(Part 2) Top products from r/trains
We found 12 product mentions on r/trains. We ranked the 29 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
21. The Historical Guide to North American Railroads, 3rd Edition (Trains Books)
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 1
Show Reddit reviews22. Model Railroader Cyclopedia, Vol. 1: Steam Locomotives
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Used Book in Good Condition
Show Reddit reviews23. The Complete Book of North American Railroading
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 1
Crestline
Show Reddit reviews24. North American Railroads: The Illustrated Encyclopedia
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Used Book in Good Condition
Show Reddit reviews25. American Steam Locomotives
Sentiment score: 0
Number of reviews: 1
Used Book in Good Condition
Show Reddit reviews26. Red for Danger: The Classic History of British Railway Disasters
Sentiment score: -1
Number of reviews: 1
Show Reddit reviews
While it's not the most scholastic source (the owner sometimes writes subjective things on objective topics), AmericanRails is probably the most comprehensive easy-to-navigate free site and is a great way to learn about general North American rail history for free. Wikipedia is hit-or-miss as always, with some very comprehensive articles and some that are just a few lines and a picture, but the fact that it's free makes it worth a look.
You mention the east coast, do you mean the Northeast Corridor specifically or the entire coast? If you mean the NEC, the line was operated for most of its history by the New Haven RR and the Pennsylvania RR, which would later both become Penn Central before Amtrak took over operations of the NEC. If you mean the entire coast, I'll need another comment for that.
Unfortunately this hobby's best information about historic railroading is almost entirely book-based, so to get everything you'll have to invest in some books. Anything by Kalmbach will be accurate, comprehensive, and hopefully not too hard to read, this is a good historical summary. I have this book, and I think it's a good summary; the language isn't difficult and there's plenty of pictures. I've seen people recommend this one, it's less of a history book and more of an encyclopedia of nearly every major North American railroad. These books cover general topics; there's been scores of books written about every railroad that exists/existed. If you can help refine the location/area, we can try to find more specific information.
I have a book that I think you'll really enjoy. it the Model Railroader Steam locomotives cyclopedia- vol1 edited by Lynn H. Westcott. This book not only diagrams entire steam locomotives and explains how each part works but it also contains pictures and blueprints of almost every american made steam locomotive produced or prototyped. This book includes locomotives from Penncy, UP, Southern Pacific, Norfolk Southern, Reading, NYC, Northern Pacific and more. Here is an amazon link to an example of the book just to show you what it looks like.
http://www.amazon.com/Model-Railroader-Cyclopedia-Vol-Locomotives/dp/0890240019
This man wrote some very fine books. I had this in the 70's as a kid growing up. I read it a lot...
His name was OS Nock. he was a railwayman in England. Any of his books would be a good start or addition to any collection.
https://www.amazon.com/Encyclopaedia-Railways-S-Nock/dp/0706406044
This is a great read https://www.amazon.com/American-Steam-Locomotives-Development-1880-1960/dp/0253039339
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/027102741X?pc_redir=1414103908&robot_redir=1
I'm doing this from mobile so hopefully the link works. And the book is non fiction this is a real account of what life was like from 1904-1949
There, i've dug into my amazon wishbox, and...
https://www.amazon.com/American-Steam-Locomotives-Brian-Solomon/dp/0760303363
https://www.amazon.com/Steam-Locomotive-Works-Karen-Parker/dp/0939487896
Red for Danger.
History of british rail disasters.