Railroad Books PDF – Railroad History – Trains Books Free

Collection – UK Railways History Books

34 Items

A free online collection compiled by a researcher at HathiTrust, who noted that these books are “likely to be of interest to those doing research into UK railways”. Nearly all were published from the 1830s to the 1860s.

Collection – Historic Railroad Periodicals

2,300 Items; ca. 1880-1980

This free online collection at HathiTrust contains numerous issues from a variety of railroad periodicals as well as government reports, books, and other publications.

Rules Governing Employees of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Co.

in Effect January 1, 1899. Issued in Accordance with the Recommendation of the American Railway Association

Richmond, VA: Mitchell & Hotchkiss 1907

Railroad books free download pdf.

Rules and Regulations for Conductors and Motormen

Western Ohio Railway Co. 1905

Standard Train Rule Examination

For the use of Trainmasters, and other examining officers, in the examination of Trainmen, Enginemen, Towermen and Telegraph Operators

Toledo: Collingwood 1914

9th edition. Contains 700 questions about rules, and the proper answers fully explained.

Notes on Railroad Accidents

Adams, Charles Francis Jr.

NY: Putnam’s Sons 1879

Chapter headings: 1. The Death of Mr. Huskisson, 2. The Angola and Shipton Accidents, 3. The Wollaston Accident, 4. Accidents and Conservatism, 5. Telescoping and the Miller Platform, 6. The Versailles Accident, 7. Telegraphic Collisions, 8. Oil-tank Accidents, 9. Draw-Bridge Disasters, 10. The Norwalk Accidents, 11. Bridge Accidents, 12. The Protection of Bridges, 13. Car-Couplings in Derailments, 14. The Revere Catastrophe, 15. Rear-end Collisions, 16. Novel Appliances, 17. The Automatic Electric Block System, 18. Interlocking, 19. The Westinghouse Brake, 20. The Battle of the Brakes, 21. The Railroad Journey Resulting in Death, 22. The Railroad Death-rate, 23. American as Compared with Foreign Railroad Accidents.

The Story of the First Trans-continental Railroad …

Bailey, William Francis, comp.

Bailey 1906

(title continued) ” …Its Projectors, Construction and History”

The story of the Union Pacific Railroad. Chapter headings are: 1. The Project and its Projectors, 2. The Proposition in Congress, 3. Mostly Financial, 4. Commencement of the Work, 5. Progress Made, 6. Indian Troubles during Construction, 7. The Builders, 8. Completion of the Line, 9. The Kansas Division (Kansas Pacific Ry), 10. The Denver-Cheyenne Line (Denver Pacific R.R.), 11. History of the Line since its Completion, 12. The Central Pacific Railroad, Appendix. Transcontinental Railroad was completed, what is Transcontinental Railroad. Railroad history book pdf.

Experiments on Rail Roads, in England …

Illustrative of the Safety, Economy and Speed, of Transportation, which this System, as now Improved, is Capable of Affording

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company

Baltimore: Wooddy 1829

Electric Railway Transportation

Blake, Henry W. and Jackson, Walter

McGraw-Hill 1917

“Few, if any, of the many books on electric railways deal with the transportation methods and practices in such details as this one. Consequently, its field of interest extends beyond that of the engineers interested in the design of electric railway equipment to that of all engineers who have anything to do with electric railways.”
– Standard Catalog for Public Libraries: Science and Useful Arts (1931). Railroad pdf download.

Student Course in Railroading

Southern Pacific Company (Pacific System) 1914

Sections of the course are: General Course, Operation and Maintenance, Passenger and Freight Traffic, Accounting, General Information, Bibliography. English railroad books pdf.

History of the First Locomotives in America …

From Original documents, and the testimony of Living Witnesses

Brown, William H.

