Search Results: Signature Press from Arizona Hobbies LLC

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. Signature Press, hardcover with dust jacket, 256 pages, 8.5 in. x 11 in x 1 in., 466 photographs, 41 drawings and graphics, roster, index. The last period of American Car & Foundry manufacturing of box cars was the years 1960 to 1981, and this volume provides both the history and extensive color photography, along with details of car design and construction in this period. Many colorful paint schemes were in use by railroads and lessors, large and small, and they are shown here, including many Incentive Per Diem schemes. A complete production roster of the box cars built is also provided. Coverage includes 40-foot as well as 50-foot inside-post cars, 50-foot outside-post cars, and 60-foot inside- and outside-post cars. Many of these 60-foot cars were built for auto parts service. Author Kaminski is an acknowledged authority on freight car history and has extensively researched AC&F records to write this account. Any modeler of the 1960s and '70s, or freight car fan,… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. The practice of painting advertisements on the freight cars of shippers and car owners' dates well back into the 19th century. But in the 1920s, leasing companies realized they could contract with shippers to pass back usage payments beyond some agreed minimum. This led to an explosion of car leasing and, as this book amply demonstrates, a corresponding explosion of billboard decoration of refrigerator cars. Railroad objections, especially to the usage payment rebates, led to hearings before the Interstate Commerce Commission, which, taking effect in 1937, banned most of the leasing practices which had generated the car leasing bonanza. After World War II, a restrained billboard style made a modest comeback. Car-side advertising was only a detail of that ICC decision. But because it was the basis for a remarkable diversity of refrigerator car paint schemes in the era, the photographs of these cars have long held an interest for historians, railfans, and Model… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway was well described by its slogan, Around--Not Thru Chicago. For most of a century, it was owned by United States Steel, and was a critical freight conduit for both U.S. Steel's Gary Works and its South Chicago Works, but also served many other shippers along its 130-mile line. In addition, it interchanged with fully 35 railroads around Chicago, carriers from the north, west, east and south, making it a busy interchange and transfer road also. The focal points of operations on this 130-mile railroad were the two major yards at East Joliet and Gary (Kirk Yard). Locomotive servicing as well as heavy freight switching typified these facilities, and both local freight service and inter-road transfer runs operated from these yards. Along with a complete railroad history, the steam locomotive roster is illustrated and presented in this book, along with the same information for the diesel era. Probably the most distinctive signature motive… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. The basic story of the Overseas Railway to Key West, an extension of the Florida East Coast Railway, has been told before, from the early dream of Henry Flagler, to completion of railroad construction near the end of Flagler's life, to destruction of the extension in the devastating Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. But there is much more to tell. The core of this book is the collection of photographs made by William Asa Glass, one of the construction engineers on the project. His views, many never duplicated elsewhere, show both the engineering and human sides of the great project in a unique way. Supplementing it are the recollections of many who were there. In combination, it makes a vivid and engrossing story, rich in unfamiliar details. Also included here is a retrospective of the route today. Henry M. Flagler conceived the idea of a railway to Key West at least as early as 1895, and after a number of setbacks, the Overseas Railway was completed in 1912. It then… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. The Great Northern Railway was among Americas most distinctive and noteworthy railroads. Though its most spectacular scenery was in the western half of the line, called Lines West, there was a very busy network of trackage, and considerably more traffic, in the Lines East, essentially including the states of North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and extensions into Wisconsin, Iowa, and Manitoba. This book presents the history, operational characteristics, and equipment which lay at the heart of GN Lines East, with an emphasis on the latter 40 years of Great Northern's history. Both passenger and freight operations were complex and interesting, as was the motive power. An extensive photographic presentation of steam and diesel locomotives, along with passenger and Freight and Passenger Equipment , is at the heart of this edition. This book, the first edition of which was published in 1989, is a companion to Charles R. Wood's Great Northern Lines West. But this new… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. The Magor Car Corporation, located in northern New Jersey at Clifton, was a significant railcar builder throughout much of the twentieth century. It had its origins in a partnership founded in 1899 by Basil Magor and Robert Wonham, which led in 1902 to