All Aboard: The Complete North American Train Travel Guide

Great book! I gave it to my father as a Christmas gift last year. It inspired a train trip from Chicago to New Orleans!!

I purchased this book to begin planning a thirty day trip exploring the USA by train. I got what I was hoping for, the nuts and bolts of train travel. The book is much more than just good logistical information. I enjoyed the historical and operational highlights. I have taken a couple of overnight train trips in the past, but now I will have a greater appreciation for the the crew that serves us and ensures that we get to our destination safely.

This book is riddled with errors of fact regarding railroad history, terms, and operations yet filled with gratuitous left wing commentary that does nothing to advance the stated intended purpose of the book.A few examples include stating that the Sunset Limited began running in 1995…this train was in the Amtrak system since startup in 1971, but was extended from New Orleans to Miami in 1995 in a failed experiment to create the first truly transcontinental train in North American history, later cut back to Orlando due to timekeeping issues, and discontinued after Hurricane Katrina. Another, that there was at one time the ability to cross Canada from the Atlantic Provinces to the Pacific without changing trains…always an impossibility.Many operational errors come up regarding radio usage, train crew operating procedures, and supposed standard terminology used, incorrect repeatedly. Nitpicking one might say, but not really, as this book is intended to inform the public regarding railroad matters that they will now have many wrong ideas about and will simply continue to propagate mistaken notions.