Rail transportation has been part of daily life in Reading since the 1830s. Reading Trains and Trolleys portrays the good old days of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway (reorganized as the Reading Company in 1923), the Schuykill Valley Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Mount Penn Gravity Railroad, the Neversink Mountain Railroad, the Reading City Passenger Railway, and the Reading Traction Company. The Reading Railroad gained widespread recognition as a property for sale on the Monopoly board, but the history of trains and trolleys in Reading goes well beyond that iconography. Reading Trains and Trolleys documents the impact of railroad and trolley networks on Reading and adjoining communities, including photographs of the interior of the locomotive shop and the carbarn at Tenth and Exeter Streets, views of the Walnut Street yard before and after the Outer Station was constructed, and views from the Swinging Bridge, which spanned the yard by the Outer Station. The Historical Society of Berks County's collection of rail photographs includes many never-before-published images of diverse scenes in and around Reading.

The recent development of light rail transit in the Twin Cities has been an undeniable success. Plans for additional lines progress, and our ways of shopping, dining, and commuting are changing dramatically. As we embrace riding the new Hiawatha light rail line, an older era comes to mind—the age when everyone rode the more than 500 miles of track that crisscrossed the Twin Cities. In Twin Cities by Trolley, John Diers and Aaron Isaacs offer a rolling snapshot of Minneapolis and St. Paul from the 1880s to the 1950s, when the streetcar system shaped the growth and character of the entire metropolitan area. More than 400 photographs and 70 maps let the reader follow the tracks from Stillwater to University Avenue to Lake Minnetonka, through Uptown to downtown Minneapolis. The illustrations show nearly every neighborhood in Minneapolis and St. Paul as it was during the streetcar era. At its peak in the 1920s and early 1930s, the Twin City Rapid Transit Company (TCRT) operated over 900 streetcars, owned 523 miles of track, and carried more than 200 million passengers annually. Recounting the rise and fall of the TCRT, Twin Cities by Trolley explores the history, organization, and operations of the streetcar system, including life as a streetcar operator and the technology, design, and construction of the cars. Inspiring fond memories for anyone who grew up in the Twin Cities, Twin Cities by Trolley leads readers on a fascinating and enlightening tour of this bygone era in the neighborhood and the city they call home. John W. Diers has worked in the transit industry for thirty-five years, including twenty-five years at the Twin Cities Metropolitan Transit Commission. He has written for Trains, and has served on the board of the Minnesota Transportation Museum. Aaron Isaacs worked with Metro Transit for thirty-three years. He is the author of Twin City Lines—The 1940s and The Como-Harriet Streetcar Line. He is also the editor of Railway Museum Quarterly.

The battle between St. Louis and Chicago to be the Midwest's leading city long predates the one between the Cardinals and the Cubs. Chicago won the fight to be considered part of the nation's first transcontinental railroad, and the Gateway City's delay in building a railroad bridge over the Mississippi River kept St. Louis in second place railroad service in the Midwest. But while Chicago had the Pullman Car Company, St. Louis featured more of the most important manufacturers in the rail industry, including American Car & Foundry and the St. Louis Car Company. St. Louis was dotted with historic rail structures ranging from its grand Union Station to depots built just after the Civil War, and a number of its suburbs were born of rail lines serving the area, with streets that still wear the names of the railroads they paralleled. In Trains and Trolleys of St. Louis, you have a ticket to hop aboard and travel across nearly two centuries through what the city built, operated, and preserved for the railroad. Hear the stories of the great-grandfathers who worked the rails, or take a walk down memory lane and a streetcar ride down to Gaslight Square. Local author and locomotive enthusiast Molly Butterworth carefully catalogues the history and significance of St. Louis' connection to its railroad days. Through the years, many of the railroad stations and streetcar stops have gone by the wayside, but their stories have lived on. Read about the ones you can still go enjoy, included in the many wonderful secrets shared among the pages of Trains and Trolleys of St. Louis.

An amazing assortment of electric trolley lines once traversed the towns and villages of Queens and Long Island. With names like Jamaica Central, Northport Traction, Ocean Electric, and the Steinway lines, some meandered across meadows and hills while others sped over elevated tracks. There was even one line that had streetcars but no tracks. In the end, all of them helped stitch the countryside into the concentrated suburban area it is today--with barely a trace of the trolleys left anywhere.

Steam–powered locomotives helped bring people across the West but they also brought their share of problems. Traveling through enclosed tunnels or past the tall buildings of cities, the smoke from steam engines could be dangerous, even deadly. The story of electric trains is the story of the search for a better way. Electrically powered trains and trolleys helped build cities like Los Angeles. They let people live in new places, even far from where they worked. They were fast and efficient and led to some of the most modern trains on earth.

A Step 3 reader introducing trains of all shapes and sizes doing what they do best: hauling freight, carrying passengers, and zooming at speeds close to 400 miles per hour! Readers will encounter the Jacobite—a Scottish train that plays the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter films. They will learn about the great steam locomotives that crossed the United States, joining east and west in 1869. And they will learn about the different technologies­­—steam, diesel, electric, and electromagnetic­­—that continue to make trains an important part of our modern world. Illustrated with full color and black & white photos. Step 3 readers feature engaging characters in easy-to-follow plots about popular topics—for children who are ready to read on their own.

A journey on a train provides excitement, nice scenery, and pleasant anticipation.