a manufacturing operation called the Wonham-Magor Engineering Works. In the first part of the century, Magor concentrated on export railcars, aided by its proximity to the port of New York. Basil's brother, Robert Magor, also became associated with the company, and in 1910 it became the Magor Car Company. It was incorporated in 1917 as the Magor Car Corporation, among its major stockholders was J.P. Morgan. In 1914, Magor's first freight cars for revenue use on an American railroad were built, and such sales grew steadily thereafter, though export cars continued as the company's mainstay for some years. In 1918, Magor was among the many firms which built cars for the United States Railroad Administration as part of its… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. This is another quality publication by Signature Press highlighting a short line railroad operating in beautiful northern California. The railroad is but a ghost of its former self operating only 3.3 miles of track on an as-needed basis. The historical photographs are obviously in B&W and most from the modern era are in color. The appendix includes a detailed roster of locomotives (both steam and diesel) plus other rolling stock. The McCloud River country, south and east of towering Mt. Shasta, was one of the premier potential logging territories of California in the late 19th century. A number of small operators were already in the area, though limited by inadequate transportation, when the McCloud River Lumber Company was incorporated in 1896. The following year, the McCloud River Railroad Company was begun by the same owners. From its inception,into the 1950s, the McCloud lumber mill was busy, and contributed steady traffic to the railroad. But as the available… Read More

Signature Press, 2011. Hardcover. New. Merchants Despatch traced its origins to a railroad express service begun in 1855, with a connection to the American Express Company. From its earliest years it operated over the lines of the New York Central, and by 1871 its stock was owned by Vanderbilt Lines railroads. However, it was an independent part of the New York Central family. As such, it outlived the Central, and this book carries its history to the year 2000. Initially the rolling stock of Merchants Despatch was box cars to carry railroad ""fast freight,"" but by 1878 refrigerator cars were included. With the passage of years, the MDT fleet would become almost entirely refrigerator cars, maintained and many first built at the sprawling Despatch Shops in East Rochester, New York. Through much of its history, MDT leased cars to railroads other than New York Central, and to a variety of private shippers, as well as managing its own fleet of thousands of cars. By the 1950s the fleet included… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. The sixth Volume in this distinguished series of books describes Arizona's Northern Roads, the railroads in the northern part of the state. The major roads among these were the mining roads of Jerome and the coal roads of later years, there were also lumber roads and the tourist lines such as the Grand Canyon Railway. David F. Myrick, distinguished railroad historian and an unparalleled expert on Arizona railroad history, published the first five Volumes of this series from 1975 to 2001. Artist Ernie Towler painted the cover illustration based on a historic photograph of articulated locomotive 500 of the Verde Tunnel & Smelter Railway with a typically short train of ore cars. Contents: Acknowledgements, pp. 8-10, Introduction, pp. 11-12, Jerome and Its Four Railroads, pp. 13-24, United Verde and Pacific Railway, pp. 25-56, Verde Valley Railway, pp. 57-68, Verde Tunnel and Smelter Railroad, pp. 69-96, Arizona Extension Railroad, pp. 97-112, Arizona Central… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. The Western Division of the Southern Pacific, historically extending from Sacramento to Oakland and San Jose, and with lines to Fresno, the Napa Valley, and over Altamont Pass, was a crucible of California operations. Headquartered at the famous Oakland Pier (or Mole) and dispatching hundreds of passenger and freight trains daily in its heyday, this division was in many way the vortex of SP in the West. With its ferry connection to San Francisco, and train departures to all parts of the SP system, the Oakland Pier was at the center. The history, construction and operation of the division are presented in this broad compilation by Southern Pacific authority John Signor. As with all his SP historical works, the coverage is thorough and detailed, with many specifics drawn from operating personnel. At the same time, the outstanding Signor maps we have come to expect, and voluminous photographic illustration from Southern Pacific files as well as from many amateur… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. While many segments of the vast Southern Pacific have attracted wide attention over the years, the lines of the SP in Nevada and Utah have remained largely a mystery. The stretch from Sparks, Nevada, to Ogden, Utah, was for many years known as the Salt Lake Division. This Volume is an attempt to trace the long and colorful history of the Southern Pacific Railroad through Nevada and Utah, starting with the pioneer Central Pacific in the 1860s, and continuing on with the vibrant Harriman years after 1900, through Depression and War, and on into the modern era. Over the years, terminals and railroad towns were built, and many later faded into