Streamlined Passenger Train 101

[overall]

I am looking for a good book on passenger cars of the streamliner era. Sleepers, diners, coaches, tavern-lounges, domes, etc with car floor plan diagrams and technical details on them too. I would also like it to have a glossary on common passenger car terms like "compartment " and "section". I was 14 years old when the streamliner era ended in 1971, so I am woefully ignorant of true, in depth, passenger train knowledge. My train riding was confined to about one trip a year between Birmingham, Alabama and Nashville, Tennessee on the Pan-American and, later Amtrak's Floridian. The Floridian was discontinued in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter. I'm looking for "Streamlined Train 101", I guess. Can anyone recommend something?

 

Thanks in advance

 

George

[cnwfan51]

There  are any number of books videos and  DVDs on this subject the number is almost mind boggling They can divided by Railroad, Region ofthe country  or by specific trains  There were limiteds locals streamliners and trains that handled only the U S Mail and Express So you see its kind of a broad question  Let me know if I can help point you in the right Direction    Larry

[Anonymous]

Yes, the number of books is mind-boggling. But also you can profit from the timetables and official guides-- those---plus large books---are  needed to get the complete picture you want. It is a mammoth task.

 Should  you have any very specific questions , you might want to ask  them on this board, such as, What  time did the so and so leave whereever in 1958 and how many pullmans did it have? Such as that.  But the material is massive. If you subscribe to anything like TRAINS Magazine, you might check the ads, and the classified ads in the back for old issues of books, timetables, etc.People who sell railroadiana.

Tomorrow  I will try to bring in some titles and authors names just to help you get  started.  Perhasp others can do the same.

[passengerfan]

The fifteen Volume Pullman Standard Library is excellent but many are now out of print and are quite costly. The seven Volume Budd and AC&F Passenger car set is still available. These books have scale plans of each type car and are almost the bible of the streamline passenger train era.

[Anonymous]

A good one  is "Classic American Streamliners" by Mike Scaeffer and Joe Welsh. "Domeliners" by Patrick C. Doran,  "Coach Trains and Travel" by Dorin, "Union Pacific Streamliners" by Ranks, Kratville,  "Some Classic Trains" and "More  Classic Trains" by Arthur D. Dubin, "Atlantic Coast Line Passenger Service" by Larry Goolslby, "New York Central Great Steel Fleet" by Doughty.

[Anonymous]

Domeliners: Yesterday's Trains of Tomorrow by Karl Zimmermann is

The Vista-Dome North Coast Limited: The Story of the Northern Pacific Railway's Famous Domeliner by William R., Jr. Kuebler is a great book of incedible depth to an NP fan.

 

[al-in-chgo]

Domeliners: Yesterday's Trains of Tomorrow by Karl Zimmermann is

The Vista-Dome North Coast Limited: The Story of the Northern Pacific Railway's Famous Domeliner by William R., Jr. Kuebler is a great book of incedible depth to an NP fan.

 

Definitely want to give the heads-up to the above.  Just wanted to make sure you don't feel you have to buy everything out there that may (or may not) have a lot to say directly to your interest.  Even from used-book stores or railfan conventions or thru alibris or amazon third-party sellers or such, even used, many of these beautiful books require(d) the production standards of any good "art book" and aren't cheap.

I'd recommend you familiarize yourself with your local public (if in college, college) library.  If you have definite notions about books you'd like to see (sticking to out-of-print books might help), you can often get some free help from the interlibrary loan people at such libes.  What's more fun than borrowing something for free that came from further away than you would care to go? 

And, although it has been implied if not stated, you would probably want to restrict your research to time as well as to line.  If you're studying anything streamlined, you might want to start with the 1934 Pioneer Zephyr, the first corrugated-clad trainset that I know of, i.e., "streamlined."  If instead you want to research the conventional equipment in "lightweight" (that's the term they used in the Forties and Fifties) form, stainless corrugated, you might want to restrict yourself to 1948 up to the mid-to-late fifties; that's when most of the stainless-streamlined equipment was delivered by carmakers such as Budd. 

OTOH you might want to go all the way to Amtrak's inaugural on May 1, 1971 and even beyond, since Amtrak (after some years using "heritage," i.e., used from the prior private-passenger ops) has developed and put on line newer types of equipment.  Amtrak's sleeping cars in particular have gone high-rise; they're using (usually) "Superliners" on the western roads, shorter but still higher-than-traditional "Viewliner" sleepers on eastern lines with their tight tunnels and frequent catenary wire to contend with.  The Superliners in particular are configured a good deal differently from the 10-roomette, 6-(dbl) bedroom cars so typical of post-World War II equipment. But some of Amtrak's newer equipment remains a close copy of some high-rise equipment the ATSF introduced in, IIRC, the late fifties - mid sixties.  I'm  throwing in the example of Santa Fe not to confuse things, just to show that pre-Amtrak the passenger-carrying railroads numbered in the dozens, even restricted to long-distance intercity carriers with such deluxe equipment.  The scene was too open, and the passenger trains far too plentiful, for the industry as a whole to go lockstep from one generation of equipment to another, though trends are certainly apparent.

