Here are some of my favorite books about passenger cars.
The Official Pullman-Standard Library is a 16 volume set by W. David Randall co-authored by William Ross or William Anderson. While these are long out of print, they show up on eBay and Amazon. I just bought the last voulme I needed to complete my set in 2013. At the very least, you should consider buying the volume that covers your railroad of choice. I refer to them as "Randall and Ross" or "the Big Red Books".
The Passenger Car Library is the Budd/ACF equivalent of the above. Also authored by W. David Randall, this is a 7 volume set. The Pullman volumes are nicer owing to the fact that there are more photographs, but I still consider these a necessity especially if your favorite road bought a lot of Budd cars. Again out of print, these can be found on the used market.
Railway Prototype Cyclopedia is a series of soft cover books from RP CYC Publishing. In particular Volumes 1-3 have good information on Heavyweight Pullmans, and Volumes 6 and 11 have great information on Lightweight cars. Volume 33 is a double volume entirely devoted to heavyweight Pullmans. This series has now ended. There is still some availability, and there is also the used market. Some of these volumes command high prices.
Wayner Publications has produced a number of interesting books. In particular, the Pullman Company List of Cars 1961 has some valuable information inculding air conditioning systems and truck types for every car in Pullman service in 1961. There is a similar volume for 1950, but the heavyweights and lightweights are mixed together, so I grab the 1961 book first.
Night Trains by Peter T. Maikenis a fantastic book covering Pullman operations. In addition to routes and dates there is a good deal of information on consists.
Twilight of the Great Trains by Fred Frailey is the story of how each railroad dealt with declining passenger ridership in the late 1950's and 1960's. It's a great read. Indiana University Press recently published an updated edition with some different photos and a chapter on the Illinois Central. I'm keeping both.
Those Pullman Blues and Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle are books about the Porters who worked the cars.
I found Bob Coolidge's website while preparing my presentation. There are some excellent photos here. Thanks for sharing Bob.
This will take you to the train photos.
The Official Pullman-Standard Library is a 16 volume set by W. David Randall co-authored by William Ross or William Anderson. While these are long out of print, they show up on eBay and Amazon. I just bought the last voulme I needed to complete my set in 2013. At the very least, you should consider buying the volume that covers your railroad of choice. I refer to them as "Randall and Ross" or "the Big Red Books".
The Passenger Car Library is the Budd/ACF equivalent of the above. Also authored by W. David Randall, this is a 7 volume set. The Pullman volumes are nicer owing to the fact that there are more photographs, but I still consider these a necessity especially if your favorite road bought a lot of Budd cars. Again out of print, these can be found on the used market.
Railway Prototype Cyclopedia is a series of soft cover books from RP CYC Publishing. In particular Volumes 1-3 have good information on Heavyweight Pullmans, and Volumes 6 and 11 have great information on Lightweight cars. Volume 33 is a double volume entirely devoted to heavyweight Pullmans. This series has now ended. There is still some availability, and there is also the used market. Some of these volumes command high prices.
Wayner Publications has produced a number of interesting books. In particular, the Pullman Company List of Cars 1961 has some valuable information inculding air conditioning systems and truck types for every car in Pullman service in 1961. There is a similar volume for 1950, but the heavyweights and lightweights are mixed together, so I grab the 1961 book first.
Night Trains by Peter T. Maikenis a fantastic book covering Pullman operations. In addition to routes and dates there is a good deal of information on consists.
Twilight of the Great Trains by Fred Frailey is the story of how each railroad dealt with declining passenger ridership in the late 1950's and 1960's. It's a great read. Indiana University Press recently published an updated edition with some different photos and a chapter on the Illinois Central. I'm keeping both.
Those Pullman Blues and Miles of Smiles, Years of Struggle are books about the Porters who worked the cars.
I found Bob Coolidge's website while preparing my presentation. There are some excellent photos here. Thanks for sharing Bob.
This will take you to the train photos.