yorkshire people have been involved with railways, particularly in the days of steam. The lineside pictures have amazing clarity, having been scanned and enhanced expertly from large format glass plate negatives. But that is not to detract from the book's other pictures, which have been carefully composed and taken over the years by the Yorkshire Post's own reputable staff photographers. The picture captions are well-researched, informative and reflect Peter's eye for the unusual and eccentric.Yorkshire Railways not only provides interest for the real enthusiast but also for the social historians among us who want to look back and get the feel for how it really was in the days before Dr Beeching came along with his axe.

The arrival of the railway was one of the most far reaching events in the history of the Victorian city. The present study, based upon detailed case histories of Britain's five largest cities (London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool), shows how the railways gave Victorian cities their compact shape, influenced topography and character of their central districts, and determines the nature of suburban expansion. This book was first published in 1969.