From the railways to the locomotives that ran on them, this collection of books with great illustrations will educate you on the decisions and forces that guided the construction of rail systems in. It also includes information on locomotives inherited by cn from the grand trunk, the canadian northern and other constituent lines. However, although england had early adopted a standard gauge of 4 ft 8. Travel in russia the gauge of history christmas specials. Stovers american railroads traces their history from the first lines that helped eastern seaports capture western markets to todays newly revitalized industry. This is the definitive reference book for anyone who is interested in the history of the first twofootgauge railway in the united states.
Using historical freight traffic records, recent research has shown that the conversion to standard gauge. Originally, various track gauges were used in the united states. After considerable debate and planning, most of the southern rail network was converted from 5 ft 1,524 mm gauge to 4 ft 9 in 1,448 mm gauge, then the standard of the pennsylvania railroad, over two days beginning on may 31, 1886. Discover the best history of railroads in best sellers. Ian marchant is a comedian, bookseller and novelist and the author of parallel lines or journeys on the railway of dreams in which he examines the history of the british railway and meets those.
Looking for a good book about the transcontinental railroad. List of books and articles about railroad history online. Chartered in 1832, its first section opening in 1841, the eries promoters and early engineers believed it would be so busy that wider gauged tracks would be required for locomotives much larger and. Mansfield appeared on the scene and sold them on a. The author, christian wolmar, also provides some background information about railroads in britain early in the book, because steam trains originated in that country. Stover describes the growth of the railroads monopoly, with the consequent need for. It covered in mostly readable fashion an extremely important element of american history. Tolstoys anna karenina meets vronsky at a railway station at the beginning of the novel and ends her life.
Hirail layouts are the new rage in o gauge layout building. In 1886, the southern railroads agreed to coordinate changing gauge on all their tracks. Bhi publications publishes railroad photo books intended for use by manufacturers and modelers. Oahus narrowgauge navy rail by jeff livingston arcadia. The socalled standard gauge 1,435 mm, the 5 ft gauge 1524 mm, later redefined as 1520 mm in the countries of the soviet union, which is generally compatible with trains built for the 1524 gauge, the 5 foot 3 inch gauge 1600 mm used in ireland and northern ireland, and the iberian gauge 1,668 mm used on the iberian peninsula. Adams wrote this book, a meditative reflection on medieval culture, well after his historical masterpiece, the history of the united states of. Learn more about railroad history with this selection of books available in the museum store. Dk eyewitness book trainstory of railroads on the rail books. Apr 15, 2008 a fascinating account of the rise, decline, and rebirth of railroads in the united states, john f. Jan 01, 2012 the great railroad revolution is a history of trains in the united states from their beginnings to the present day. Train is a wonderful book for young readers that want to know about the origin, history and development of locomotives and railroads. The standard gauge is also called stephenson gauge after george stephenson, international gauge, uic gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and european gauge in europe.
From the railways to the locomotives that ran on them, this collection of books with great illustrations will educate you on the decisions and forces that guided the construction of rail systems in their early history. Now, the only broadgauge rail systems in the united states are some city transit systems. As we know, this great nation would not have grown and prospered as it did without the railroads, which brought together the young country and allowed for unprecedented prosperity. Most tracks use a standard gauge of 1,435 mm 4 ft, 8 12 in. Mont saint michel and chartres is a book written by the american historian and scholar henry adams 18381918.
It contains original scholarship and fresh interpretations that set the standard in railway research. Finally, by the terms of the rail passenger service act 1970, a national railroad passenger corporation was created to operate virtually every intercity passenger rail line in the united states. Discover librarianselected research resources on railroad history from the questia online. Known as amtrak, the quasipublic agency reduced the number of intercity passenger trains by one half in its first year of operation, retaining. Rail gauge simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The british and us railway gauge standardization history is explored in the. It is the most widely used railway track gauge across the world, with approximately 55% of the lines in the world using it. Sep 15, 2014 us navy rail operations on oahu began in 1908 with construction railroads used to help build the shipyard. Effects of the southern gauge change edit using historical freight traffic records, recent research has shown that the conversion to standard gauge instigated a large shift of northsouth freight traffic away from coastal steamships to allrail carriage. List of books and articles about railroad history online research. This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series. We have plucked from obscurity 30 fascinating books most of them outofprint about railways from cairo to new south wales to yosemite encompassing engineering, history, industry, photography, policing. The history of rail transport in mauritius began in the 1860s. As railways developed and expanded, one of the key issues was the track gauge the distance, or width, between the inner sides of the rails to be used. The mauritian rail network was quickly built and it soon provided service to most of the island. In a famous episode, an american engineer, walton w.
