Spirit of America Bookstore

American  Railroads
Page One

Railroad Film Festival Page

on this page: Railroad Links Railroad Museums Class I Railroads Shortline Railroads Trolleys & Light Rail Railroads in Fiction on page two: Railroad History Books on Railroad History Model Railroads

“People on a jet have only been on a trip; people on a train have been on a journey.”
— Ray Bradbury

“There isn't a train I wouldn't take, no matter where it's going.”
— Edna St. Vincent Millay [1892-1950]

Railroad  Links

May 10th is National Train Day in USA [est. 2008]
Federal Railroad Administration of U.S.D.O.T.
Assn. of American Railroads [merged 1934]
TF's Railroad Forum
Mass Transit info at Working Minds / Solutions
Progressive Railroading Magazine
Hoovers Railroad Industry Fact Sheet
Wes Barris's Steam Locomotives website
Rails USA - rail site directory
Steam Locomotive [dot] info website & Lineside Legacy column
Narrow Gauge Preservation Foundation [est. 2000]
Amherst [MA] Railway Society
Railcar Management, Inc. [aka RMI; est 1979]
RailConnect services division of RMI

Classic Trains Magazine subscription at Magaz!nes.com subscribe at Amazon 4 issues/year for $23.50 magazine website

Railfan & Railroad Magazine subscribe at Amazon 12 issues/year for $34.95 magazine website

Trains Magazine subscription at Magaz!nes.com subscribe at Amazon 12 issues/year for $42.95 magazine website

Arizona Rail Passenger Assn.
Train Riders Assn. of California
Rail Passenger Alliance of California
RAILS: New Mexico's Passenger Rail Action Group [est. 1998]

Railroad  Art
railroad-themed artwork at A-Train.com
railroad art by Rod Aszman of San Luis Obispo, CA
browse books by photographer O. Winston Link
O. Winston Link photo posters at AllPosters [dot] com
Don Ingwersen Railroad renderings train art

railroad posters at AllPosters.com
trains posters at AllPosters.com

"Railroad Sunset" [1929] click for larger view 37"x27" poster from Amazon

"Compartment C, Car 293" [1938] click for larger view

"Chair Car" [1965] click for larger view

other art by Edward Hopper [1882-1967]

Railroad  Museums

Association of Railway Museums [est. 1961]
National Railroad Museum [est. 1956] in Green Bay, WI
list of railroad museums & tourist lines at Wikipedia

California Railroad Museum [est. 1976] in Sacramento, CA
Railtown 1887 State Historic Park [est. 1992] in Jamestown, CA
Lomita [CA] Railroad Museum [est. 1966]
Grizzly Flats Railroad [est. 1938]: official website • O.E.R.M. webpages
South Coast Railroad Museum in Goleta, CA
Santa Maria Valley [CA] Railway Historical Museum
San Luis Obispo [CA] Railroad Museum
Laws Railroad Museum near Bishop, CA
Golden Gate Railroad Museum in Fremont, CA
Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, CA
Western American Railroad Museum in Barstow, CA
San Francisco [CA] Cable Car Museum [est. 1974]
Market Street Railway preservation group in San Francisco, CA
San Francisco [CA] Railway Museum [est. 2006]
'Roots of Motive Power' Railroad History Museum in Willits, CA
Pacific Southwest Railway Museum in La Mesa & Campo, CA

