Customer Reviews

20th Century Limited (Great Trains)

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The 20th Century Limited comes alive in this fascinating book and I guess Karl Zimmermann has now written the definitive story. Well researched and fortunately not overloaded with too much technical detail that spoils some other railroad books. I'm interested in anything streamline and chapter four, 'Henry Dreyfuss' Elegant Streamliner' explains how he created this railroad icon, not just the stunning engine shrouding but the livery, interior carriage design, tableware, printed graphics, in fact everything throughout the train to the final logo plate on the back observation carriage. Needless to say the train was a hit from day one but would it have been if Dreyfuss had not been involved and the New York Central staff, who clearly knew how to run a railroad, created the new train, probably not.

Visually there is plenty of lovely period graphic material to look at, ads, menus, renderings of the carriage interiors designed by Dreyfuss, timetables and brochure covers. As usual with historical railroad books I find that the photo selection is not as rigorous as it should be, predictably, several here could be left out because they are not sharp enough or have a soft focus, the layout also is rather pedestrian, with photos butting into each other, inefficient cropping and a lack of a thin keyline round the photos to stop white sky merging with the whiteness of the paper. A pity because I would have expected the elegance of the train to be reflected in the presentation, rather than just look like another bland railroad book. A bibliography would have been useful, too.

The 20th Century Limited was the classiest of the great streamliners and a wonderful example of creative styling for which America has become rightly famous. Karl Zimmermann's text will help you relive the experience.

FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

For anyone who's a railroad buff or simply interested in all facets of United States history (of which railroads are an integral part), I just can't recommend this book enough. It is a historical document - looked at not only in technical terms but also in terms of how this train fit at various times into the popular and economic culture of this country. Covering the train from its humble beginnings, through its heyday as the "most famous train in the world", to its sad demise in the 1960's and even beyond (touching on Amtrak's current involvement in the lake shore route as well as what happened to much of the old 20th Century equipment), this is an extremely interesting book that's not overly dry and comes off as comprehensive but not overwhelming.

I also can't say enough about the visual materials included - photos, pages of old brochures, postcards, dining car menus, car floor plans, etc. There is just a wealth of stuff to look at, all of it relevant, much of it beautiful and if not then at least incredibly interesting. It's obvious that a great deal of effort went into gathering materials for this book and it shows.

There is not a bad thing to say about this book - if anything, you'll wish there were just a few more pages, but that's more a testament to the quality of what's there than a commentary on what might be missing.

Karl Zimmermann did a wonderful job with this book. Photos are plentiful, pictures of brochures and ads are inserted amongst the pictures. The book does a good job of conveying what it must have been like to ride the 20th Century Limited.