history. Engineering and operating challenges were overcome. Throughout, the traffic, trains and people of the Salt Lake Division continued to change, and all left their mark in some way in the shifting sands and wind-blown passes of this lonely land. This Volume is by noted Southern Pacific authority John Signor. As with all his… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. This is the fourth Volume in a series on Southern Pacific freight cars. It covers box cars, the most numerous type in the SP fleet. The era is roughly from 1865 to 1965. The book contains an extensive array of rosters, photographs and, where possible, drawings of the major car classes, along with other material as available, such as construction photographs, publicity photographs, lettering drawings, and so forth. Survival of the cars over the years is presented, as are numerous photographs of the cars in service. The first section of the book contains an introductory section of background information, then covers the early box and combination cars, along with fruit, ventilated and refrigerator cars, and presents the important Huntington-era standard cars. The coverage then turns to the Harriman and post-Harriman designs, and to the World War I era, with several design differences, including USRA cars. The very numerous cars of the 1920s, followed by the all-steel… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. This long-awaited book from noted Southern Pacific locomotive authority Bob Church covers all the ten-coupled types, from El Gubernator of the 1880s and the Texas & New Orleans 2-10-0s, to all the 2-10-2s and 4-10-2s. Extensive research has yielded the full details about SP's experiments with valve gear on 2-10-2 number 3769, and equally full details about the design and construction of the three-cylinder locomotives with Gresley valve gear in the SP Class 4-10-2s. Typical of Church's in-depth information, it has many unpublished photographs, some in color, and includes line profiles, maps, and locomotive/tender plans in its 24 chapters, and also features a chapter on tenders by Arnold Menke. Exhaustive information on history, operations and maintenance is also presented. No SP fan should be without this book. Signature Press, hardcover with jacket, 534 pages, 795 B&W and color photographs, maps and graphics, bibliography, index.

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. The railroad depot was once a vital part of local communities as well as essential to railroad operations. And particularly in the West, depots were often landmark structures. Southern Pacific and its predecessor railroads constructed and maintained depots throughout their territory. Between 1877 and 1894 a series of 26 numbered standard plans for depots was developed, and each plan was successively in use for a few years. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were more than 600 SP depots and telegraph offices. By then, many older depots, as well as most new ones at that time, had been or would be built to these standards. This book describes those depots. The story of depots in SP's far-flung territory is an interesting one: when they were built, what they looked like, and when they were destroyed or were saved. Particularly for smaller communities, the depot was once an integral part of local life, so the life stories of these depots are an integral part of… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. Union Pacific was a latecomer to the Los Angeles Basin, not becoming part of the Southern California railroad picture until 1901, when E.H. Harriman and W.A. Clark agreed to share ownership of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, which had taken over the property of the Los Angeles Terminal Railway. Completion of the line between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles enabled UP mainline freight and passenger service to reach California. The history of the SPLA&SL, which became simply the Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railway in 1916, and then disappeared into the UP, is complex, and the Los Angeles end of the railroad especially so. It is all here, from the many complications at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, to the suburban branches, and the complex passenger arrangements needed to serve the territory. The rivalries with Santa Fe, Pacific Electric and Southern Pacific were expressed in many conflicts and eventual agreements, through Depression, war and many… Read More

Signature Press. Hardcover. New. From it's beginnings in 1904 until abandonment of most trackage in 1992, the Visalia Electric Railroad had a fascinating history. Built as an electric line which pioneered 15-cycle alternating current in the United States, it operated orange interurban cars along its 30-mile route until 1924. Serving the Sierra Nevada foothill region of eastern Tulare County, the VE became a local fixture as towns and agriculture developed. From the outset in 1904, the Visalia Electric Railroad had all its stock owned by the Southern Pacific. Primarily serving the growing areas east of Exeter, branches extended eastward toward Sequoia National Park, and southward to Strathmore. After Passenger Service ended in 1924, electric freight operations continued until 1944. Thereafter, diesels provided service, from GE 44-tonners to handed-down SP ALCO and EMD switchers. Loss of perishable traffic finally doomed the line, and the last significant trackage was abandoned in 1992. In its heyday,… Read More