official City website • Foundation

North Alabama Railroad Museum in Huntsville, AL
Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum, south of Birmingham, AL
Arizona Railway Museum [est. 1983] in Chandler, AZ
Southern Arizona Transportation Museum in Tucson, AZ
Nevada County Depot [built 1911] & Museum [est. 1978] in Prescott, Arkansas
Georgetown Loop [est. 1884] Historic Mining & Railroad Park in Colorado
Colorado Railroad Museum [est. 1959] in Golden, CO
Connecticut Trolley Museum [est. 1940] in East Windsor, CT
Danbury [CT] Railway Museum [built 1903; est. 1994]
Gold Coast Railroad Museum [est. 1957] in Miami, FL
Southeast Railroad Museum [est. 1970] in Duluth, (Atlanta) GA
Midwest Central Railroad [est. 1960] in Mount Pleasant, IA
Illinois Railway Museum [est. 1941] in Union, IL
Indiana Transportation Museum, north of Indianapolis, IN
Whitewater Valley Railroad operating railroad museum [est. 1972], east of Indianapolis, IN
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum [est. 1953] in Baltimore, MD
The McComb Mississippi Railroad Museum [built 1901; est. 2003]
Water Valley [MS] Casey Jones Railroad Museum [est. 1985]
Frisco Railroad Museum in Springfield, MO
Nevada State Railroad Museum [est. 1980] in Carson City, NV
Friends of the Nevada State Railroad Museum - Carson City, NV
Nevada State Railroad Museum [est. 1996] in Boulder City, NV
Toy Train Depot [built 1898 in Torrance, NM; moved in 1974] in Alamogordo, NM
Clovis [NM] Depot Model Train Museum
New Mexico Rail Road & Transportation Museum in Las Cruces, NM
North Carolina Transportation Museum, between Winston-Salem & Charlotte

Oyster Bay [NY] Railroad Museum
North Carolina Transportation Museum [est. 1977]
Yukon, Oklahoma Railroad Museum
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
South Carolina Railroad Museum [est. 1973] near Columbia, SC
Casey Jones Home & Museum [est. 1965] in Jackson, TN
Southern Appalachia Railway Museum in Knoxville, TN
Eastern Shore Railroad Museum [est. 1988] in Parksley, VA
Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, VA

Canadian Museum of Rail Travel [est. 1976] in Cranbrook, BC
British Columbia Forest Discovery Centre Museum [est. 1965]
Hillcrest Lumber Co. Climax-geared locomotive #9 [built 1915] at B.C. Forest Discovery Centre

National Railway Museum [est. 1968] in York, U.K.
National Railway Museum NE Branch [est. 2004] in Shildon, County Durham, U.K.

Class  I  Railroads
Trains Magazine's Class I Railroad Directory
Class I Railroad entry at Wikipedia
SteelRoads web application site of the Class I Railroads

The seven Class I railroads of America are a monopoly: their combined sales revenue is 91% of all rail freight traffic. The railroad industry took in over $40 billion in 2004. Union Pacific Railroad [est. 1862, U.P./S.P. merger Sept. 1996] Union Pacific Railroad entry at Wikipedia Union Pacific Historical Society [est. 1984] Norfolk Southern Corp. [merged 1982] History back to 1827; formed by June 1982 merger of the Norfolk & Western Railway [1838-1982] and the Southern Railway Company [1894-1982]; acquired elements of Conrail in 1997. Norfolk Southern Railroad entry at Wikipedia C.S.X. Transportation, Inc. [merger 1980] C.S.X. Transportation entry at Wikipedia Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway [est. 1849 & 1859, merger Sept. 1995] purchased by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway for $44 billion in November 2009 Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway entry at Wikipedia Kansas City Southern Railway Co. [est. 1887] Kansas City Southern Railway entry at Wikipedia Kansas City Southern RR Historical Society wholly-owned subsidiary Kansas City Southern de México Kansas City Southern de México entry at Wikipedia The Soo Line Railroad Co. Founded in 1883 as the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic Railway; wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Canadian Pacific since 1990. Soo Line Railroad entry at Wikipedia Soo Line Historical & Technical Society [est. 1970] PN's Soo Line fansite RK's timeline of Soo Line history Grand Trunk Corp. [est. 1852] U.S. subsidiary of Canadian National; since 1995, primarily a holding company for Grand Trunk Western RR, Illinois Central RR, Wisconsin Central RR, the Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific Railway, and Great Lakes Transportation. Grand Trunk Railway entry at Wikipedia Grand Trunk Western RR Historical Society LK's Grand Trunk Railway fansite ... and in Canada: Canadian National Railway [est. 1832, merger 1919, IPO Nov. 1995] Canadian National Railway entry at Wikipedia Canadian National Railway Historic Photograph Archives Canadian National Lines S.I.G.   Canadian Pacific Railway [est. 1881] Canadian Pacific Railway's official heritage website Canadian Pacific Railway entry at Wikipedia

