Brian Solomon is one of today's most accomplished railway historians. He has authored more than thirty books about railroads and locomotive power, and his writing and photography have been featured in the world's top rail publications, including Trains, Railway Age, Passenger Train Journal, and RailNews. He divides his time between Massachusetts and Ireland.

Spanning more than one and a half centuries, this treasure trove examines the steam, diesel, and electric locomotives that have have kept North American commerce on the rails since the middle of the nineteenth centuty. Prolific rail author Brian Solomon takes an encyclopedic approach and describes every major type. And because locomotive-building has long been a made-to-order business, the book is arranged alphabetically by railroads from across the United States and Canada to show the variant technologies that railroads ordered to best suit their specific needs, whether for freight or passenger operations.

The 75-plus railroads covered range from the best known historical lines such as Canadian Pacific, Santa Fe, Union Pacific, and Baltimore & Ohio, to today's giant Class I roads, commuter lines, and selected short lines. The result is a profusely illustrated and beautifully presented reference guide that features more than 400 locomotive gems from throughout the ages, including historic machines such as New York Central's J3a Hudsons, Pennsylvania Railroad's GG1 electrics, and EMD's classic E- and F-Units, to today's most powerful modern diesels. All the major builders-past and present-are represented, including such heavyweights as Baldwin, Alco, Lima, EMD, GE, and more.