In this sequel to his best-selling "American Railroad Passenger Car", John White changes the freight car's lowly image. This book explores the history of American railroads and American technology. Illustrated and the result of more than a decade of research, it brings to light important new information about the rail industry of 19th-century America, the ingenuity of American invention, and the development of highly specialized rail cars to move products and resources around the nation. 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 19th and early 20th centuries. Because so many cars were needed to handle America's growing freight traffic, White explains, designs had to be cheap and light, yet durable. He focuses on innovations among the most common varieties - box, flat, gondola, and hopper cars - but he also describes more exotic classes such as refrigerator and jumbo flat cars. A special section is devoted to the train crew's famous rolling home, the caboose.
Along with an overview of freight transportation's historical importance, White offers detailed accounts of technological developments affecting wheels, axles, draft gears, couplers, and brakes. He also examines lesser known aspects of everyday freight service such as yard management, train operations, and the origins of the interchange system. The final chapter deals with early iron and steel cars, bringing the story of the freight car up to the modern era of railroading. Like White's other works, "The American Railroad Freight Car" is the definitive book on its subject.
- ISBN10 0801844045
- ISBN13 9780801844041
- Publish Date 1 October 1993
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 16 January 2001
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Johns Hopkins University Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 665
- Language English