NY Appleton 1874

When Railroads were New

Carter, Charles Frederick

NY: Holt 1909

“Story of railroad beginnings in the United States, giving the genesis of the great lines and the development of the features that are now so familiar, and recalling the romance and vicissitudes of early railroad history.” -A.L.A.Catalog 1904-11
Chapter headings: 1. The Dawn of the Railroad Era, 2. America’s Pioneer Railroad, 3. Early Days on the Erie, 4. Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Railroad, 5. Genesis of the Vanderbilt System, 6. Incubator Railroads, 7. The First Transcontinental Railroad, 8. Through Tribulation by Rail, 9. Romance of a Great Railroad.

Railroad Construction

Crandall, Charles Lee and Barnes, Fred Asa

NY: McGraw-Hill 1913

Railway Organization and Working; A Series of Lectures delivered before the Railway Classes of the University of Chicago

Dewnsnup, Ernest Ritson, ed.

Chicago: University of Chicago 1906

Lectures, all by different people, cover a wide variety of topics.

How We Built the Union Pacific Railway

Dodge, Grenville M. (Major General)

Washington: GPO 1910

The author was Chief Engineer, Union Pacific Railway, 1866-1870. Transcontinental Railroad was completed, what is Transcontinental Railroad.

Freight Terminals and Trains

Droege, John A.

McGraw-Hill 1912

Subtitle: “Including a revision of “Yards and Terminals”.
“A clear and comprehensive presentation based on experience, from the viewpoint of officers and constructional engineers.”
– A.L.A. Catalog (1926).

Passenger Terminals and Trains

Droege, John A.

McGraw-Hill 1916

“A somewhat technical work describing various types of way stations and terminals for passenger use, with train operation, baggage and other service.” – A.L.A. Catalog (1926).

Locomotive Catechism

Grimshaw, Robert

Henley 1905

Subtitle: “A complete treatise on the locomotive, containing 1,600 questions and their answers, covering the design, construction, repair and running of all kinds of locomotive, being intended as examination questions for engineers, firemen, and all other railroad men.”. Old steam power engineering book, locomotives book.

Railroad Transportation, its History and its Laws

Hadley, Arthur T.

Putnam 1886

Thorough exhaustive discussion. – A.L.A.Catalog 1904.

Efficient Railway Operation

Haines, Henry Stevens

NY: Macmillan 1919

Chapter headings: 1. Evolution of the Railway, 2. Railway Efficiency, 3. Motive Power, 4. Rolling Stock, 5. Roadway. Part I: Substructure, Part II: Superstructure, 6. Traffic, 7. Transportation, 8. War Time, 9. Operation, Appendices, Bibliography, List of Railroads and Railways.

Electric Railway Engineering

Harding, C. Francis and Ewing, Dressel D

McGraw-Hill 1916

“Designed as a college text and as an electrical railway instruction and reference book. Authors are [1926] respectively professor, electrical engineering and professor, electric railway engineering, Purdue University.”
– Standard Catalog for Public Libraries: Science and Useful Arts (1931).

Letters from an Old Railway Official …

To his Son, A Division Superintendent

Hine, Charles DeLano

Chicago: Railway Age 1904

Railroad history books pdf.

Boys’ Book of Railways

Howden, Joseph Russell

Stokes 1910

“Comprehensive survey of railway history and management, treating passenger and freight matters in separate sections. illustrations cover the whole range of rolling stock, from famous American “fliers” to a Chinese coal-car. Though written for older boys, of equal interest to men.” – A.L.A.Catalog 1904-11.

American Railway Transportation

Johnson, Emory B.

Appleton 1903

Describes existing system, discussing questions of ownership, management, monopoly and competition, rates, fares, relations with state, etc. Bibliographic references. – A.L.A.Catalog 1904.

Practical Treatise on Railways, explaining their Construction and Management…

With numerous woodcuts and ten plates: being the article “Railways” in the seventh edition of the Encylopedia Britannica

LeCount, Peter (Lieut.)

Edinburgh: Black. 1839

This book is about trains and all aspects of railroad operations in Britain rather than America, but is a useful guide to railroad operations as they were in the 1830s. Chapter headings are: -Preliminary observations – arrangements before commencing the works., -Preparation of working drawings, and specifications for contracts., -Mails, carriages, waggons, horse-boxes, etc., -Buildings at stations, and apparatus., -Duties of Engine-men, and necessary regulations along the line., -Description of engines, and methods of working them., -Annual expenses of railways., -Great western railway reports., -System of direction and management., -History of locomotive engines., -Explanation of the plates., -List of railways, when Act was passed, and amount of money raised, or authorized to be raised.

