The Age of Steam

One glance at this classic portrait gallery will transport you to a time not so very long ago, when the railroad ruled America and trains steaming across the landscape were the ultimate in modernity. More than 500 illustrations capture this golden age of the steam engine with its unique sights, sounds, and smells. This all-encompassing visual anthology has everything, from the beautifully painted wood burners of the early days to the steel Pullmans that sped forth at a then-whopping 80 miles an hour. Follow the folkways traveled by the little carriers, the main lines of continental consequence, and the countryside animated by plumes of smoke and steam. To look is to experience all the romance, adventure, and magic that railroads promised.