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The Historical Guide to North American Railroads (Trains Books) Paperback – January 29, 2018

by Jeff Wilson (Editor)
4.7 out of 5 stars 210
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Examines over one hundred seventy current and former railroad systems in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, featuring maps as well as information on history, mergers, and predecessor lines.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    319 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Kalmbach Pub Co
  4. Publication date
    January 29, 2018
  5. Reading age
    14 years and up
  6. Dimensions
    8 x 0.5 x 10.5 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0890249709
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0890249703
  9. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kalmbach Pub Co; 3rd edition (January 29, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 319 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0890249709
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0890249703
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.9 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 0.5 x 10.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 out of 5 stars 210

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
210 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

R. J. Morgan
5.0 out of 5 stars Kalmbach's Standard Reference on US Railroads.
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2016
Verified Purchase
Kalmbach has re-released one of the hobby's best references on North American Railroads and done a great job of it. The book features short histories about roads running from the Akron, Canton & Youngstown to the Yosemite Valley. The old, small format has been expanded to book size (roughly 8"x10.5") although still softbound. They've included color photos now along with black & white and some maps have been improved with a lot more information. While the historic roads, like ATSF get more coverage (four pages in Santa Fe's case) you'll also find accurate information on the histories of many other, smaller outfits now lost to history. This will probably be a book you keep close and pull off the shelf regularly to answer questions like "when did Seaboard System start?" or "Where did the Midland Valley run?". Highly recommended.
5 people found this helpful
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Kelly A
5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2024
Verified Purchase
GOT THIS FOR MY SPOUSE FOR CHRISTMAS AND HE HAS READ IT TWICE AND LOVES IT.
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James Pernikoff
4.0 out of 5 stars Larger page size is a benefit, but is also somewhat wasted
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
The larger size for this new third edition is certainly a plus, as is the switch to glossy paper and the addition of color. Photos are larger and, in some cases, in color, and many of the maps are also significantly larger and in color as well. The addition of a comprehensive index may be the best change of all, which makes up somewhat for the deletion of the interesting biographies of great railroad men, which have been deleted in the new edition.

Unfortunately, the results should have been better. While the maps of all the current mega-railroads are excellent, those for many of the great "fallen flag" roads, such as the New York Central and Northern Pacific, are pretty poor. They are smaller, still in black-&-white, and devoid of detail, and seem to have been carried over from the smaller previous edition unchanged, which is a waste of the larger page size. Particularly bad are those for the New Haven and the Penn Central, which are virtually useless. Furthermore, some of the smaller roads listed in the second edition have been deleted; a few of these, like the Kettle Valley, made for interesting reads. Chapters on interurbans and narrow-gauge railroads have also been deleted, but that is a smaller loss.