Railroad Freight Transportation

Loree, Leonor Fresnel

Appleton 1926

“Deals with all phases of loading, distribution of cars, movement of engines and trains and handling of men as related to transportation.”
– A.L.A. Catalog (1926).

The Working of the Railroads

McPherson, Logan G.

NY: Henry Holt 1907

Chapter headings are: 1. The Transportation Function, 2. Construction and Operation, 3. Traffic, 4. Accounting and Statistics, 5. Financial and Executive Administration, 6. Correlation, 7. Integration, 8. Relations to the Public and the State.

Railroad Administration

Morris, Ray

NY: Appleton 1910

Train Operation …

A Treatise on Train Rules, train orders, change of time table, automatic block signals, interlocking, examination questions and answers

Nichols, William

Rochester, NY: Brown 1916

Selected Articles on Government Ownership of Railroads

Phelps, Edith M., comp.

H. W. Wilson 1914

In the first decades of the 20th century publisher H.W. Wilson produced many volumes in its Debaters’ Handbook Series on social and political issues that were under discussion at the time. Each book contains the full text of selected articles and documents representing opposing views on the issue, along with a substantial bibliography of books and articles.

Most of the books mentioned in these guides are likely to be freely available online. Search by title; first at the Internet Archive (archive.org), then at HathiTrust.org. Referenced magazine articles may also be available online at the same sites, with HathiTrust the preferred site for magazines.

Selected Articles on Government Ownership of Railroads Vol II

Phelps, Edith M., comp.

H. W. Wilson 1919

See the description under the first volume with this title, above.

Every Boy’s Book of Railways and Steamships

Protheroe, Ernest

London: Religious Tract Society 1911

Collection of Railroad Timetables

Rails and Trails.com

Various publishers and years of publication

“Trains were governed by timetables. Public timetables listed passenger train schedules. Employee timetables had detailed information necessary to operate a train on that section of railroad.”
– Rails and Trails.com. Books on trains for adults. Railroad pdf download.

This “Rails and Trails” webpage has links to a number of timetables in each of these categories. Descriptions are quoted from the webpage.

– Employee Timetables
“Detailed information needed to work on a division of the railroad.”

– Public Timetables
“Schedules of passenger trains, usually for the complete system. Often includes map, ticket prices, travel and railroad information.”

Collection of Track Charts and Diagrams

Rails and Trails.com

Various publishers and years of publication

“Railroads published track charts and diagrams showing track details including stations, switches, crossings, bridges, tunnels, signals, elevation and curvature. These are helpful in understanding and modeling specific railroad lines.” – Rails and Trails.com
This webpage has links to numerous examples of diagrams in each of these categories. Descriptions are quoted from the webpage.
– Straight Line Track Diagrams – Grade Profiles The railroad as the engineer sees it. Often includes bridges, sidings, stations, grades and curvature. Sometimes includes maintenance and signaling information, orientation map of areas covered.”
– Side Track Charts/Diagrams “Covered areas with sidings in greater detail. Often labeled with their use, construction and abandonment dates.”
– Locomotive, Car and Building Diagrams
– Property/Valuation Maps
“Very detailed drawings of the railroad, buildings and property. Often submitted to the Interstate Commerce Commission for valuation or notification/approval of changes.”
– Documents Describing Diagrams
– Links to other websites with extensive online diagrams.

The Railway Builders: A Chronicle of Overland Highways

Skelton, Oscar D.

Toronto: Glasgow, Brook 1920

Chapter headings: 1. The Coming of the Railway, 2. Early Travel in Canada, 3. The call for the Railway, 4. The Canadian Beginnings, 5. The Grand Trunk Era, 6. The Intercolonial, 7. The Canadian Pacific – Beginnings, 8. Building the Canadian Pacific , 9. The Era of Amalgamation, 10. The Canadian Northern, 11. The Expansion of the Grand Trunk, 12. Sundry Developments, 13. Some General Questions, Bibliographical Note.

