• From the former Curator of Transportation at the Smithsonian Institution • Illustrated with 530 photographs, drawings, and engravings • Includes plans, diagrams, and detailed specifications for model-builders • 665 oversized pages in a handsomely jacketed hardcover or specially priced paperback edition In this sequel to his best-selling American Railroad Passenger Car, John White forever changes the freight car's lowly image. Including hundreds of historical photographs and detailed blueprints, The American Railroad Freight Car establishes the sophistication and expertise that marked the development of freight cars in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Along with an overview of freight transportation's historical importance, White offers detailed accounts of technological developments and examines lesser known aspects of everyday freight service such as yard management, train operations, and the origins of the interchange system. White, a historian emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution, has written the definitive work on the American railroad freight car, at least up to 1910. This massive work (32 cm. high) is a companion piece to the author's The American Railroad Passenger Car ( LJ 6/1/78), and it is done with the same care and thoroughness. The book is primarily technical in nature, with many drawings and details of construction. As such, it is an excellent reference work, of invaluable help to historians, railroad enthusiasts, and model railroad hobbyists. However, the author also includes excellent chapters on the economics of freight cars and railroads in the 19th century. Locating the data for this book was difficult; few primary sources were available, and journals provided much of the data. The photographs give good illustrations of the freight cars and the times. This is essential for historical, railroad, engineering, and hobby collections. - George M. Jenks, Bucknell Univ., Lewisburg, Pa. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. "This extraordinarily comprehensive tome is for anyone who lived through the glory days of rail freight or simply wants to know more about it... A book that while eminently readable will serve as a standard reference for decades." -- American Heritage "Beautifully written... Unrivaled access to archives of documents, drawings, and photographs... A fascinating account that takes the reader into the real world of 19th-century railroad operations." -- George A. Kennedy, Railroad History "The American Railroad Freight Car is a remarkable work. Although it features encyclopedic qualities, it is thoughtfully organized, illustrated, and written. As might be imagined, White has conducted an enormous amount of research, tapping a remarkable variety of primary sources... White has again produced a definitive tome... No one knows the subject better than he." -- H. Roger Grant, Business History Review John H. White, Jr., formerly Curator of Transportation at the Smithsonian Institution, has written eight books and more than one hundred articles on American railroad technology. Used Book in Good Condition