A pair of gleaming rails embedded in a farmhouse driveway. A wooded cycling trail that traces an oddly level path through suburban hills. An abandoned high fill that briefly parallels the interstate. Today, little remains of the vast network of passenger and freight railroad lines that once crisscrossed much of eastern and midwestern America. But in 1946, the steam locomotive was king, the automobile was just beginning to emerge from wartime restrictions, passenger trains still made stops in nearly every town, and freight trains carried most of the nation's intercity commerce.
In A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946, Richard C. Carpenter provides a unique record of this not-so-distant time, when traveling out of town meant, for most Americans, taking the train. The first volume of this multivolume series covers the mid-Atlantic states and includes detailed maps of every passenger railroad line in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. When completed, the series will provide a comprehensive atlas of the U.S. railroad system at its post-World War II high point―a transportation network that many considered the finest railroad passenger system in the world.
Meticulously crafted and rich in detail, these hand-drawn color maps reveal with skilled precision―at a scale of 1 inch to 4 miles (or 1:250,000)―the various main and branch railroad passenger and freight lines that served thousands of American towns. The maps also include such features as long-since-demolished steam locomotive and manual signal tower installations, towns that functioned solely as places where crews changed over, track pans, coaling stations, and other rail-specific sites.
Currently, there exists no comprehensive, historic railroad atlas for the U.S. This volume, with its 202 full-scale and detail maps, is sure to remain the standard reference work for years to come, as will the others to follow in the series.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Richard C. Carpenter is the retired executive director of the South Western Regional Planning Agency in Connecticut.
"A labor of love... nothing short of a miracle. I looked at it again last night, and it took my breath away. It's the kind of work that only a gang of monks would consider undertaking. It really is fabulous."
(Fred Rasmussen Baltimore Sun)"In this first of several volumes, Carpenter looks at the Mid-Atlantic states with painstakingly drawn quadrant maps showing station names, mileposts, interlocking stations, coaling stations, track pans, tunnels, viaducts, and bridges... An enthusiast can cross-reference locations to visit even if the rails themselves are pulled up."
(Trains)"It is an amazing piece of work, especially the level of detail. It's a treasure tove of obscure information... It answers questions that you didn't even think to ask."
(Maury Klein, University of Rhode Island)"Surely one of the most appealingly eccentric publishing ventures of the year."
(The New Yorker)"This will be the finest railroad atlas ever published. Carpenter has invented his own style of cartography. Artistically, it's a beautiful product. Not only does Carpenter's work have no close competitors, its value actually will be enhanced by using it in conjunction with other data sources... This is a splendid piece of work, a labor of love for the author, no doubt, and truly a gift for anyone interested in the industrial landscape of the recent past."
(John C. Hudson, Northwestern University)"Without exception, I have found these maps to be completely accurate. They have been drawn in a very clear and appealing manner, so that any reader will understand exactly what the railroad plant looked like in 1946―immediately following the peak of World War II operations."
(Richard B. Hasselman, Senior Vice President of Operations, CONRAIL (retired))"The year 1946 was, in short, a pinnacle of American railroading, as Dick Carpenter '55 notes in his new book, A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946 Volume 1: The Mid-Atlantic States, which sets out, with admirable directness and startling scope, to map every aspect of railroading in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia."
(Brian Doyle Boston College Magazine)"This is a fascinating volume for the railroad buff, those interested in the interrelationship of railroads and American history, or those merely investigating the bridge or tunnel in their town from what is now a ghost railroad."
(American Reference Books Annual)"A vital tool in understanding the layout of the rail network in the Northeast."
(Peter E. Lynch Penn Central Railroad)"Carpenter's work will be welcomed by railroad enthusiasts but will also help anyone trying to understand or reconstruct rail presence in urban or rural areas. Highly recommended."
(Choice)"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 13.2. Seller Inventory # G0801873312I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Condition: Acceptable. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00066754641
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Condition: Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 50519744-6
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Very Good condition. Volume 1. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp. NOT AVAILABLE FOR SHIPMENT OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. Seller Inventory # R04B-03862
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Roundabout Books, Greenfield, MA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Condition Notes: Excellent, unmarked copy with little wear and tight binding. We ship in recyclable American-made mailers. 100% money-back guarantee on all orders. Seller Inventory # 1671108
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Old Book Shop of Bordentown (ABAA, ILAB), Bordentown, NJ, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First edition. Oversized hardcover in forest gree cloth lettered in gilt and with tipped on color photo. First printing. xxiii+297 pp. with appendix of railroads in the atlas and with the following indexes: coaling stations; interlocking stations and former interlocking stations; passenger and non-passenger stations; track pans; tunnels; viaducts. Faint tidemarking to the gutter of the front cover and about 1 1/2" in on the rear cover. Interior bright and clean, apparently unused. This invaluable reference volume consists primarily of full page maps with the various railroad routes outlined in colors. Seller Inventory # E30749
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Wonder Book, Frederick, MD, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003. 1st edition. Volume 1. 4to. xxiii,297pp. Illus., maps. Very Good book. Spine ends slightly bumped. (railroads, atlases, Mid-Atlantic) Inquire if you need further information. NOT AVAILABLE FOR SHIPMENT OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. Seller Inventory # CA13A-00545
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: ThriftBooksVintage, Tukwila, WA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Shelf and handling wear to cover and binding, with general signs of previous use. Wear commensurate with age and use. Clean unmarked copy. Scuffing and smudging to boards and spine strip. Light bumping visible to corners of boards and ends of spine strip. Volume 1 only. Secure packaging for safe delivery. 13.2. Seller Inventory # 1861937565
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Friends of Middletown Thrall Library, Inc., Middletown, NY, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: VG+, no DJ. 4to. xxiii,297pp, with maps. First edition of this reprint, VG+, no DJ. 2003 reprint of an important 1946 collection of all the rail routes then in existence in the USA. Seller Inventory # 601128
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: GF Books, Inc., Hawthorne, CA, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Book is in Used-VeryGood condition. Pages and cover are clean and intact. Used items may not include supplementary materials such as CDs or access codes. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain very limited notes and highlighting. 3.25. Seller Inventory # 0801873312-2-3
Quantity: 1 available