Night Trains: The Pullman Systems in the Golden Years of American Rail Travel | 
 enlarge | Author: Peter T. Maiken
Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $30.00
Buy Used: $9.99
You Save: $20.01 (67%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 673004
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.6
Dimensions (in): 11 x 8.5 x 1
ISBN: 0801845033
Dewey Decimal Number: 385.0973
EAN: 9780801845031
ASIN: 0801845033
Publication Date: October 1, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
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
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| Customer Reviews:
A beautiful work of scholarship for the hard-core enthusiast July 19, 1999
35 out of 36 found this review helpful
This is the sort of book that one would describe as a "labor of love." For 99.9% of the population, this is way too much information about an esoteric topic that no one gives a darn about. But if you're a hard-core enthusiast of passenger trains and US railroad history, this is a valuable volume. The first part of the book discusses the railroad history of every state, explaining which railroad routes went where, and why, accompanied by helpful maps. The major cities' railroad stations are also briefly covered. The second part of the book lists every train in the US with Pullman cars (sleeping cars) at midnight on a typical night during the era's heyday. The composition of long-distance passenger trains rarely remained intact between origin and destination; instead, sleeping cars would be added or removed from the train enroute. The lists in this book show exactly where each train would be at midnight, the details of the cars comprising it, and the city from which each sleeping car originated, as well as its destination. If your eyes are glazing over at this point, it's too specialized for you, but some enthusiasts will appreciate this fine tribute to a by-gone era.
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