The Encyclopedia of Trains & Locomotives

The Encyclopedia of Trains & Locomotives is a great source of information for novices and experts alike. It also includes some very detailed appendices that are unequaled. Overall, it is a wonderful reference for the price

Of all the Christmas gifts I have received, this book has to be one of my favorites. A great many old and new photos and illustrations. Rather than grouped by category, entries are alphabetized as in a standard encyclopedia. A great variety of subjects are covered: the very first steam engine inventors, steam, diesel, and electric building companies, their founders and the engines they built, various car types, track gauges, some famous railroads in North America and other parts of the world, well-known railroad and engineering feats, and more. Appendices list production figures for General Motors/EMD, Alco, and General Electric (what, no Baldwin?), as well as railroad mergers, all up to around 1992 or so. The entry I found most interesting was that on Australia, with its haphazard lack of any coherent rail development, resulting in several different track gauges that proved a real headache in later years.While not comprehensive (and not claiming to be so), this encyclopedia is a well researched and written reference work, and is certainly a bargain as well. --- Paul H!