This brand-new, completely up-to-date book about trains takes its readers behind the scenes into the perennially fascinating world of diesel-electric locomotives and cars, tracks and switches, signals and stations — and of the men and women who run them. It answers such questions as:

Who's the boss of a train?

Why are there so many different cars?

What do the signals mean?

Who keeps track of all trains running at the same time?

How are trains put together?

Who's who at the station?

What happens when I ride on a train?

and describes clearly the intricate operation and equipment of modern American railroads.

An exciting glimpse into the era of the "Iron Horse" explains why railroads were built the way they are and helps us understand the enormous contribution to our national life made by railroads yesterday and today.

From the dust jacket