Narrow gauge railways and locomotives 9 historic books. The united states international trade commission usitc has initiated its current industry and trade summary series of reports to provide information on the rapidly evolving trade and competitive situation of the thousands of products imported into and exported from the united states. A standard gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of 1,435 mm 4 ft 8 1. The new york and erie railroad was originally 6 ft 1,829 mm gauge, and spawned a regional network of other six foot gauge railroads within new york state. However, in the mid1880s a standard gauge of 4 ft 8 1 2 in.
Lucius beebes 20th century describes the history of new york centrals crack streamliner. The northern pacific railroad, the sioux, and the panic of 1873 by m. Us navy rail operations on oahu began in 1908 with construction railroads used to help build the shipyard. The gauge of a railroad is the distance between the inside vertical surfaces of the head of the rail. Alternatively, please write to us at rail books the old cinema, fishmarket road rye east sussex tn31 7lp united kingdom to contact us by telephone, please call 0208 648 7328 10. Browse our images of rail series, which showcases the history of railroads, trolleys, and. The men who built the transcontinental railroad 18631869 nov 6, 2001.
Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Alternatively, please write to us at railbooks the old cinema, fishmarket road rye east sussex tn31 7lp united kingdom to contact us by telephone, please call 0208 648 7328 10. It was a key factor in the socioeconomic development of mauritius during its period of operation. To get in touch with rail books, please complete the form below to send us an email. This is the definitive reference book for anyone who is interested in the history of the first twofoot gauge railway in the united states. The golden age lasted from roughly the 1880s until the. Rail gauge is the distance from the inside of one rail on a railroad track to the inside of the other. The reverse side has rail data such as model material sizes, grade percent table all scales, locomotive whistle and horn signal and 4 other charts. Narrow gauge the story of the boston revere beach lynn railroad. History of rail transportation in the united states wikipedia. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our favorite reads in. A standard track gaugethe distance between the two railsenables.
The gauge of a railroad is the distance between the inside vertical surfaces of. As railways developed and expanded, one of the key issues was the track gauge the. Following are the factors affecting the choice of a gauge. I wish he had included more about the railroad experience of countries other than the united kingdom. Over a period of 36 hours, tens of thousands of workers pulled the spikes. Rail travel occupies the same place in russian culture as the road trip in america. From the early days of steam engines, to the development of steam and diesel locomotives and the heyday of rail travel, both the technical.
How would oshaoccupational safty and health administration say about the. Expansion of pearl harbor to include the submarine base and the naval magazine on kuahua island required a permanent railroad, which was begun in 1911. American railroads the chicago history of american civilization by john f. Wider gauges are called broad gauge 1676mm, smaller gauges are called narrow gauge 762mm or 610mm. The big four railway companies lms, lner, southern railway and gwr with its iconic swindon works and the beginnings of british rail are all explored. American communities in the age of rail line abandonment, eastern united states joseph p. Different railways used different gauges, and where rails of different gauge met a gauge break loads had to be unloaded from one set of rail cars and reloaded onto another, a timeconsuming and expensive process. New arrivals model railroad books, rail books, train books, railroad dvds, railroad maps, trucolor paint and other hobby items about american railroad history at discount at arizona hobbies has received within the last 90 days. The american railroad in the nineteenth century by. The narrow gauge railroad arrived in the united states in the late nineteenth century. When the massachusetts towns of bedford and billerica clamored for a railroad, george e. Batterdale books buys and sells secondhand books on british and overseas railways, canals, trams and buses, and industrial history.
