A labor of love... nothing short of a miracle. I looked at it again last night, and it took my breath away. It's the kind of work that only a gang of monks would consider undertaking. It really is fabulous.
Fred Rasmussen Baltimore Sun In this first of several volumes, Carpenter looks at the Mid-Atlantic states with painstakingly drawn ... Read morequadrant maps showing station names, mileposts, interlocking stations, coaling stations, track pans, tunnels, viaducts, and bridges... An enthusiast can cross-reference locations to visit even if the rails themselves are pulled up. Trains Surely one of the most appealingly eccentric publishing ventures of the year. The New Yorker The year 1946 was, in short, a pinnacle of American railroading, as Dick Carpenter '55 notes in his new book, A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946 Volume 1: The Mid-Atlantic States, which sets out, with admirable directness and startling scope, to map every aspect of railroading in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Brian Doyle Boston College Magazine This is a fascinating volume for the railroad buff, those interested in the interrelationship of railroads and American history, or those merely investigating the bridge or tunnel in their town from what is now a ghost railroad. American Reference Books Annual A vital tool in understanding the layout of the rail network in the Northeast.
Peter E. Lynch Penn Central Railroad Carpenter's work will be welcomed by railroad enthusiasts but will also help anyone trying to understand or reconstruct rail presence in urban or rural areas. Highly recommended. Choice 2004 The atlas is the work of Richard Carpenter: 220 hand drawn maps-a piece of craftsmanship at once so distinctive, and also so useful, it instantly reveals the sterility of computer-generated maps.
Charles Fishman Fast Company The most detailed resource ever produced on the American railway system.
Chris Iseli Baltimore Magazine A labor of love... Mr. Carpenter's hand drawn maps speak for themselves... Railroad professionals and enthusiasts will like this book because it is so comprehensive.
John F. Baesch The Portolan 2004 Proof that inspiration can result in something astounding... a treasure that any rail enthusiast or casual historian will enjoy.
Scott Bogren Rail What a task! 328 pages, with 202 meticulously crafted four-color maps. The Keystone The detail is fantastic... A railfan could spend hours pouring over the maps in this hardbound book. S Gaugian / Sn3 Modeler 2005 This book justifies its price in being essential to understanding the complexities of American railroading, signalling and otherwise. The Signalling Record 2005 A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946 could be considered an inspired work of visionary art.
John Lewis Baltimore Magazine 2005 A fascinating work documenting railroad facilities... at a time when they still mattered, both economically and culturally.
Gregory L. Thompson Journal of Transport History 2005 Carpenter knows railfans, and his multi-color atlas of rail lines as they stood in 1946 will keep them up into the wee hours... So extensive is Carpenter's work that the 276 maps and drawings included in this 360-page Volume 3 covers only Indiana, Lower Michigan and Ohio.
Steve Goddard History Wire - Where the Past Comes Alive 2009 Show Less