Modern Trains and Splendid Stations: Architecture, Design, and Rail Travel for the Twenty-First Century [Paperback]

Art Institute of Chicago (Compiler), Martha Thorne (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2003

Examines modern trains and railroad stations in North America, Europe, and Japan, providing histories, photographs, and a look into the future of the railway industry.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The iron horse is currently experiencing a renaissance. Concomitant with the old nag's rejuvenation, new train stations are going up, mostly, but not exclusively, in Western Europe and Japan. This album showcases those stations in conjunction with a current exhibit at Chicago's Art Institute. The modern train station is here critiqued in accessible prose, not in architectural jargon, just as the buildings themselves purport to welcome travelers, not intimidate them. Across the varied designs, one discerns a commitment to light and structural lightness: Lisbon's Oriente Station features a vaulting train shed that mimics the nave of a Gothic cathedral. Another common feature is the accommodation that stations make to high-speed trains, most avidly by builders in France, Germany, and Japan. Designers of the few new station projects in the U.S. also flex their blueprints for the day, if ever, when this country gets with the high-speed program. This book, along with the editor's informed elucidation, makes a contemporary architectural trend visible and exciting. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Martha Thorne is Associate Curator of Architecture at The Art Institute of Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Merrell Publishers (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1858941490
• ISBN-13: 978-1858941493
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,651,289 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The reading list of any railroad buff, December 5, 2002

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Trains and Splendid Stations: Architecture, Design, and Rail Travel for the Twenty-First Century (Paperback)

Compiled and edited by Martha Thorne (Associate Curator of Architecture at The Art Institute of Chicago), Modern Trains And Splendid Stations is a wonderfully descriptive and impressive collection of photographs showcasing inner-city railroad travel stations in North America, Europe, and Japan. Gorgeous color pictures, railway station histories, and an informed and informative wealth of background information on each spotlighted railway make Modern Trains And Splendid Stations an enthusiastically recommended title for personal and academic Architectural Studies, as well as a welcome contribution the reading list of any railroad buff.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Editorial, August 9, 2003

By 

Fernando Ärias - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Trains and Splendid Stations: Architecture, Design, and Rail Travel for the Twenty-First Century (Paperback)

In my thesis research on railway architecture, this book has been a delightful read. My opinion is that the "meat" of the book is in the essay written by Thorne, "Renaissance of the Train Station."

She covers pertinent points about the historical experience of railway travel and its development as an infrastructure. Her comments are well developed and informed of timely events. Wessner and Phillips expand on the development of the infrastucture in Europe, Asia and the United States respectively.

I was very pleased with the coverage of the projects as well, and have made this volume a keystone of my architectural library.