American Passenger Trains and Locomotives Illustrated (Great Passenger Trains) |
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Author:
Mark Wegman
By Voyageur Press
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price: $35.00
Our Price: $21.94
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Product Description
The period from the 1890s to the mid-1950s is generally considered the "golden era" of passenger rail travel in America. It was a time of celebrated locomotives and luxurious passenger service, a time when rail technology saw its greatest advances and railroads became the nation's favored mode of transportation. These glory years come alive in American Passenger Trains and Locomotives Illustrated, 1889-1971. For this volume, author and illustrator Mark Wegman has researched original railroad drawings and in some cases even paint chips to render more than 160 profiles, front and top views, and interior layouts depicting the steam, diesel, and electric locomotives, along with passenger cars, of three dozen of the nation's most celebrated trains of the golden age. Accompanying the author's drawings are histories of each train, period photographs, postcards, menus, luggage stickers, vintage print ads, and detailed captions. The book is a lavishly appointed journey back in time to the bygone heyday of passenger-train travel.
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Train picture book hits the buffers, 2009-01-02
Having seen Mark Wegman's stunning train illustrations I thought a book full of them would be a must-have. Well, the book does contain 180 but unfortunately it also contains a lot of other photos of trains so that, to my mind, it becomes just another bland train picture book.
Because Wegman's art is far superior to the photos in the book I would have thought, editorially, the illustrations should be as big as possible but some of the loco photos are bigger and they are, unfortunately, just repeating Wegman's work. He has produced profiles of the locos, front, back and from above, the carriages are profiled and looking down on the interiors. The detail and care that has gone into these illustrations is very impressive.
The photo repetition just seems so unnecessary. Page ninety-five has an almost profile color shot of Southern Pacific's Daylight and over the page is Wegman's classy looking profile illustration but smaller than the photo. Page ninety-one has profile art of Seaboard's Silver Meteor and over the page there is a large photo of the same unit, page eighty-nine has an illustration and a photo of the front of Chicago & North Western's: The 400. All this is just pointless duplication, probably to pad out the pages.
Another problem with the book is the dull presentation and thoughtless design. Many pages have empty space as if some image has been left out or the copy fell short. Several pages use period railroad ads which are far too small to read but could easily have been larger and so readable. The photo quality varies enormously as one would expect but this only throws up the quality of all the train illustrations.
There are only eight spreads that just have Wegman's artwork plus technical specs and these pages look terrific. If only the book just contained his art it would have lifted it way above most railroad picture titles and I might have been prepared to pay a bit more for it, too.
Incidentaly the book's cover might give you the impression that inside it only has beautiful color illustrations but as my review explains that is not the case.
***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
Coffee table book., 2009-01-02
I bought this book over the holiday season to add to my rail library. This book is OK but that is the best I can rate it. What actual pictures there are is quite good however, most of the pictures are graphic art illustrations that were fairly well done. We were expecting more photos from the early reviews on the book.
The information in the text was less detailed than I like on many of the subjects covered within. Overall it a so-so addition to any railfan's library.
American Passenger Trains and Locomotives Illustrated (Great Passenger Trains), 2009-01-01
Desire a vacation but can't afford to take a trip? This book is just what is needed to refresh the memories of train lovers. I highly recommend the volume as one with which the reader will spend many happy hours.
You'll look at this gem over and over., 2008-11-12
On an impulse when old-time (pre-Amtrak) railroads popped into my mind, I purchased this book. It has quickly become one of my all-time favorite impulse purchases. Beautifully illustrated with full-color side-views of several dozen classic American passenger trains, the book also features floor plans of selected railroad cars (sleepers, lounges, diners, domes, etc.), archival photos, period magazine advertisements, and reproductions of menus from some of the classic dining cars.
The book covers the period from about 1910 to 1970, when the government's consolidation of the surviving passenger lines into the Amtrak system ended the golden age of the American passenger train. Brief but informative text describes each train, its unique design features, it's builder, it's dimensions, its typical configuration, and its purpose and route.
This is a book that will appeal to the rabid railroad enthusiast, the middle-aged or elderly person who remembers riding the rails as a youth, and the younger person who wonders what it was like to travel via the railroads before the dominance of the high-speed jet airliner.
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 385.33097309041
EAN: 9780760334751
ISBN: 0760334757
Label: Voyageur Press
Manufacturer: Voyageur Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 160
Publication Date: 2008-11-17
Publisher: Voyageur Press
Studio: Voyageur Press |