Major  Lines  Merged  Into  Above  Class I  Railroads

Burlington Northern Railroad [1970-1995]
created in 1970 by the merger of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad,
Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railway, and Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway
Burlington Northern Railroad entry at Wikipedia
Friends of the Burlington Northern [est. 1993]

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
est. 1848, merged into Burlington Northern in 1970
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad entry at Wikipedia
Burlington Route Historical Society [est. 1979]

Great Northern Railway
Great Northern Railway entry at Wikipedia
Great Northern Railway Historical Society
LK's Great Northern Railway fansite

Santa Fe [merged into B.N.S.F. 1995]
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway entry at Wikipedia
Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society [est. 1994]

	"All Aboard for Santa Fe: Railway Promotion of The Southwest, 1890s to 1930s" [2005] by Victoria E. Dye Univ NM Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [10/2005] for $16.47
	"Santa Fe: The Chief Way" [2001] by Robert Strein, John Vaughan & C. Fenton Richards Jr. New Mexico Magazine 10x10 pb [9/2001] out of print/used New Mexico Magazine 10¼x10¼ hardcover [9/2001] for $26.37

Southern Pacific Railroad [merged into Union Pacific 1996]
Southern Pacific Railroad entry at Wikipedia
Southern Pacific RR Historical & Technical Society

Wisconsin Central Railway
est. 1871; wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Canadian National since 2001
C.N. official Wisconsin Central history
Wisconsin Central Railway entry at Wikipedia

Shortline  Railroads

American Short Line & Regional Railroad Database
Trains Magazine's Regional & Short Line Railroad Directory
U.P. Railroad's Short Line Railroad Directory
list of railroad museums & tourist lines at Wikipedia
Norfolk Southern Railroad directory of shortlines (by state)
Tourist Railways Information Center
T.R.A.In. - Tourist Railway Assn., Inc.

Shortline  Railroads
Operating  Today
list of active narrow-gauge tourist railroads
The Blanchard Company - marketing & management
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. [est. 1899] - operates 47 shortlines worldwide
Rail America - operates 47 shortlines in U.S. & Canada [est. 1986]
LT's unofficial Rail America fansite
Pinsly Railroad Co. of FL, AR, TX & MA [est. 1938]
American Orient Express™ rail tours [1997]
New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad [est. 1854]
New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway Technical & Historical Society
Terminal Railroad Association [est. 1889] of St Louis, Missouri
Terminal Railroad Assn. of St. Louis Historical & Technical Society

