A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946: Volume 1: The Mid-Atlantic States (Creating the North American Landscape) [Hardcover]

Richard C. Carpenter (Author)

Book Description

Series: Creating the North American Landscape | Publication Date: August 7, 2003

A pair of gleaming rails embedded in a farmhouse driveway. A wooded cycling trail that traces an oddly level path through suburban hills. An abandoned high fill that briefly parallels the interstate. Today, little remains of the vast network of passenger and freight railroad lines that once crisscrossed much of eastern and midwestern America. But in 1946, the steam locomotive was king, the automobile was just beginning to emerge from wartime restrictions, passenger trains still made stops in nearly every town, and freight trains carried most of the nation's intercity commerce.

In A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946, Richard C. Carpenter provides a unique record of this not-so-distant time, when traveling out of town meant, for most Americans, taking the train. The first volume of this multivolume series covers the mid-Atlantic states and includes detailed maps of every passenger railroad line in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. When completed, the series will provide a comprehensive atlas of the U.S. railroad system at its post-World War II high point—a transportation network that many considered the finest railroad passenger system in the world.

Meticulously crafted and rich in detail, these hand-drawn color maps reveal with skilled precision—at a scale of 1 inch to 4 miles (or 1:250,000)—the various main and branch railroad passenger and freight lines that served thousands of American towns. The maps also include such features as long-since-demolished steam locomotive and manual signal tower installations, towns that functioned solely as places where crews changed over, track pans, coaling stations, and other rail-specific sites.

Currently, there exists no comprehensive, historic railroad atlas for the U.S. This volume, with its 202 full-scale and detail maps, is sure to remain the standard reference work for years to come, as will the others to follow in the series.

Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker

Surely one of the most appealingly eccentric publishing ventures of the year, this volume of maps was begun by Carpenter, a railroad enthusiast, more than a decade ago. Using colored inks to represent the various local rail companies, he has set about drawing by hand—down to the last coaling tower—the 254,037-mile United States railroad network as it was in 1946. The system was then at its height, swelled by wartime gasoline rationing and not yet depleted by the rise of highway and air transport. This first volume stretches northwest from Grand Central to North Girard, on the shores of Lake Erie (served by the New York Central Railroad), and southwest down to Anthras, Tennessee (on the Southern Railway). The next three volumes in the series will cover New England, the Great Lakes, and the South, after which, if Carpenter's colored inks have not yet run dry, he may expand his project westward.
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

Review

A labor of love... nothing short of a miracle. I looked at it again last night, and it took my breath away. It's the kind of work that only a gang of monks would consider undertaking. It really is fabulous.

(Fred Rasmussen Baltimore Sun 2004)

In this first of several volumes, Carpenter looks at the Mid-Atlantic states with painstakingly drawn quadrant maps showing station names, mileposts, interlocking stations, coaling stations, track pans, tunnels, viaducts, and bridges... An enthusiast can cross-reference locations to visit even if the rails themselves are pulled up.

(Trains 2004)

Surely one of the most appealingly eccentric publishing ventures of the year.

(The New Yorker 2005)

The year 1946 was, in short, a pinnacle of American railroading, as Dick Carpenter '55 notes in his new book, A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946 Volume 1: The Mid-Atlantic States, which sets out, with admirable directness and startling scope, to map every aspect of railroading in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

(Brian Doyle Boston College Magazine 2005)

This is a fascinating volume for the railroad buff, those interested in the interrelationship of railroads and American history, or those merely investigating the bridge or tunnel in their town from what is now a ghost railroad.

(American Reference Books Annual 2005)

A vital tool in understanding the layout of the rail network in the Northeast.

(Peter E. Lynch Penn Central Railroad 2005)

Carpenter's work will be welcomed by railroad enthusiasts but will also help anyone trying to understand or reconstruct rail presence in urban or rural areas. Highly recommended.

(Choice 2009)

The atlas is the work of Richard Carpenter: 220 hand drawn maps—a piece of craftsmanship at once so distinctive, and also so useful, it instantly reveals the sterility of computer-generated maps.

(Charles Fishman Fast Company )

The most detailed resource ever produced on the American railway system.

(Chris Iseli Baltimore Magazine )

A labor of love... Mr. Carpenter's hand drawn maps speak for themselves... Railroad professionals and enthusiasts will like this book because it is so comprehensive.