Laying the rails five feet apart and accounting for two inch wheels and a bit of leeway, the resulting space between the rails, or the rail gauge, was four feet eight and a half inches. Railroad history in the united states is nearly as old as the country itself, dating back to the mid1820s. Wider gauges are called broad gauge1676mm, smaller gauges are called narrow gauge762mm or 610mm. The different gauges can broadly be divided into the following four categories. Here are carefully selected articles, photographs, and art. Gauge, also called railway gauge, in railroad transportation, the width between the inside faces of running rails. Despite these setbacks, historian john stover notes in his book, the routledge historical atlas of the american railroads, the u. The great railroad revolution is a history of trains in the united states from their beginnings to the present day. This is the gauge with which steam railroading began, and it became the common gauge of britain, north america, and western europe except for. Covers over 90 years of california slim rail history, from the grading of the nevada county narrow gauge in 1875 to the latterday u. The document was created as a result of a colorado state historical fund grant awarded to colorado state parks for the purpose of preparing a historic context that would assist in evaluation and planning efforts related to railroad abandonments and potential railstotrails conversions. Railroads, the pioneers building americas transportation backbone, and more.
Sundance publications publisher of railroad books with an emphasis on colorado narrow gauge history szwajkart books and videos producer of the train watchers guide books for chicago, st. Railroads played a significant role in the overall development of colorado. Because the cost of construction and operation of a rail line is greater or less depending on the gauge, much controversy has surrounded decisions in respect to it, and a proliferation of gauges has developed throughout the world. The author is a brit, and there were times when this viewpoint was an asset in the book and some times a weakness. If at all bored as a yearold in york, id take the train to london, sitting in my trainers and jeans. The narrow gauge railways and locomotives book collection is a collection of 9 late 19th century books about great about narrow gauge rail. The stable block, crowood lane, ramsbury marlborough, wiltshire sn8 2hr, uk tel. A fascinating account of the rise, decline, and rebirth of railroads in the united states, john f. The gauge of a railway track is defined as the clear minimum perpendicular distance between the inner faces of the two rails. Apr 16, 2001 the united states standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8. Track gauge in the united states news newspapers books scholar jstor december 2019.
George stephenson, who built the first practical steam locomotive in england, laid his rails based on the width of coal wagons. On one side is the picture of palisades in the snow and the 1983 calendar. This is the gauge with which steam railroading began, and it became the common gauge of britain, north america, and western europe except for spain, portugal, and ireland. The book is full explanations accompanied with color and black and white pictures of locomotives, signals stations, electric interurbans and all manor of items related to railroads. Bessettes rods down and fires dropped and john stovers history of the illinois central railroad. Everything was by the book, and increasingly complex set of rules told everyone exactly what they should do it. Coronavirus covid19 update rail books is operating normally and we are currently able to dispatch orders to all uk addresses and most overseas destinations, although our delivery agents are advising that deliveries may take a little longer than usual. Canadian railway history books canadian national steam power by anthony clegg and ray corley, 1969, railfare enterprises ltd, is the authoritative source of information on cns steam locomotives.
Collectible railroad books the car might be king today but thousands of devoted writers have ensured the railroads will never be forgotten. While i was reading this book i wondered what the big regulatory agencies would say about this railroad. However, due to persistent unprofitability from 1948 to 1953, it was finally closed in. History of rail transport in mauritius project gutenberg. The building of the canadian pacific railway railfare books fifth house omer lavallee.
The united states standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8. How would oshaoccupational safty and health administration say about the open gears, smoke pollution, living conditions etc. Mansfield appeared on the scene and sold them on a new, inexpensive way to build one. First stop, the largest model train exhibit in the country, the new jersey hirailers 185 x 45foot layout operating 38 trains against a backdrop of museum quality scenery. New arrivals railroad books rail books railroad dvds. Stover a fascinating account of the rise, decline, and rebirth of railroads in the united states, john f.
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