The American Railroad Freight Car: From the Wood-Car Era to the Coming of Steel [Hardcover]

Professor John H. White Jr. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0801844045 | ISBN-13: 978-0801844041 | Publication Date: October 1, 1993

• From the former Curator of Transportation at the Smithsonian Institution • Illustrated with 530 photographs, drawings, and engravings • Includes plans, diagrams, and detailed specifications for model-builders • 665 oversized pages in a handsomely jacketed hardcover or specially priced paperback edition In this sequel to his best-selling American Railroad Passenger Car, John White forever changes the freight car's lowly image. Including hundreds of historical photographs and detailed blueprints, The American Railroad Freight Car establishes the sophistication and expertise that marked the development of freight cars in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Along with an overview of freight transportation's historical importance, White offers detailed accounts of technological developments and examines lesser known aspects of everyday freight service such as yard management, train operations, and the origins of the interchange system.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The humble railway freight car, "a brawny, toil-hardened vehicle ready for the long haul," transformed America between 1830 and 1910 by carrying the nation's goods cheaply and expeditiously. Full of the romantic appeal of trains, and boasting hundreds of rare photographs, sketches, blueprints and documents, this monumental study focuses on the construction and design of freight cars but also delves into yard operations, rate wars, work hazards and more. In an unprecedented phenomenon in the history of U.S. business, the interchange system permitting the free exchange of cars among rival railroad lines unified rail transport, shows the author. The replacement of wood-framed cars by steel cars around 1890 ushered in a freight revolution and pitted Charles Schoen, pioneer of the steel freight car, against crafty steelmaker Andrew Carnegie. Smithsonian curator White has produced a treasure trove for railroad buffs, historians and students of technology.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

White, a historian emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution, has written the definitive work on the American railroad freight car, at least up to 1910. This massive work (32 cm. high) is a companion piece to the author's The American Railroad Passenger Car ( LJ 6/1/78), and it is done with the same care and thoroughness. The book is primarily technical in nature, with many drawings and details of construction. As such, it is an excellent reference work, of invaluable help to historians, railroad enthusiasts, and model railroad hobbyists. However, the author also includes excellent chapters on the economics of freight cars and railroads in the 19th century. Locating the data for this book was difficult; few primary sources were available, and journals provided much of the data. The photographs give good illustrations of the freight cars and the times. This is essential for historical, railroad, engineering, and hobby collections.
- George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 656 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (October 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801844045
• ISBN-13: 978-0801844041
• Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 10.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,086,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is no other comparable book on freight cars., October 25, 2010

By 

Demosthenes - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The American Railroad Freight Car: From the Wood-Car Era to the Coming of Steel (Paperback)

The author, John H. White, Jr., was for many years the curator of land transport at the Smithsonian Museum. His knowledge of the subject matter is encyclopaedic, and he clearly loved his work. This monogram, and its two volume companion on the American Railroad Passenger Car, stand alone as books of their type. Well organized. Endlessly informative. It is very, very rare to find railroad publications that have been written by authors with the level of academic training in science, history, logical argument, and writing ability found in these works. Highly insightful explanations of the evolution of technology.

Ultimately, these books are labours of love, and it shows.

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-have for model railroaders!, November 2, 2011

By 

Tracy McKibben (Eden Prairie, MN, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The American Railroad Freight Car: From the Wood-Car Era to the Coming of Steel (Paperback)

If you're a model railroader who scratchbuilds or kit-bashes freight cars, you NEED this book. It is jammed full of photos and information about early freight cars. There are cars in here that I'd never heard of before. Detailed photos and diagrams of brake systems, trucks, wheels, frames, you name it.

9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars settting a standard for railroad history writing, October 10, 1999

By 

Thomas Hempel (Redwood City, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Railroad Freight Car: From the Wood-Car Era to the Coming of Steel (Paperback)

These books are unusual in their focus on the history of technology, explaining how it works, and how it changed over time. It gives a comprehensive account of the development of these cars with many fine pictures.