The Strategy of Great Railroads

Spearman, Frank H.

Scribner’s Sons 1906

“A volume illustrating the field of railroad competition. The various subjects treated are the Vanderbilt lines, the Pennsylvania system, the Harriman lines, the Hill lines, the fight for Pittsburg, the Gould lines, the Rock island system, the Atchison, the big Granger lines (St. Paul and Northwestern), the rebuilding of an American railroad, the first trans-continental railroad, the early days in railroading. – Bookman.

One Hundred Years of American Railroading

Starr, John William Jr.

NY: Dodd, Mead 1928

The book consists mostly of brief histories of numerous railroad companies.

Railway Track and Track Work

Tratman, E. E. B.

Engineering news 1908

General principles with numerous details of material, appliances and work, and methods of practice, with drawings. Various subjects treated critically and descriptively. – A.L.A. Catalog 1904.
232 illustrations.

The Story of the Railroad

Warman, Cy

NY: Appleton 1906

Chapter headings: 1. The Origin of the Idea, 2. Early Explorations nd Surveys, 3. The Building of the Road, 4. The Tombs of the Trail Makers, 5. The Meeting of the Rails, 6. A Brush with the Sioux, 7. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, 8. The Seer of the Santa Fe, 9. Life in a Grading Camp, 10. Peopling the Great American Desert, 11. The Road Reaches the Rockies, 12. The Invasion of New Mexico, 13. The Grand Canon War, 14. Incidents of the Early Days, 15. The Denver and Rio Grande, 16. The Northern Pacific, 17. The Canadian Pacific, 18. Road Making in Mexico, 19. The Opening of Oklahoma, 20. The Railroad Engineer, 21. At the Front, 22. The Railroad and the People, 23. The Beginnings of the Express Business, 24. The West To-day. Transcontinental Railroad was completed, what is Transcontinental Railroad,

A Brief Review of Railroad History from the Earliest Period to the Year 1894

Wilson, William Hasell

Philadelphia: Allen, Lane & Scott 1895

English railroad book pdf.

The Economics of Railroad Construction

Webb, Walter Loring

NY: Wiley 1906

Chapter headings: Part I: Financial and Legal Elements of the Problem, 1. Railroad Statistics, 2. The Organization of Railroads, 3. Capitalization, 4. The Valuation of Railway Property, 5. Estimation of Volume of Traffic
Part II: Operating Elements of the Problem, 6. Operating Expenses, 7. Motive Power, 8. Economics of Car Construction, 9. Track Economics, 10. Train Resistance, 11. Momentum Grades
Part III: Physical Elements of the Problem, 12. Distance, 13. Curvature, 14. Minor Grades, 15. Ruling Grades, 16. Pusher Grades, 17. Balancing Grades for Unequal Traffic.

How to be a First Class Trainmaster

Three prize articles and selections from fifteen competitors’ articles on the employment, instructions and discipline of men and the other duties of a first class trainmaster

Wildman, C. B. et al.

NY: Railroad Age Gazette 1909

Railroad pdf download.

Railroad Maps of USA

Collection of 51 maps by various publishers showing railroad networks in the U.S., created from the mid-19th to the early 20th centuries. Collection hosted by Yale University Library.

Railroad Maps of Canada

Collection of 26 historic maps of railroad networks in Canada by various publishers, mostly created in the late 19th and very early 20th centuries. Collection hosted by Yale University Library.

Railroad Maps of the Western United States

Online collection of 32 maps showing railway networks in the western U.S., from various publishers. Maps were created from the middle of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th centuries. Collection hosted by Yale University Library.

Railroad Maps of USA 1828-1900

A collection of 623 maps that show “internal improvements” during the 19th Century around the U.S. At least 560 of the maps show railroads. Various publishers. Collection hosted by the U.S. Library of Congress. Railroad maps of USA.