Brian Solomon

Brian Solomon

סופר


1.

They steamed westward with America, carrying goods and people to the new frontier. They powered through the industrial revolution, moving with the times. And they transported a nation in motion, soldiers and settlers and immigrants, captains of industry and itinerant laborers. These were the steam locomotives that ruled the rails and kept America moving and working for more than a century. 

 

Pictured here in more than 250 modern photographs of restored and preserved models, these locomotives evoke the railroad’s golden age and stand as a powerful reminder of the industry’s might. The book offers a pictorial history of the evolution of steam power from the early nineteenth century to the demise of steam power after World War II; detailed captions identify each pictured locomotive and explain its role in the history of American motive power.  Featuring every prominent wheel configuration as well as shrouded “streamlined” locomotives, Steam Power conveys the grand geographic and technological breadth of North American railroading.
...

2.
They were World Heavyweight Champions: Bob Backlund, Superstar Billy Graham, and Bruno Sammartino. They were fan favorites: "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, Chief Jay Strongbow, and Andre the Giant. They were the villains everyone loved to hate: Killer Kowalski, Ernie Ladd, and the Fabulous Moolah. They were ethnic heroes, someone just like you that you could cheer for: Ivan Putski, Pedro Morales, Peter Maivia. They were the stars that shined the brightest, and left an indelible mark on the memories of countless fans.

In a time when professional wrestling was divided into territories, no place created bigger Superstars than World Wrestling Entertainment. From the company's centerpiece in Madison Square Garden, legends were born.

WWE Legends is the every fan's guide to the legends of the ring. They are all in here, from Andre the Giant to George "the Animal" Steele, with quick stats and descriptions of their most famous matches. No true wrestling fan should be without this book....


3.

Once the second-largest steam locomotive builder in the U.S., American Locomotive Company (Alco) produced 75,000 locomotives, among them such famous examples as the 4-6-4 Hudsons and 4-8-4 Niagaras built for the New York Central, and the 4-6-6-4 Challengers and 4-8-8-4 Big Boys built for the Union Pacific.  Alco Locomotives is the first book to tell the full story of this company central to American railroad history—and beloved by railfans for its rich heritage and its underdog appeal. Noted rail historian Brian Solomon looks back at the founding of Schenectady Locomotive Works in 1848 and proceeds to cover that company’s merger with several smaller locomotive builders in 1901 to form Alco. Solomon describes the locomotives that made Alco’s name around the world, from the standard designs like Mikados, Atlantics, and Mallets to the more powerful and flashy post–World War I models. His detailed, richly illustrated narrative re-creates the drama of a tough, ambitious company in the American tradition—rising again and again to the demands of an ever-changing industry and economy.

 

Solomon also covers Alco electrics (built in partnership with GE), as well as the company’s successful and quirky diesel offerings, including the RS-2 and RS-3 road switchers, FA/FB road freight units, PA road passenger diesel, and the wares of Canadian affiliate Montreal Locomotive Works. Enlivened by numerous historical photographs, modern images, curious details, and firsthand accounts, this history is a complete, fascinating, and fitting tribute to a true icon of American railroading.

...

4.

From the first, U.S. railroads have carried coal from mines to docks, steel mills, and power plants across the country. In this authoritative book spanning the whole of that history, from the mid-nineteenth century to present, noted rail author Brian Solomon explores the railroads and hardware that have transported the fossil fuels that made America work. Brilliant period and contemporary photographs convey the drama of the enterprise: the very long—and very heavy—trains powering up mountain grades and thundering across barren prairies. 

 

At sites from the eastern and western U.S., past and present, readers see giant double-headed Norfolk and Western steam locomotives moving Appalachian coal in Virginia; modern CSX diesels dragging unit coal trains over the well-groomed former Chesapeake & Ohio main line; BNSF’s SD70MACs with more than 100 hoppers in tow; Rio Grande locomotives snaking through the Rocky Mountains; and coal trains working full-throttle up Colorado’s Tennessee Pass, cresting the Continental Divide at 10,000 feet above sea level. Taking up topics ranging from the colorful but now-defunct “anthracite roads” of eastern Pennsylvania to today’s AC-traction diesels that work Wyoming’s thriving Powder River Basin, Solomon reveals how for 150 years the unique demands of coal—and America’s demand for coal—have prompted new railroad technologies.

...

5.

Few railroading scenes are as enduring as those that depict a train traversing river or roadway, creek or cayon, atop a sturdy structure specially engineered for the situation. In this marvelously illustrated work sure to appeal to modelers and railfans alike, prolific rail historian Brian Solomon presents the only completely illustrated book to tackle the development and evolution of North American railroad bridges.

Inside, Solomon examines major types of construction-including trusses, trestles, viaducts (both stone arches and steel construction), suspension bridges, and movable spans-as well as many of the men responsible for pioneering them. In addition to explaining in layperson's terms the principles behind each type of construction and why they are used in given situations, Solomon offers histories detailing the origins, construction, and use of iconic structures such as Hell Gate, Starrucca Viaduct, and Suisun Bay Bridge, amoung others, as well as lesser known but nonetheless important and interesting spans.

North American Railroad Bridges is illustrated throughout with landmark patent drawings, period postcards, specially commissioned diagrams, and modern color photography from some of today's top rail photographers, capturing railroads large and small hauling traffic across bridges throughout the United States and Canada.

...

6.

This wonderfully illustrated book celebrates Golden State railroading, offering a colorful look at California’s legendary railroads, the men who built and ran them, and the engineering feats that made them possible, and the legacy those railroads have left in the form of the state’s historic tourist roads and museums, as well as modern railroad operations.

 

In addition to examining historic railroads irrevocably linked with California, most notably the Southern Pacific, Railroads of California features coverage of excursion roads and museums such as Railtown 1897 State Historic Park and the famed California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. Also included is coverage of modern “real” railroad sites and operations such Donner Pass, Feather River Canyon, Tehachapi and Cajon passes, the railroad hub of Barstow, scenic and state-sponsored Amtrak service along the Pacific Coast, and the iconic Los Angeles Union Station. With marvelous modern color photography, historic black-and-white imagery, and a specially commissioned map, the book is a historical, pictorial tour by rail of one of the nation’s top railroading states.
...






©2006-2023 לה"ו בחזקת חברת סימניה - המלצות ספרים אישיות בע"מ