I think this is OT - point me to some books - please.

[TMB]

Just wondering if anyone can give a little help here ..............

I'm a history buff, especially railroad history. The history of the railroads are the hsitory of our development of North America.

I love history, I love the history of the railroads.

I've done a lot of reading on the Canadian railroads, and a dickens of a lot less on the US railroads.

It occurred to me today on the drive from Phoenix to Tulare, Ca., out through the desert and over the pass to Palmdale and through Tehachapi.

Of course I know about the SP going through Tehachapi, and the famous "Loop" but I need to know more.

I need some of you good folks to point me in the direction of some good books on the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific - to start.

It used to be you could go into a book store and browse the titles but that's a lot harder now, and trying to pick good books from the online stores is a bit hit and miss.

So please - if there's any history buffs / railroad buffs here - can you point me to some good books on the railroads of the west.

[Louis]

Not a book, but a neat story nonetheless: Alpine Tunnel (http://www.legendsofamerica.com/co-alpinetunnel.html)

[TMB]

Not a book, but a neat story nonetheless: Alpine Tunnel (http://www.legendsofamerica.com/co-alpinetunnel.html)

Interesting site. Thanks for that.

At the moment I'm scouring Wikipedia and the like hoping to glom onto some outside references to start pointing me to actual books.

I guess maybe books are "passe" now-a-days though.

[chuckred]

The White Cascade (http://amzn.com/0805077057)

[Pete Serotta]

toomanybikes, do not worry about what section it is in.....life is too short for such things :cool: :cool:

[fourflys]

TMB,
Even though these guys are a model rr society, they have pretty much the MOST extensive library on anything railroad...

NMRA (http://www.nmra.org/)

Here to, all kinds of magazines and books...

Trains (http://www.trains.com/trc/default.aspx)

[JanG]

You could try "Nothing Like it in the World: The Men who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863-1869", by Stephen Ambrose. I read it some time ago and found it fascinating and well written.

[jimp1234]

Here's the link for the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. If you go to the museum store, you'll find a selection of RR books. They also have some historical documents archived that you can access online.

http://www.csrmf.org/

[BengeBoy]

The White Cascade (http://amzn.com/0805077057)

The 100-year anniversary of this disaster was 30 days ago. It got very little attention.

[TMB]

Thanks folks.

I honestly never thought of the NMRA, will check that out when I get home.

The California State Museum ...... probably the best time I have ever had in any museum, anywhere. Drove right by it today, wish I had had a chance to go in.

I will check that too.

Thank you.