Customer Reviews

Atlantic Coast Line Passenger Service: The Postwar Years

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Ah, for the good old days of the passenger train! This book brings it all back. New York City's classic Penn Station (regretably demolished from 1963 to 1966, but that's another story) was the beginning of many a winter journey from the frigid Northeast to warm, sunny Florida, and the Atlantic Coast Line was the way to go! (Those who went via the Seaboard Air Line Railroad may take exception to that statement, but, once again, that's another story.) This book relives these halcyon days.

This book shows it all, from the revolutionary Champion to the lowly local and the mixed train which handled freight as well as passenger traffic. The text is easy to read; photographs are plentiful and of good quality. A roster of postwar passenger cars is included as well as representative consists of the passenger trains themselves.

This book is a good read and should be in the library of anyone who nostalgically remembers the American pre-Amtrak passenger train.

This is a simply wonderful book. From 1946, when the Atlantic Coast Line railroad (ACL) unveiled its new streamlined passenger trains, to 1971 and Amtrak's assumption of passenger train service, this is the source for photos, facts and fun.

From the cover, a heartwarming painting of two ACL "Champion" trains meeting each other near a crossing (with rival Seaboard Coast Line train lurking in the background), to the specs and color plates that conclude the volume, this is a class act all the way.

But no more a class act than the ACL itself. This was a company that actually enjoyed running passenger trains, and the many black-and-white photos that grace this album bear this out. The ACL was always striving to improve its customer service. Postwar, the top trains such as the New York to Florida "Champions" carried passenger service reps; in the early Sixties, passengers were diverted with such onboard activities as fashion shows(!) and bingo. Further into the Sixties, when many other prominent railroad companies were trying to kill off passenger service or allow it to deteriorate by not maintaining its equipment, the ACL (and rival SCL) kept its stuff in top-notch working order and the customer's satisfaction paramount. Standards stayed high even after the "friendly enemies" SAL and ACL merged into SCL in 1967.

Author Larry Gooslby wisely divides the book into specific "eras," including the transition from steam to diesel-electric locomotives, early postwar service, mature postwar service (including ACL's reliance on rival SCL to get its trains into Miami in the wake of a prolonged strike by the Florida East Coast Railway), and the effect of Amtrak.

This book will appeal to the committed railfan as well as the nostaligic. We get a good feel here for where ACL's passenger equipment (or "rolling stock") came from, why they didn't all belong to the ACL (because the NY-FL route required two other railroad companies to the north to complete the route); and where, in peak season, "borrowed" or rented passenger equipment came from routes as far away as the Union Pacific. Not to mention all those great photos of ACL passenger trains in action!

I cannot recommend this book highly enough; it is well worth its premium price. A similar book that is also lots of fun is BY STREAMLINER NEW YORK - FLORIDA, which unfortunately is available only used.

Goolsby's book offers both intensive and extensive information about ACL service, with charts, photographs, and extremely interesting and informative narratives about passenger train service from the 1940's up to the time of Amtrak. For aficianados of passenger train service in the South, this book is a must.

This is an exceptional book covering passenger service during the post war period. Photos are great and the author is known for his detailed research. If you study the ACL this book is a must have for your library. Allen

Mr. Goolsby's book presents a very comprehensive review of the Atlantic Coast Line's passenger train operations from the end of WWII to Amtrak. The book is richly illustrated and it extensively uses company records, which together give an in depth behind the scenes look at ACL's passenger train service. It should be noted that despite the ever increasing competition from the highways and the airlines, ACL's and successor SCL's passenger trains were a class act right to the end. I still enjoy the ride to Florida aboard Amtrak and Mr. Goolsby book just adds pleasure to my trip.

A major work on the passenger trains and streamliners of the ACL.A wonderful mix of art,photos,and history on the ACL. Anyone whos an Atlantic Coast Line Railroad enthusiast will treasure this book!