Good luck, take it slow, and decide for yourself ahead of time how much you want to expend in time as well as money.  The more patient you are, probably the more definitive your results will be and cheaper, too.   -  a. s.

 

[Joe Hohmann]

A recent book is "Travel By Pullman", a Borders exclusive for only $12.99. Over half the book covers streamliners. A very nice book for the money. Joe

[erikem]

A probably long out of print book is Amtrak Car Diagrams put out by Wayner Publications in '75 or '76 (it includes the Amfleet cars). The book contains exterior elevation drawings with dimensions, floor plans and some text on several dozen cars used by Amtrak in the early years.

A copy of the Car Builder's Cyclopedia from say 1940 to 1960 would provide quite a bit of technical details on passenger car construction (or Train Shed Cyclopedia No.16). Another good book is The American Railroad Passenger Car by John White, though it covers the period from 1830 to a bit after 1970.

I'd also second Joe's reccommendation of Travel by Pullman, a very nice book for the price.

[M636C]

 

I can only second the recommendation for Arthur Dubin's "Some Classic Trains" and "More Classic Trains". These books give photos of many individual cars, and compostions of the streamliners at the time of writing. They include trains from the wooden era through heavyweight steel to streamliners and while they might not be definitive on a particular train, they give excellent detail across the board, and are much more than just a collection of photos.

 Possibly the best summary in book form of passenger trains in existence.

M636C 

[al-in-chgo]

A recent book is "Travel By Pullman", a Borders exclusive for only $12.99. Over half the book covers streamliners. A very nice book for the money. Joe

 

Thanks for the tip, Joe!  Sounds like something I could really use myself!  - a.s.

 

[espeefoamer]

 

I can only second the recommendation for Arthur Dubin's "Some Classic Trains" and "More Classic Trains". These books give photos of many individual cars, and compostions of the streamliners at the time of writing. They include trains from the wooden era through heavyweight steel to streamliners and while they might not be definitive on a particular train, they give excellent detail across the board, and are much more than just a collection of photos.

 Possibly the best summary in book form of passenger trains in existence.

M636C 

Both of these books are out of print and will pring a hefty price but are well worth it.

[al-in-chgo]

 

In April 2007 Indiana University Press of Bloomington, IN  (iupress.indiana.edu) published THE TRAIN OF TOMORROW by Ric Morgan.  (IU Press publishes a goodly amount of books on RR history.)  It retailed at $49.99 but IU Press currently has it on sale for $35.00, no tax for non-Indianans, but shipping applies. 

Here's what I copied from the book's description:

Complete history of the Train Of Tomorrow from concept to rescue ". . . Drawing on the extensive records of the General Motors Corporation as well as books, newspapers, and interviews, Morgan (writer and photographer) meticulously chronicles the design, exhibition tours, passengers, eventual sale of the train to the Union Pacific Railroad, and the subsequent consignment to the scrap yard." -Choice "Ric Morgan's research and manuscript on the subject certainly support his claim that he is in love with the Train Of Tomorrow. He has compiled an extraordinarily detailed history of the Train Of Tomorrow in words and photographs." -William F. Howes, Jr. The Train Of Tomorrow was a concept train built by General Motors to promote the sales of diesel locomotives by its Electro-Motive Division. It featured a newly crafted dome car, the brainchild of Cyrus R. Osborn, general manager of EMD at the time. Completed in 1947, the four-car train became a postwar symbol of American know-how and promised a bright future for the railroads. That same year the train began a 28-month tour of the United States and Canada, and then was sold to the Union Pacific, which put the cars into daily service. In the mid-1960s, the cars were sold for scrap and believed lost. This book restores the Train Of Tomorrow to its rightful place in history. It includes nearly 200 photographs, drawings, and documents, as well as the diary kept during its inaugural tour. Ric Morgan is a speaker, writer, and photographer. He lives in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. View Table of Contents Series: Railroads Past and Present Distribution: worldwide Publication date: 4/9/2007 Format: cloth ISBN-13: 978-0-253-34842-5 ISBN: 0-253-34842-0

Related Categories:History » American Railroads and Transportation » History By Catalog Season » 2007 - Spring By Series » Railroads Past and Present