Trains & Railroads

train is a connected series of vehicles that move along a permanent track to transport freight or passengers from one place to another. Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate locomotive, or from individual motors in self-propelled multiple units. Most modern trains are powered by diesel locomotives or by electricity supplied by overhead wires or additional rails, although historically (from the early 19th century to the mid-20th century) the steam locomotive was the dominant form of locomotive power.

Rail transport is the conveyance of passengers and goods by means of wheeled vehicles specially designed to run along railways or railroads. Rail transport is part of the logistics chain, which facilitates international trade and economic growth in most countries.

Typical railway tracks consist of two parallel rails, normally made of steel, secured to crossbeams, termed sleepers (UK and Australia) or ties (US). The sleepers maintain a constant distance between the two rails; a measurement known as the "gauge" of the track. To maintain the alignment of the track it is either laid on a bed of ballast or else secured to a solid concrete foundation. The whole is referred to as permanent way (UK and Australia usage) or right-of-way (North American usage).

Railway rolling stock, which is fitted with metal wheels, moves with low frictional resistance when compared to road vehicles. On the other hand, locomotives and powered cars normally rely on the point of contact of the wheel with the rail for traction and adhesion (the part of the transmitted axle load that makes the wheel "adhere" to the smooth rail). While this is usually sufficient under normal dry rail conditions, adhesion can be reduced or even lost through the presence of unwanted material on the rail surface, such as moisture, grease, ice, or dead leaves.

Did you find this review helpful?
30 Items found Print
Active Filters: In-Stock Books & Materials
Across America on an Emigrant Train
by Jim Murphy
from Sandpiper Books
for 5th-8th grade
1994 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award
in Immigration & Emigration (Location: HISA-20IM)
$10.95
Antique Locomotives - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Tre Tryckare Company
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$4.99
Big Book of Real Trains
by Elizabeth Cameron, illustrated by George J. Zaffo
1971 printing from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Boxcar Children #01
by Gertrude Chandler Warner
from Albert Whitman & Company
Orphan Stories for 2nd-4th grade
in Boxcar Children (Location: SER-BOX)
$6.39
Boys' Book of Model Railroading
by Raymond F. Yates
from Harper & Brothers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Caboose Who Got Loose
by Bill Peet
from Sandpiper Books
Personification Stories for Preschool-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Coolies
by Yin, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet
from Puffin Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Transcontinental Railroad (Location: HISA-19TRR)
$7.99
Design Line: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
by Chris Oxlade, Edited by Jenny Broom, Illustrated by Mike Lemanski
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Train w/clip-art CD
by John Coiley
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Trains & Railroads (Location: TTG-TRAIN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Draw 50 Boats, Ships, Trucks, and Trains
by Lee Ames
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Draw the Draw 50 Way
by Lee Ames
Reprint from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 3rd-8th grade
in Draw 50 (Location: ELE-ARTD50)
$9.99
Famous Trains - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$3.99
Freight Train
by Donald Crews
from Greenwillow Books
for Nursery-Kindergarten
1979 Caldecott Honor Book
in Board Books (Location: PIC-BOARD)
$9.99
Go, Train, Go!
by Elizabeth Terrill, Rev. W. Awdry
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Little Engine That Could
by Watty Piper, Cristina Ong (Illustrator)
1st edition from Philomel Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Little Engine That Could - Original Edition
by Watty Piper
from Platt and Munk Publishers
Personification Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
Nothing Like It in the World
by Stephen E. Ambrose
from Simon and Schuster
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Railroad
Inventions That Shaped the World
by John Matthews
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-9th grade
in Transcontinental Railroad (Location: HISA-19TRR)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Railroad Engines from Around the World - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Bruce LaFontaine
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$5.99
Ten Mile Day
by Mary Ann Fraser
from Henry Holt and Company
Historical Non-Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Transcontinental Railroad (Location: HISA-19TRR)
$10.99
Train Book
by William Clayton Pryor
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Train of States
by Peter Sis
Reprint from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in American History Reference (Location: HISA-REF)
$8.99
Trains
Usborne Beginners
by Emily Bone
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
$4.49
Trains
A New True Book
by Ray Broekel
from Children's Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Things That Go (Location: SCI-TTGO)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Trains
by John R. Day, illustrated by David A. Warner & Nigel W. Hearn
1989 Reprint from Treasure Press
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Trains at Work
by Mary Elting, illustrated by David Lyle Millard
from Garden City Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Tunnels, Tracks, and Trains
by Joan Hewett, photos by Richard Hewett
from Lodestar Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Things That Go (Location: SCI-TTGO)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
We Were There at the Driving of the Golden Spike
by David Shepherd, William K. Plummer
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Why Things Don't Work: Train
by David West
from Raintree
for 3rd-6th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
World of Trains - Coloring Book
by Arkady Roytman
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-4th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$3.99