(John F. Baesch The Portolan )

Proof that inspiration can result in something astounding... a treasure that any rail enthusiast or casual historian will enjoy.

(Scott Bogren Rail )

What a task! 328 pages, with 202 meticulously crafted four-color maps.

(The Keystone )

The detail is fantastic... A railfan could spend hours pouring over the maps in this hardbound book.

(S Gaugian / Sn3 Modeler )

This book justifies its price in being essential to understanding the complexities of American railroading, signalling and otherwise.

(The Signalling Record )

A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946 could be considered an inspired work of visionary art.

(John Lewis Baltimore Magazine )

A fascinating work documenting railroad facilities... at a time when they still mattered, both economically and culturally.

(Gregory L. Thompson Journal of Transport History )

Carpenter knows railfans, and his multi-color atlas of rail lines as they stood in 1946 will keep them up into the wee hours... So extensive is Carpenter's work that the 276 maps and drawings included in this 360-page Volume 3 covers only Indiana, Lower Michigan and Ohio.

(Steve Goddard History Wire - Where the Past Comes Alive )

It is an amazing piece of work, especially the level of detail. It's a treasure tove of obscure information... It answers questions that you didn't even think to ask.

(Maury Klein, University of Rhode Island )

This will be the finest railroad atlas ever published. Carpenter has invented his own style of cartography. Artistically, it's a beautiful product. Not only does Carpenter's work have no close competitors, its value actually will be enhanced by using it in conjunction with other data sources... This is a splendid piece of work, a labor of love for the author, no doubt, and truly a gift for anyone interested in the industrial landscape of the recent past.

(John C. Hudson, Northwestern University )

Without exception, I have found these maps to be completely accurate. They have been drawn in a very clear and appealing manner, so that any reader will understand exactly what the railroad plant looked like in 1946—immediately following the peak of World War II operations.

(Richard B. Hasselman, Senior Vice President of Operations, CONRAIL (retired) )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (August 7, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801873312
• ISBN-13: 978-0801873317
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #853,903 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Railroad Atlas, Ever, September 11, 2003

By 

Andrew Kull (Hyde Park, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946: Volume 1: The Mid-Atlantic States (Creating the North American Landscape) (Hardcover)

If you are interested in American railroads, geography, or cartography--and people who like any of these subjects tend to like them all--this beautifully produced, enlightening book could occupy a lot of your spare time from here on.

It consists of hand-drawn maps, made with breathtaking detail and a wonderful imagination for the presentation of data. (Fans of Tufte's "Visual Display of Quantitative Information" will admire what the author has managed to fit onto his pages.) The maps follow standard USGS quadrangles for reference, but they show only railroad lines, neatly identified by color, and a wealth of associated railroad features. So there are stations (indicating passenger service or freight only); towers; yards; sidings; viaducts; mileposts; tunnels; track pans, you name it--all as they existed in the richly rewarding year of 1946. To enable you to situate the railroads there are map coordinates, rivers (when a river reaches the edge of a page, an arrow indicates the direction of flow!), and state and county boundaries. That's it. (Plus first-rate indexes.) Sit down with this book, an old copy of the "Official Guide," and a modern road atlas, and you have entertainment and instruction for hours.

The maps in this volume cover just one region of the country--extending roughly from the southern tier of New York to the Virginia/NC border, and from West Virginia to the Hudson River and the Delmarva Peninsula. It is hard to imagine how a single author (who has apparently done a lot of other things with his life) could ever have found the time to cover even this much ground--the book is one of those rare products of obsessive genius from which the rest of us sometimes benefit--but his publisher implies that future volumes will cover the rest of the country. Long life to Richard C. Carpenter!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding Resource, December 6, 2005

By 

L. Rast (Northern Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946: Volume 1: The Mid-Atlantic States (Creating the North American Landscape) (Hardcover)

This volume is an outstanding exmaple of a railroad atlas. It is pointed, clear, and communicates the status of the railroads of the Mid-Alantic states at a time when track mileage, though past its peak, was still extensive. It is easy to follow and an invaluable resource for the transportation historian, railfan, and model railroader. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, November 30, 2009

By 

Stacy L. Franklin (Columbus, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946: Volume 1: The Mid-Atlantic States (Creating the North American Landscape) (Hardcover)

My husband is very interested in old railroad tracks and this book is great, he can see where the track are/where that he is looking for.