Where is the fastest train in the world? How is it possible for a train to go under the English Channel? What does the next generations of trains look like? Find the answers to these questions and more when you take a look at trains from a new perspective.

Few scenes capture the American experience so eloquently as that of a lonely train chugging across the vastness of the Great Plains, or snaking through tortuous high mountain passes. Although this vision was eclipsed for a time by the rise of air travel and trucking, railroads have enjoyed a rebirth in recent years as profitable freight carriers. A fascinating account of the rise, decline, and rebirth of railroads in the United States, John F. Stover's...

Imagine sitting in a basket dangling thousands of feet above the ground drilling a hole into the side of mountain. Then you have to stuff that hole with dynamite and get out of the way before it explodes. This dangerous work was just part of the job for the men who built the Transcontinental Railroad. Lively language, historical photos and illustrations, and primary accounts help readers understand the dangers the workers faced every day while building...

Learn what it was like to travel on the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s.

From the author of McTeague: The classic novel of corporate corruption and violent rebellion in the railroad industry. On May 11, 1880, at a San Joaquin Valley ranch, a shootout between tenant farmers and a sheriff's posse left seven dead. The dispute was over land rights. The law was acting in the service of the Southern Pacific Railroad. This tragedy marked the beginning of the end for the American frontier, and it became the inspiration for Frank...