Sante Fe Railway (Railroad Color History) [Paperback]

Steve Glischinski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 1997

A classic and colorful tribute to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, the best-known railroad in the world. Beginning in 1860, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway quickly grew to become the premier transportation company in the US. Its hallmark was fast, high-quality freight and passenger service, including the famous Super Chief, El Capitan, and The Chief luxury passenger trains for those traveling between Los Angeles and Chicago. This book is filled with archive and color photos of the locomotives, trains and events of the Santa Fe Railway, from the 1950s through today.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steve Glischinski was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1957 and has been interested in railroads since he was 10 years old. He began taking photographs of railroads in 1970, at the age of 13. Since that time, his photos of railroads in action have appeared in a number of books and numerous magazines, including Pacific Rail News, Passenger Train Journal, Progressive Railroading, Railfan & Railroad and Trains. His first magazine articles on railroading were published in 1982, and his by-line has appeared dozens of times, mainly in Trains Magazine, for whom he serves as a special correspondent. He is the author of numerous books on railroading, including such topics as the history of the Burlington Northern Railroad, Wisconsin Central, Milwaukee Road steam locomotive 261 and regional railroads.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Voyageur Press (November 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760303800
• ISBN-13: 978-0760303801
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #761,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nice history of perhaps the most famous American RR, April 5, 1999

By 

Paul S. Highland ([e-mail]) (Atascadero, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sante Fe Railway (Railroad Color History) (Paperback)

This book covers every aspect of the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway from its beginnings in 1868 to its merger with Burlington Northern in 1995-96. The various chapters cover segments of that history, with others on Passenger trains and Santa FE's steam and diesel locomotives. Of particular interest are Santa Fe's growth and acquisition of important rail routes, its pioneering role in development of intermodal traffic, and its passenger service which was second to none. Who could not help falling in love with those Warbonnet E- and F-units pulling stainless steel coaches! Modern diesels (not including AC types) are covered as well. There is a photo (or a map) on nearly every page, mostly color, with some nice old black-and-whites. The pages are laid out well with a minimum of blank space, and the text is well-written and very readable without being overly technical. On pages 8-9 a 1967 system map shows Santa Fe's major routes with many connecting ones of other railroads; just looking at brings back memories of railroads long gone (Rock Island, Milwaukee Road, Frisco, even Pennsylvania).

While this book may be a bit pricey for a softcover, it's sure to please. If it doesn't make you a Santa Fe fan, probably nothing will. --- Paul H!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Santa Fe Way, June 28, 2002

By 

Ron Hunka (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sante Fe Railway (Railroad Color History) (Paperback)

"Santa Fe Railway"
Steve Glischinski
ISBN 0-7603-0380-0

It would seem that this book was written for railroad enthusiasts. It is not without facts about engine model numbers and wheel configurations, but more importantly it also brings back the feel of the glory days of one of the most famous railroads in American history. My interest is more in the latter. My dad worked for the Santa Fe as a switchman. My family was a railroad family. At night, we heard the boxcars being banged together in yards not far from our house. I can remember standing on the front porch, as a small boy, to watch the "Texas Chief" approach.

A particularly interesting chapter in this book deals with Fred Harvey's remarkable success in his food service business with the Santa Fe Railroad. Prior to Harvey, food at railroad restaurants was notoriously bad. In 1876, Harvey approached the Santa Fe. He was given a try. He succeeded by providing fine meals and service at his first location in Topeka. The Santa Fe asked him to open more restaurants at train stations further west. Within a few years, he had branched off into building hotels for railroad employees, but eventually for the general public. His restaurants and hotels went from Kansas to California. One of Harvey's most popular hotels was at the Grand Canyon. Harvey's restaurants were staffed by attractive young women of good character relocated from the East to work in his establishments. The "Harvey Girls" lived in supervised dormitories he provided. Ultimately, Harvey relocated over 5,000 young women. Many of whom married and remained in the West. When the Santa Fe started providing dining cars on its trains in the 1890's, Harvey received a contract for that as well. The book has a photograph of a dining car menu from the 1960's that is certainly nostalgic to read.

Railroading was an extremely competitive business, about which one could draw parallels to the present day computer industry. For one thing, railroads were about technology. The railroad that had the fastest and most powerful locomotives had a competitive business advantage over the others. As with computer companies, no advantage held up for long. The Santa Fe was constantly innovating, such as when it began trying out diesel locomotives. The Santa Fe was not above employing technological stunts to get publicity, such as when in 1905 it accepted a challenge to get a train from Los Angeles to Chicago in 46 hours. The three-car, so-called "Coyote Special" made it under 45 hours. Railroads, also like computer companies, often sought to acquire other railroads, the ultimate fate of the Santa Fe when acquired by the Burlington Northern in 1996. But the Santa Fe ran for over a hundred years.

This book brought back a lot of good memories for me. It may for others as well.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good for rookie railfans, February 21, 2002

By 

"busladyofsocal" (Rancho Santa Margarita, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sante Fe Railway (Railroad Color History) (Paperback)

I got this book a couple weeks ago and immediatly was hooked. It's nicely written, has alot of steam plus enough diesel piccies to keep me happy. A nice history of the Harvey services also included.
I'm a rookie railfan, and I learned TONS from this book. SF & BNSF are my favorites, nothing compares to the warbonnet.
Most of the book is all history from day one to the merger with Burlington Northern. Then it covers the steamers and diesels in their own chapters. Well worth buying.