Image: Lorenz Books / Simon & Schuster · source
Lorenz Books · Mid-range
A hardcover guide to the golden age of train engines by Colin Garratt, with 700 photographs covering the first designs to modern high-speed trains.
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We have not tested it ourselves: strengths and weaknesses below come from the tests cited.
The publisher says the book spans nearly two centuries of locomotive history. It covers the first designs of the 1830s, early North American freight trains, the golden age of railways, the crossover from steam power to diesel and electric, and how the locomotive became the superior passenger and freight-pulling power of today. The latest developments are highlighted too, including Europe's Eurostar and the Japanese bullet train. The publisher's catalogue sheet calls it a definitive history of locomotive technology from the first steam engines to the bullet trains of today. It says the book charts the development of design in Britain, the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, India, China, Japan and the Pacific Rim.
This is a reference book for the shelf or the coffee table. The publisher lists a hardcover of 256 pages with 700 photographs and describes it as a wonderful guide that will appeal to all. Lorenz Books is an imprint of Anness Publishing Ltd. The catalogue sheet lists a hardback with jacket measuring 10.5 by 8 inches (267 by 205 millimetres), detailed specification boxes for over 100 of the most important locomotives, and over 700 photographs and illustrations of locomotives from around the world. Simon and Schuster, the book's distributor, files it under railroads history and railroads pictorial.
Strengths
Weaknesses
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Author | Colin Garratt |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Length | 256 pages |
| ISBN-13 | 9780754834397 |
| Subject | Transportation > Railroads > History |
| Publisher | Lorenz Books |
| Photographs | 700 |
It suits a railfan who wants one illustrated survey of locomotives from steam to high-speed power. A reader who wants a narrative of one railroad should look at a history of that line instead. The catalogue sheet describes the author, Colin Garratt, as a world-renowned authority on locomotives who has been a professional railway photographer for more than 30 years, director of Milepost 92½, the multi-media production company for the railway industry, and the writer and illustrator of over 40 books on steam and rail.
Train: The Definitive Visual History (DK) is already in this catalogue and is the closest alternative for readers who want a visual history. The Big Book of Trains (DK) is already in this catalogue for younger readers.
Image: National Geographic (Penguin Random House) · source
National Geographic · Mid-range
A National Geographic hardcover that profiles 100 railway journeys around the world, with notes on when and where to go, which cabins to book and what to see off the train.
Image: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers · source
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers · Budget
A board book by Kevin Lewis, with pictures by Daniel Kirk, that follows a busy toy steam locomotive through a playroom from sunrise until all its freight has been delivered.
Image: Trains.com · source
Kalmbach Publishing · Mid-range
A reference by Jeff Wilson on diesel locomotives produced in North America from the 1930s to today, with spotting features on all major locomotive types.
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