Books about commuter rail

Are there any well-researched books that give great overviews of commuter rail systems, at least in the US: history, operations, finances, etc.? There seem to be plenty for individual railroads, and for US railroads as a whole, and for intercity passenger trains, but based on my review of Amazon and Barnes & Noble, none about commuter rail systems.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Passenger Train Journal published North American Commuter Rail 1994, which, though out of date, is worth having. It has an overview of every commuter system then operating, with detailed articles on some of them. Maybe PTJ has a few copies lying around and would sell you one.

SR, LM and Everyone:

A historical look at commuter railroads can be found in the book "Commuter Railroads" by Patrick C. Dorin which was published by Bonanza Books
back in 1969...This book includes services in the Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington-Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Chicago, San
Francisco, Montreal, Toronto and Detroit metropolitan areas that were in operation at the end of the 1960s...

This 192 page hardcover book has 257 black and white pictures, 30 route maps, 7 charts and other facts about these services...

The description of this book is "A pictorial review of the most traveled trains" and it can be quite a comparison to what exists today
45 years later...Back then Government involvement and subsidies for commuter rail was a new concept that would grow in the 1970s...

An interesting omission was no mention of the former PRR MU commuter trains that ran between Baltimore and Washington via Odenton...
That was the predecessor of what would eventually become today's MARC Penn Line...

I have a copy and it is a good read - and library addition...EBay may be a place to begin a search for one...

MACTRAXX

If you're interested in a general history of US commuter railroads history going back to the 19th century, I'd recommend trying to find a copy of On the 8:02 by Lawrence Grow (Main Street Press 1979). It would be a good complement to more recent books that focus on contemporary operations.

I don't have any suggestions either, but I'll be taking a course on land use and urban transportation next semester. I'll let all of you know if I find a good cross-spectrum look at commuter rail, whether American/Canadian or worldwide.

Copies aren't always easy to find (though they sometimes appear on Amazon, and I've found one at a local bookstore in CT), Boston's Commuter Rail: The First 150 Years by Thomas Humphrey and Norton Clark is an outstanding history of Boston's system from the 1830s up to the 1980s.

SouthernRailway wrote:Are there any well-researched books that give great overviews of commuter rail systems, at least in the US: history, operations, finances, etc.? There seem to be plenty for individual railroads, and for US railroads as a whole, and for intercity passenger trains, but based on my review of Amazon and Barnes & Noble, none about commuter rail systems.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Amazon & Barnes & Noble may be poor sources for railroad books. I suggest you try Trains, Railroad & Railfan magazines. Not sure if some railroad publishers are too small to be noticed by A or B&N. We do miss the small independent bookstore that may carry your type of book. Another source possible is in the state university publishing dept. The librarian there may lead you to the university/state collections.

A good source can be if you find a train oriented hobby shop that carries a collection of railfan picture & history books.

From a railfan point of view, you could try each city & search for Chicago/Metra, etc yo get a mix of commuter railroads

seconding MACTRAXX, one of my favorite books is
"Commuter Railroads" Patrick C. Dorin

mtuandrew wrote:
I don't have any suggestions either, but I'll be taking a course on land use and urban transportation next semester. I'll let all of you know if I find a good cross-spectrum look at commuter rail, whether American/Canadian or worldwide.

I don't know if any of his ideas were committed to writings, but if you can get a hold of anything by William J. Ronan, who died last month, you will be one up on the class and the instructor. Also, would be useful to compare and contrast Ronan's views with those of Robert Moses, his nemesis.

Thanks! Barnes & Noble has the Patrick Dorin book, so I bought it. I appreciate the suggestion, as I'd never heard of him.

Pat Dorin was one of my favorite railroad authors. Unfortunately, I read that he passed away last month.

I have three of his books in my railroad book collection: The Domeliners; Everywhere West, the Burlington Route; and Missouri Pacific Passenger Trains- the Postwar Years.

He was especially interested in passenger operations in the 1950's.

Les

Thanks, everyone! I bought the Patrick Dorin book and consumed it in one sitting. It was fascinating. I'll get the others mentioned as well.