For the century after 1865 all the largest railroad companies had flagship luxury trains, spectacularly appointed steamliners offering unrivaled standards of service and thoughtful amenities including ladies' perfume and carnations for gentlemen. These luxury trains transported well-heeled passengers in grand style across spectacular American landscapes in an atmosphere of privilege and elegance. Including the iconic Super Chief of the Sante Fe Railway and New York Central System's fabled 20th Century Limited, they became legends in their day and for decades after their last runs. This beautifully illustrated book allows readers to experience the exhilarating journeys, the exquisitely designed train cars and the vintage advertisements and posters that together made up the passenger's experience during this golden age of train travel – an age still remembered and celebrated today.

NOSTALGIC BOOK OF THE HISTORY OF RAIL TRAVEL WITH PICTURES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

NOSTALGIC BOOK OF THE HISTORY OF RAIL TRAVEL WITH PICTURES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

Forty years ago, it was the way to travel. Back then, one could climb between crisp linens and soft blankets, adjust the oversized pillows, and watch America speed by in the night. With more than 300 photographs and 50 maps, Night Trains is a lively account of the Pullman enterprise during the golden years of its operation--from 1920 to 1955--when the remarkable sleeping car system routinely played host to more than 50,000 guests nightly. "A compelling tribute to a bygone time when getting there was half the fun... An education for the young and a scrapbook for those who remember." -- Herald-Dispatch

Few sights can reawaken memories of happy holidays of yesteryear as vividly as the superb railway posters that were so much a part of the great age of mass rail travel. Between the 1930s and 1950s – regarded by many as the heyday of advertising graphic art – a huge range of posters appeared, bearing slogans proclaiming the attractions of such resorts as 'Weston-super-Mare – in Smiling Somerset', and presenting a colourful picture of Britain at its best. Through images as diverse as bustling cities, scenes of rural tranquility and majestic mountain landscapes they offer an escapist paradise, where appealingly uncrowded beaches basking in permanent sunshine are just a train journey away. This beautiful collection includes over 80 vintage posters from the 30s, 40s and 50s, with individual poster captions describing the artists and locations depicted. Michael Pailin recaptures the spirit of the great days of railway holidays and train excursions in his entertaining introduction – an era that is both within living memory and yet part of a bygone age.

Colin Alexander looks at the interwar period, a high-water mark in industrial design as the benefits of streamlining were realised.

One of the most important developments in European history, the railways helped create the social and economic fabric of the continent. In the 'Golden Age' of the railways, from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth, there was no more exciting, exotic or desirable way to travel. As the major railway companies quickly became huge industrial powers in their own right, they began to influence the infrastructure of trade, industry, agriculture and settlement. In some countries the bulk of the railway network was centralized under state control, while in others corporate and personal fortunes were won and lost as railway fever spread far and wide. Crossing stunning landscapes, linking the continent's great cities, and bringing natural wonders within the reach of ordinary people, the railways encouraged the growth of tourism industry, which in turn spurred the development of dramatic poster art. All these aspects of the early decades of European railway history are explored in this elegant, lavishly illustrated volume. The social, economic, environmental and technological challenges and achievements are all covered, together with highlights of the routes and the experiences of eager train passengers. The Golden Age of European Railways contains more than three hundred contemporary illustrations as well as route maps, schedules, technical appendices, and the fascinating perspectives of a team of award-winning writers and acknowledged railway experts.