Books on Trains Free – Books on Railroads PDF

CORE BOOKS – Railroads, Trains

Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad – Transcontinental Railroad Book PDF Free

Bain, David Haward

Viking 1999

After the Civil War, the building of the transcontinental railroad was the nineteenth century’s most transformative event. Beginning in 1842 with a visionary’s dream to span the continent with twin bands of iron, Empire Express captures three dramatic decades in which the United States effectively doubled in size, fought three wars, and began to discover a new national identity. From self–made entrepreneurs such as the Union Pacific’s Thomas Durant and era–defining figures such as President Lincoln to the thousands of laborers whose backbreaking work made the railroad possible, this extraordinary narrative summons an astonishing array of voices to give new dimension not only to this epic endeavor but also to the culture, political struggles, and social conflicts of an unforgettable period in American history. Transcontinental Railroad was completed, what is Transcontinental Railroad.

Hear that Lonesome Whistle Blow: Railroads in the West – American Railroad History Book PDF

Brown, Dee A.

Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1977

Hear that Lonesome Whistle Blow unspools the history of the beginnings of the American railroad system. By the mid-nineteenth century, settlers in Missouri and California were separated by a vast landscape that dwarfed and isolated them, conquerable only by “the demonic power of the Iron Horse and its bands of iron track.” Although the building of the great railroad is commonly known as a story of romance, adventure, and progress, it also has a dark side, as profiteers decimated American Indian tribes, exploited workers, and destroyed ecosystems. Despite this, by the turn of the twentieth century, five major railroads would span the continent. This account vividly illustrates the railroad builders’ breathtaking skill, ambition, and ingenuity. . Brown compellingly tells a high-stakes tale, an exhilarating history that still holds lessons for today. First trains in U.S.

All Aboard! The Railroad in American Life – Books on Railroads in American History PDF

Douglas, George H.

Paragon House 1992

America has grown up with the railroads. As they grew, so did the country. From an agrarian land of isolated communities, the railroads linked the vast distances and ushered in the industrial transformation. All Aboard! relates a social history of the railroad.
From the pioneering efforts of the first steam engines to the magnificent iron horses of the gilded age, the railroad played a decisive role in the settlement and civilization of the West, the Civil War, suburbanization, the creation of a national economy, and even the standardization of time zones. The railroad was also America’s first big business and had its seamier side. Railroads in history books.

Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service – Books on Trains PDF

McCommons, James

Chelsea Green 2009

During the year of 2008 journalist James McCommons spent a year on America’s trains, talking to the people who ride and work the rails throughout much of the Amtrak system. Organized around these rail journeys, Waiting on a Train is equal parts travel narrative, personal memoir, and investigative journalism. The question: Why has the greatest railroad nation in the world turned its back on the very form of transportation that made modern life and mobility possible?

The Transcontinental Railroad – – Transcontinental Railroad Book PDF Free

Streissguth, Thomas

Lucent 2000

Completed in 1869, the transcontinental railroad fulfilled the long-held vision of a single transportation and trade route across the North American continent. Skilled engineers and laborers built the railroad, while devious speculators on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts maneuvered to profit by it. This book describes the design, financing, and construction of one of the largest engineering projects in history. Transcontinental Railroad was completed, what is Transcontinental Railroad.

Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America – – Transcontinental Railroad Book PDF Free

White, Richard

Norton 2011

This original, deeply researched history shows the transcontinentals to be pivotal actors in the making of modern America. But the triumphal myths of the golden spike, robber barons larger than life, and an innovative capitalism all die here. Instead we have a new vision of the Gilded Age, often darkly funny, that shows history to be rooted in failure as well as success.
A Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize: “A powerful book, crowded with telling details and shrewd observations.” —Michael Kazin, New York Times Book Review. Transcontinental Railroad was completed, what is Transcontinental Railroad.

Blood, Iron, & Gold: How the Railways Transformed the World – Books on Railroads PDF

Wolmar, Christian

Public Affairs 2009

The opening of the world’s first railroad in Britain and America in 1830 marked the dawn of a new age. Within the course of a decade, tracks were being laid as far afield as Australia and Cuba, and by the outbreak of World War I, the United States alone boasted over a quarter of a million miles. From Panama to Punjab, from Tasmania to Turin, Christian Wolmar shows how cultures were enriched, and destroyed, by one of the greatest global transport revolutions of our time, and celebrates the visionaries and laborers responsible for its creation.

The Call of Trains: Railroad Photographs – Books on Railroads PDF

Lackmann, Ron

Facts on File 2000

Free Railroad Books PDF – Collection – PDF Books on Railroads in American History

Free online books at the Internet Archive on Railroads. Some titles: A Social History of Mexico’s Railroads, Railroads in the African American Experience, Trains: the history of railroads, Virginia Railroads in the Civil War, Pictorial History of North American Railroads, The Men Who Built the Railroads, Model Trains: railroads in the making, History of the Western Railroads, A History of Railroads in Michigan, Historical Atlas of American Railroads, Train-Watcher’s Guide to North American Railroads, The Iron Horse and the Windy City, many more. Free railroad books online.

