Customer Reviews

Atlas of North American Railroads

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book contains lots of maps of railroads, as the title suggests. I'm not intentionally being flippant, but that about sums it up. It is a good historical reference, but sorely lacking as a comprehensive tool for viewing existing lines and rail traffic and railroad ownership. I was a history major, so the history was interesting to me, if sketchy, and it was interesting to see what railroad topography looked like in Florida, for example, in 1810, but again, not useful as a modern tool. I was expecting a railroad atlas, state by state, something like what one would get from AAA for highways. This is not that, just to warn you, but for what the authors intended I'm sure it is excellent.

This is not a typical atlas in the classical definition of the term. Rather the author somehow found maps produced by the several railroads he covers in his book to provide the mapped details of each specific route. This makes it a bit unconventional and some who think every atlas author should provide original maps may well be disappointed. But I like this book. I give the author credit for finding so many different maps. Some actually are available online, but others seem to come from railroad promotional literature (and difficult to find except for true railroad collectors).

The scope of the book is surprisingly broad. Some of the railroads shown here have been defunct for decades. The book has good text and several photos that show lines that many people only know as memories. It covers modern routes that have emerged from buyouts and mergers (i.e., BNSF) but omits Amtrak. This book has good nostalgia value but the maps, regardless of their origin, are quite informative. A good historian can decipher information for any type of source, even old rail route maps. I enjoy reviewing this book and recommend it fully.

Bill Yenne's atlas is mostly a compendium of historical maps -- I don't think there's an original map among the hundred-plus in the book. The majority are railway system maps from the Golden Age of the American passenger railway (ca. 1930-1950), but there's U.S. Army survey maps going back to 1831 (for the Baltimore & Ohio) and modern route maps from 2004 (Canadian National) and 2005 (Burlington Northern Santa Fe). The maps, as you may have gathered by now, are organized by railway system, not by date or region. There are also a number of attractive, but not particularly gripping, photographs of trains on the various lines -- this is a book primarily for the committed enthusiast, not for the curious amateur. Fortunately, as a committed enthusiast of atlases, if not of trains, I found plenty of interest, not least the shift in graphic design over the century and a half covered here. The index is not top notch (no mention of the Empire Builder in it, for example) but fairly serviceable. Not every rail line or company in North America gets coverage, but the vast majority fall either under their own entries or those of their immediate predecessors or successors in the Darwinian chain of rail competition. The entries are terse, but reasonably complete, and some even take time to note, for example, that "Casey" Jones and the City of New Orleans both have the Illinois Central (the former tracks of which run six blocks east of my house) in common. In short, this book is a fine reference work, highly recommended for railroad buffs in need of a comprehensive set of route maps, or map buffs in need of the same.

We're in a time when five major railroads (UP, CSX, Canadian National, Norfolk Southern, and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe) seem to have devoured the old names, and the passing freight now evoke shipping companies rather than the Rock Island or the Western Pacific. I've wanted to see where the old lines used to run, and this book has been the best I've found, if you want to find the old routes of the long-lost Virginian or Pere Marquette railroads.

The capsule histories that adjoin the maps are helpful as well; it's a quick way to learn how the Penn Central went bankrupt or the way that the big modern railroads absorbed the rest. The maps are listed by railroad, seem to cover most of the old companies, sometimes going back to the beginning of rail operations in the early 19th C., rather than state by state as in some atlases. The detail can get kind of tiny but I'm still happy, as a fan of railroad history and lore, that I have this book.

This is supposed to be an atlas but the maps are unreadable. The print is far too small. I got a headache trying to make sense of it. If you want maps that you can read then don't buy this book.

I awaited delivery of this book with some trepidation; what were the chances it would properly cover my three favorite railroads? I need not have worried. Coverage of these is great but I've hardly noticed as there is so much else to read and learn about. I drive many of these [virtual] tracks in MS Trainsim and it's great to see where my tracks fit in to the big picture.
The packaging was very thorough and the book is well produced, of very good quality and the right sized format. I would certainly recommend this atlas to anyone interested in this subject.

Robert Bach
New Zealand

If your interest is geographical and historical this may be an essential book. I have used it along with SPV's volumes covering the Pacific NW and Mountain Plains atlases, and Wikipedia. It takes a little while to learn to read the various maps accurately. There is a huge amount of information in this volume.

If i wanted a historical map atlas, i would have bought one. Take the word atlas off this book. What a waste, unless you are a foamer.

Great read for those who have an interest in the history of railroading. May maps, pictures, and facts about old and new railroads. I would recommend this for any railroad history buffs.

Book was okay, hoped it would have more about the shot line railroads as well.