I hope that Kalmbach improves a future fourth edition by making more maps larger and in color, particularly for the larger railroads of the past, and puts back some of the ones deleted in this third edition. For now, by all means get this new edition, but if you have the second edition already, I'd suggest hanging on to it.
22 people found this helpful
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Phantomfire1
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, my book was here the very next day. Incredible.
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2023
Verified Purchase
Fast courteous Amazon service, and a great well-informed book on Steam Locomotives.
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Gregson W. Lodge
5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive collection of history!
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2014
Verified Purchase
It's amazing how much information is contained in this book. The photos are wonderful, the type easy to read, and the glossy pages make it feel like a much more expensive coffee table book. Some descriptions of historical hardships get bogged down with too many details like people's names who were in charge of bankruptcy proceedings etc which, I found, confuse the backgrounds. But that's a nitpick. Overall, this gives railfans and model railroaders a wealth of information on so many hard-to-remember fallen flags that you'll find yourself re-reading the book in no time; there is THAT much interesting to read. Well done TRAINS!
3 people found this helpful
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Ken Kieltyka
5.0 out of 5 stars VERY SATISFIED WITH THIS PRODUCT
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2023
Verified Purchase
VERY SATISFIED WITH THIS PRODUCT
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JWeld
5.0 out of 5 stars Graphics, details, and quality writing leave us waiting for a 4th edition
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2014
Verified Purchase
Purchased this book for my husband. He does not read books. Let's make that clear, he does not read books. However, the rest of our household are readers. For the first few days, he would not put this book down. There are enough pictures to keep his interest and enough detail to support the pictures. He said it is a good book and very interesting. He works for a railroad and learning the history behind the industry is appealing for him. I am thankful for those three days. Those nice quiet three days. When a 4th edition is released, we will buy again!
24 people found this helpful
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Wordsmith
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent job at bringing this reference work up to date
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2015
Verified Purchase
Being totally taken by the original "historical guide" published in the 1990s I wasn't too sure about this new edition at first, but have to say that Kalmbach have really done an excellent job at bringing this reference work up to date while also adding colour and many new entries (while dropping a few others). If you have any interest in the history of North American railroads at all, this is a great book. It provides general information on many single companies and thus lets you arrive at the bigger picture by adding it all up. The only thing I miss is the carry-it-everywhere format of the old guide - this is more of a coffee table book.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Patrick Collins
5.0 out of 5 stars A great value introduction to a fascinating, and complex, subject.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 28, 2021
Verified Purchase
Railway history can be complicated, something I've come to learn after a lifetime of interest in the railways of Britain. By comparison, and having had only fleeting visits,, the North American continent's railway history can seem truly bewildering. This excellent book is a great way to familiarise oneself with railway history of the USA, Canada and Mexico. The bulk of the book provides background history to over a hundred major railroad companies (and a few minor ones) and explains the many mergers and takeovers that have taken place over the decades. The book has provided me with several evenings enjoyable reading and continues to be dipped into frequently.
One person found this helpful
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VDL B
5.0 out of 5 stars Un achat qui s’impose pour tous les amoureux de trains US !
Reviewed in France on August 10, 2020
Verified Purchase
Voilà un livre « must have » pour les passionnés de trains nord-américains. Un ouvrage qui permet de comprendre les origines des nombreuses compagnies de chemin de fer en Amérique du Nord, de leurs origines à nos jours... Norfolk Southern, CSX, Burlington Northern and Sante-Fe, Union Pacific, Kansas City Southern... Voilà des noms qui font rêver les passionnés !
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Andy
5.0 out of 5 stars The book has a brief history of over 200 NA ...
Reviewed in Canada on December 11, 2017
Verified Purchase
The book has a brief history of over 200 NA railroads. Most of the railroads come with a network map if possible. For this reason I found it much more enjoyable than Solomon's "North American Railroads: The Illustrated Encyclopedia"
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Cage
5.0 out of 5 stars 北米の鉄道会社ごとの歴史がわかる
Reviewed in Japan on November 28, 2021
Verified Purchase
北米に存在する(した)鉄道会社ごとの歴史を紹介する本。各社ごとに文章のほか路線図と創業期・現在(廃止時)の路線長や車両数の簡単な表、それにだいたい各社1枚の写真という形で約170社を網羅してます。さすが私鉄の国という感じ。

米鉄道雑誌やネットの記事などで知らない鉄道会社が出てきたらこの本で調べるとだいたいわかると思います。北米の鉄道に興味ある人は必携では。

基本的に載ってるのは大手(クラス1と2の一部)で、ヒストリカルガイドというだけに過去の鉄道がメインなので現代の小鉄道などは載ってませんので、その点は注意。
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M. Schütz
5.0 out of 5 stars Eine fundierte und preiswerte Übersicht über die Bahngesellschaften der USA
Reviewed in Germany on September 25, 2014
Verified Purchase
Nach längerer Zeit ist mal wieder ein sehr gutes Buch aus dem Kalmbach-Verlag erschienen, die 3. Ausgabe des "Historical Guide". Auf über 300 Seiten werden 171 verschiedene Bahngesellschaften der USA, Kanadas und Mexicos beschrieben, natürlich alle derzeitigen Class 1-Bahngesellschaften und die wichtigsten früheren Gesellschaften. Auch zahlreiche interessante, schon lange vergangene Bahngesellschaften werden mit Karte, informativem Text und mindestens einem Bild vorgestellt. Der Kalmbach-Verlag kann danei aus dem unerschöpflichen und qualititiv hochwertigen Trains-Fundus schöpfen, so finden sich viele Aufnahmen renommierter Fotografen wir Phil Hastings, Ted Benson oder William D. Middleton.
Sehr gut auch ein Aufsatz über die Geschichte der Bahngesellschaften von Mexico, so etwas ist eher selten zu finden.
Im Übrigen über Amazon ca. 10 € billiger als direkt vom Verlag !
4 people found this helpful
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