White Pass & Yukon - relics Verde Canyon Railroad [est. 1911] out of Clarkdale, AZ Arizona Eastern Narrow-Guage Railway from Miami/Globe, AZ to Bowie, AZ [est. 1899] Grand Canyon Railway & Resort in Northern Arizona Yosemite Mtn. Sugar Pine Railroad [logger train April thru October] in California Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, CA [Santa Cruz County; est 1963] California Western Railroad 'Skunk Train' = Willits to Fort Bragg [built 1885] Fillmore & Western Railway in Ventura County, CA Pacific Locomotive Association / Niles Canyon Railway [est. 1987] in Fremont, CA Sierra Railroad Co. [est. 1897] in Oakdale, CA Yreka Western Railroad [est. 1887] in NW California San Francisco [CA] Municipal Railway [est. 1912]    Rio Grande Scenic Railroad [built 1878; opened 2006] at Alamosa, CO Durango & Silverton Narrow Guage Railroad [est. 1881] in Colorado Manitou & Pike's Peak Cog Railway [est. 1889] near Colorado Springs, CO Royal Gorge Route Railroad in Cañon City, CO Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railroad Co. Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad [est. 1967] in Colorado Essex Steam Train [est. 1871, re-opened 1971] in River Valley, CT Friends of The Valley Railroad Florida East Coast Railway [est. 1883]: fansite + official website Lahaina, Kaanapali & Pacific Santa Fe Southern Railway [est. 3/1991] in Santa Fe, NM Sumpter Valley Railway narrow gauge [est. 1971] in North Central Oregon Sumpter Valley Heisler-geared locomotive #3 [built 1915] Oregon Pacific Railroad [est. 1987] in Portland, Oregon Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad [est. 1995] Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad Oregon Coast Scenic RR Heisler-geared locomotive #2 [built 1910] Strasburg Rail Road [est. 1832; saved/rebuilt 1958] in Lancaster, PA East Broad Top narrow gauge railroad [est. 1872; saved 1960] of Rockhill Furnace, PA Friends of the East Broad Top RR [est.1983] New Hope & Ivyland Rail Road [est. 1962] of New Hope, PA   Grapevine [TX] Vintage Railroad Bay Coast Railroad [est. 2007] at Cape Charles, VA Green Mountain Railroad [est. 1964] in Bellows Falls, VT Chehalis-Centralia Railroad & Museum [est. 1986] in Chehalis, WA Mt. Ranier Scenic Railroad [est. 1981] in Southwestern Washington State Hillcrest Lumber Co. Climax-geared locomotive #10 [built 1928] at Mt. Ranier Scenic RR Cass Scenic Railroad [built 1900; incorp. 1961] State Park in West Virginia Cass Scenic RR Shay-geared locomotive #2 [built 1928] Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad [est. 1974]    "Cumbres & Toltec: A Photographic Tribute To America's Most Spectacular Scenic Railway" [2007] by Sam Furukawa featuring 237 dramatic photos N.G.P.F. 9x12 hardcover [1/2007] rare copies on Amazon available directly from publisher/printer for $54.45 published by Narrow Gauge Preservation Foundation [est. 2000]    "Ticket To Toltec: A Mile By Mile Guide For The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad" [1976] by Doris B. Osterwald Western Guideways 10¾x8¼ pb [6/92] out of print/used Western Guideways pb [12/76] out of print/used click to enlarge        click to enlarge        click to enlarge click to enlarge        click to enlarge        click to enlarge

	"American Shortline Railway Guide: A Directory of Today's Diverse Small & Medium-Size Railroads - Facts, Figures & Locomotive Rosters For Over 500 Short Lines" [1996] by Edward A. Lewis Kalmbach 5th edition pb [5/96] for $16.47
	"Tourist Trains 2006: 41st Annual Guide To Tourist Railroads & Museums" [2006] from Empire State Railway Museum Kalmbach 8½x5½ pb [3/2006] for $13.45
	Light Iron Digest Magazine [bi-monthly; est. 1999] 'For The Narrow Gauge, Industrial & Shortline Enthusiast' magazine official website direct subscription: 6 issues/year for $26.00

Trolleys,  Interurban  &  Light  Rail  Lines
Edwards Rail Cars Mfg. Co. [est. 1921; re-est. 1998] in Montgomery, AL
Phoenix [AZ] Trolley Museum [est. 1975]
Valley Metro Light Rail System {opening 12/2008} in Phoenix, AZ
Old Pueblo Trolley [est. 1983] operating transit museum in Tucson, AZ
Nevada County [CA] Traction Company [est. 1988]
Bay Area Electric Railroad Assn. [est. 1946] Western Railway Museum in Suisun, CA
San Diego [CA] Trolley [est. 1981]
Bay Area Rapid Transit [launched 1972] of California
JT's Cable Car fansite
historic Waterfront Red Car Trolley Line [re-opened July 2003] in San Pedro, CA
  Fort Collins [CO] Municipal Railway streetcar line [1907-1951; restored 1985]
Connecticut Trolley Museum [est. 1940] in East Windsor, CT
New England Railroad {proposed line from Maine to Montreal, PQ}
Californians for High-Speed Trains Coalition
C.H.S.T.C. 's Proposition 1-A won 53% to 47% in the Nov 2008 election

