Locomotive

This richly illustrated history chronicles one of the most revolutionary developments in freight railroading during the twentieth century: intermodal shipping, or the use of containers to move cargo between trains, trucks, and oceangoing vessels. It was a development that transformed the movement of freight around the world, with an almost incalculable impact on American industry. Intermodal railroading in North America begins tentatively, with attempts at piggybacking in the 1930s, before moving on to more serious developments in the period from World War II through the 1960s, notably by Canadian Pacific and the New Haven and Southern Pacific railroads. After looking at early intermodal technology and traffic, particularly the formation of pioneering equipment manufacturer and provider TTX, author Brian Solomon turns to the contemporary period. His account of mighty changes in North American shipping ranges from the implications of deregulation and various railroad mergers, to the emergence of partnerships between railroads and trucking and shipping firms. In addition to railroads like Conrail, BNSF, and CSX, this comprehensive history features trucking, freight delivery, and forwarding firms such as J. B. Hunt, Sea-Land, Maersk, and K-Line. It also considers the importance of specialized modern rolling stock, motive power, loading equipment, and intermodal hubs including South Kearney, Seattle, Long Beach, Oakland, and Houston.

Amtrak is an essential part of America’s transportation system, today for over 28 million passengers. From the legacy Streamliners of the pre-Amtrak era—Champions, Chiefs, Eagles, Rockets, Zephyrs—to today’s modern Acela Express and future plans for more high speed “corridor trains,” this book covers all the lines from past to present. Through the use of evocative photos, postcards, memorabilia and other collateral, this book is a journey through the past 40 years of Amtrak across America and all the preceding rail lines that transformed the nation—the Downeaster, Adriondack, Ethan Allen Express, Vermonter, Capitol Limited, Cardinal and Hoosier, Empire Service, Keystone, Lake Shore Limited, Maple Leaf, Pennsylvanian, Auto Train, Carolinian and Piedmont, Crescent, Palmetto, Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Blue Water and Wolverine, Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr, City of New Orleans, Hiawatha, Illini and Saluki, Lincoln Service, Missouri River Runner, Pere Marquette, Heartland Flyer, Texas Eagle, California Zephyr, Empire Builder, Southwest Chief, Sunset Limited, Cascades, Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins, and Pacific Surfliner.