The Pennsylvania Railroad : A Pictorial History

New York, USA: Bonanza Books, 1967. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Good/Poor. 248 pages b/w photos - Here is the story of America's greatest transportation system told principally in pictures. Never before has the growth and development of an American railroad been so graphically shown by so large a variety of illustrative material. Some 330 reproductions, drawn from the author's vast collection, show rare prints and photographs of early locomotives, equipment, and bridges, old posters, broadsides and tickets, as well as later developments in rolling stock, locomotives, track, stations, and all the features of a great railroad. The text traces the various developmental phases in a lucid and informative way, and includes colorful accounts of the outstanding events in the Pennsylvania's history. That history covers 100 years of continuous service. In the process of American expansion, the Pennsylvania developed and introduced to American railroading many important advances in engineering and services. Mr. Alexander is well known among railroaders for his outstanding achievements in model building and his writing on railroad subjects. He has spent some 20 years in acquiring the many items of PRR history upon which the present book is based. The Pennsylvania Railroad will give enormous pleasure and valuable information to everyone interested in the ever fascinating subject of American railroading, its origins, and its growth. - Part 1: The origin and development of the PRR - Part 2: The building of the PRR - Part 3: Passenger service - Part 4: Freight service, shops, and marine operations - Part 5: Locomotive developments - Part 6: Electrification - Part 7: Some incidents of PRR history - Despite the title and description, this is not just a picture book. The author provides a lot of historical text, which is well written, though a tad dry and lacking in first-hand accounts. Part 1, for instance, provides 20 pages of text and 16 pages of maps, drawings, photos, schedules, stock certificates, and other interesting illustrations. In all, it's about 50/50 for text and pictures. Most of the pictures come 3 or 4 to the page, so you're limited in the detail you get. But this isn't the bunch of stock photos you see in the coffee-table railroading books; some of these truly are rare and fascinating. The PRR wasn't our nation's first railroad, and you could easily argue whether it's the most important. But if you want to learn how the railroads started and grew, this is a great book to read. If you're a railroad buff, give it a try, even if PRR isn't your favourite!