Railroad Travel Books – Collection – Trains Books PDF

Books free online on the subject of Railroad Travel. Includes fiction. Some books: Baedeker’s Rail Guide to Europe, Exploring America by Rail, Trans-Canada Rail Guide, On the Rails around Britain & Ireland, Japan by Rail, Train Journeys of the World, Amtraking: a guide to enjoyable train travel, A Rail Journey Around Australia, North American Train Attractions for Kids of All Ages, Railroads and the American People, many more. Free railroad books online.

Railroad History Books – Collection – Books on Railroads PDF

More than 1,000 free books about railroad history. Titles include: Super Steam Locomotives, Historical Atlas of World Railroads, World of Trains, Railways Past Present and Future, History of Trains, Fifty Railways that Changed the Course of History, more.

Street Railroads (Tramways) – Collection

Free books about street railroads, (tramways, trolleys). Some titles: Pennsylvania Trolleys in Color, Toy and Model Trams of the World, Ilkeston & Glossop Tramways, The Interurban Era, British Trams : A Pictorial Survey, Source Book of Literature Relating to Tramways in North Lancashire & Cumbria, Dublin’s Trams, Edinburgh Trams : The Last Years.

Collection – UK Railways History Books – Railroads in History Books PDF

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. Vintage railroad books pdf.

Collection – Historic Railroad Periodicals – Old Railroad Books PDF

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. Vintage railroad books pdf.

Rules Governing Employees of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Co. – Old Railroad Books PDF

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

Richmond, VA: Mitchell & Hotchkiss 1907

Rules and Regulations for Conductors and Motormen – Railroad Books PDF

Western Ohio Railway Co. 1905

Standard Train Rule Examination – Trains Books PDF

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. Vintage railroad books.

Notes on Railroad Accidents – Books on Railroads in American History Free PDF

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. Vintage railroad books.

The Story of the First Trans-continental Railroad … – Books on Railroads in American History PDF Free

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.

Experiments on Rail Roads, in England … – Railroads in History Books PDF

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 – Books on Railroads in American History Free PDF Download

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). Vintage railroad books.

Student Course in Railroading – Old Railroad Books PDF

Southern Pacific Company (Pacific System) 1914

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

History of the First Locomotives in America … – Books on Railroads in American History PDF

From Original documents, and the testimony of Living Witnesses

Brown, William H.

NY Appleton 1874

When Railroads were New – Books on Railroads PDF

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. Vintage railroad books.

Railroad Construction – Trains Books PDF

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 – Trains Books PDF

Dewnsnup, Ernest Ritson, ed.

Chicago: University of Chicago 1906

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

How We Built the Union Pacific Railway – Books on Railroads in American History PDF Free

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. Vintage railroad books pdf.

Freight Terminals and Trains – Old Railroad Books PDF

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). Railroads in history books.

Passenger Terminals and Trains – Old Railroad Books PDF

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). Railroads in history books.

Locomotive Catechism – Steam Train Books PDF

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. Railroads in history books, steam train books.

Railroad Transportation, its History and its Laws – Steam Train Books PDF

Hadley, Arthur T.

Putnam 1886

Thorough exhaustive discussion. – A.L.A.Catalog 1904. Railroads in history books.

Efficient Railway Operation – Steam Train Books PDF

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. Railway history books.

Electric Railway Engineering – Train Books PDF

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). Railroads in history books.

Letters from an Old Railway Official … – Steam Train Books PDF

To his Son, A Division Superintendent

Hine, Charles DeLano

Chicago: Railway Age 1904

Boys’ Book of Railways – Books on Railroads PDFh3>

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. Railroads in history books.

American Railway Transportation – Steam Train Books PDF

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. Railroads in history books.

Practical Treatise on Railways, explaining their Construction and Management… – Railroads in History Books PDF Free Download

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. Railroads in history books.

Railroad Freight Transportation – Steam Train Books PDF

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). Railroads in history books.

The Working of the Railroads – Vintage Railroad Books Free Download

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. Railroads in history books.

Railroad Administration – Vintage Railroad Books

Morris, Ray

NY: Appleton 1910

Train Operation … – Vintage Railroad Books

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 – Books on Railroads in American History

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. Railroads in history books.

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 – Railroads in History Books

Phelps, Edith M., comp.

H. W. Wilson 1919

See the description under the first volume with this title, above. Railroads in history books.

Every Boy’s Book of Railways and Steamships – Railroads in History Books

Protheroe, Ernest

London: Religious Tract Society 1911

Collection of Railroad Timetables – Vintage Railroad Books

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

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.” Railroads in history books.

Collection of Track Charts and Diagrams – Vintage Railroad Books

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 – Railway History Books

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. First Trains in U.S.

The Strategy of Great Railroads – Railway History Books

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 – Books on Railroads in American History

Starr, John William Jr.

NY: Dodd, Mead 1928

The book consists mostly of brief histories of numerous railroad companies. First Trains in U.S.

Railway Track and Track Work – Railway History Books

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 – Railway History Books

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, First Trains in U.S.

A Brief Review of Railroad History from the Earliest Period to the Year 1894 – Railroads in History Books

Wilson, William Hasell

Philadelphia: Allen, Lane & Scott 1895

The Economics of Railroad Construction – Vintage Railroad Books

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 – Vintage Railroad Books

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 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 USA.

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 – Railroad Maps of USA

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.

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.