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"If steam powered the industrial revolution, then it was coal that fueled
it." Thus begins Coal Cars: The First Three Hundred Years,
Bob Karig's landmark book on the multitudinous variety of railroad cars
that transported that valuable "black diamond" commodity from mine to market.
Coal was essential to the economy of the United States, and those coal
cars were essential to the business of the railroads that hauled it.
Karig begins with a history of the development of the U.S. coal fields and the transportation systems that served them. He then traces the history and evolution of coal cars from their earliest use in England until the end of the steam era for American railroads. This comprehensive book includes extensive design specifications and drawings, as well as a complete history of the various safety and mechanical appliances used on coal cars. It concludes with a 165-page photographic essay that vividly illustrates the 300-year development described in the text. Essential reading for all those interested in railroads, railroad history, the history of technology, and model railroading. The book is 420 pages long and contains 732 drawings, photographs, and illustrations. Coal Cars: The First Three Hundred Years is being published by the University of Scranton Press and distributed by the Chicago Distribution Center, 11030 S. Langley, Chicago, IL 60628. The cover price is $75. |
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