"Moving Minds: Conservatives and Public Transportation" [2009] by Paul Weyrich & William S. Lind A collection of studies that supports a conservative view that light rail, commuter rail, and intercity rail are good for America Reconnecting America 9x8 pb [2009] out of print/used

Railroad  Film  Festival

      now on a separate page      

Railroads  in  Fiction

	"The U.P. Trail: A Novel" [1918 bestseller] by Zane Grey [1872-1939] 1st World Library 8½x5½ pb [9/2004] for $20.95 Kessinger 9x6 pb [5/2004] for $23.07 Pocket pb [4/91] out of print/used Classic Books hardcover [5/2000] for $49.99 Amereon hardcover [6/40] for $30.95 Blackstone UNABR audio [8/97] 10 tapes for $69.95
	"Atlas Shrugged" [1957 classic] by Ayn Rand [1905-82] John Galt leads an intellectual strike to 'stop the engine of the world', while Dagny Taggart fights bureaucrats and mobs of looters to keep the Taggart Transcontinental Railroad alive. Signet pb [8/96] for $8.99 Plume 9x6 pb [8/99] for $13.60 Dutton 35th Anniv 9¼x6¼ hardcover [3/92] out of print/used Signet 35th Anniv pb [3/92] out of print/used Highbridge ABR audio CD [6/2000] for $23.07
	"Plugged Nickel" mystery novel [1988] by Robert Campbell Speeding thru Nebraska on the California Zephyr, someone pulls the emergency cord and railroad detective Jake Hatch is thrown from the train, landing on a severed corpse. Pocket mass pb [3/88] out of print/many, many used Pocket Book Club hardcover [1988] out of print/used
	"Red Cent" mystery novel [1989] by Robert Campbell A sniper puts a bullet thru the window of a fast-moving diner car, and a man is killed. Railroad detective Jake Hatch needs to find out whether the shooting was random or the victim was intended and the killer a crack shot. Pocket mass pb [2/91] out of print/used Pocket mass pb [1/89] out of print/many used
	"Short Lines: A Collection of Classic American Railroad Stories" [14 stories; 1996] Edited by Rob Johnson B&N Books pb [5/2000] out of print/used St. Martin 9½x6½ hardcover [3/96] out of print/used
	"Parallel Lies" [2001] by Ridley Pearson Ex-cop Peter Tyler is hired to investigate sabotage on the Northern Union Railroad. Hyperion mass pb [7/2002] for $7.99 Hyperion 9½x6½ hardcover [7/2001] out of print/many used Brilliance ABR audio CD [6/2004] for $16.99
	"The Christmas Train" [2002] by David Baldacci Warner mass pb [11/2004] for $5.99 Warner 8¾x5¾ hardcover [10/2003] for $10.36 Warner UNABR audio CD [11/2004] for $10.19
	"On The Wrong Track: A Holmes On The Range Mystery" [2007] by Steve Hockensmith Tired of the cowboy life, the Amlingmeyer brothers take a job as guards for the Pacific Express, and soon are contending with a gang of outlaws, a seductive sufragette, a shady Chinaman, a drunken railroad detective, the King of The Hoboes – and the severed head of the baggage man. Minotaur Books 8¼x5½ pb [1/2008] for $11.01 St. Martin's Minotaur 9¼x6¼ hardcover [3/2007] for $23.95 Tantor Media UNABR audio CD [3/2007] for $26.59
	"Pelican Road: A Novel" [2008] by Howard Bahr On Christmas Eve in 1940, snow drifts down on the rail line between Meridian, Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana as freight 4512 speeds south toward the northbound Silver Star passenger train. MacAdam/Cage Publrs pb [DUE May 2009] for $11.20   MacAdam/Cage Publrs 9x6½ hardcover [6/2008] for $16.50

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Spirit of America Bookstore's American Railroads Pages

here on page one:   Museums • Class I RRs • Shortline RRs • RRs in Fiction • Links

on page two:   RR History • Narrow Gauge • Historic Rail Lines • Books
Model RRs • Live Steam • Lionel

Spirit of America Bookstore's Railroad Film Festival Page

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