Book Review: RAIL USA Museum & Trips

Hello Followers,

In most instances, my blog contributions consist of personal experiences, trip notes, or a subject of interest related to something news relevant or historically significant. In this unusual case, today's submission comes in the form of a book review of a Bella Terra publication; RAIL U.SA. Museums & Trips. As a frequent travel who is always seeking good rail related reading material, I was recently introduced to this expansive guide and illustrated map that outlines some of our country's most unique rail related tourist destinations, the contact information to those attractions, and an easy-to-read illustrated map that connects our nation's rail preservation sites in a small, compact size.

I obtained a copy of all three RAIL U.S.A. Museums & Trips guides, which feature three separate books that include The Western States, Central States, and Eastern States. The all inclusive three-pack which I obtained at a price of only $24.95 features over 1,200 Museums, Depots, Scenic Railroads, Dinner Trains, Model Layouts, and Historic Sites & Train watching locations. For the occasional or frequent traveler, these compact guides are incredibly handy for quick references, proactive planing purposes, or personal research projects.

The attached photo (at right) features the expanded back side of the RAIL U.S.A. Western States edition, which includes an in-depth review of some of the western state's most prominent rail tourist destinations. A key-gen, which is somewhat visible in the top left of the photo helps identify specific types of rail attractions, such as museums, tourist lines, model layouts, etc. Those symbols are then placed alongside the text of that particular location/site along with its contact information, respectively. This helps quickly identify an area of the reader's interest and makes navigating each booklet extremely user friendly.

Each booklet is laid out very consistently, each featuring summarized information related to a specific attraction, its address/phone number, and other contact information. When fully expanded on the opposite side, the reference guide quickly evolves into an in-depth and well laid out illustrative map that features creative artwork and an atlas that easily pinpoints rail museums, tourist railroads, miniature railroads, etc. in relation to nearby highway systems and other roadways. The map also outlines existing railroads, but primarily focuses on the significance of museum and other rail attractions, as opposed to Class I railroads.

In short, each of these books in part of the RAIL U.S.A. Museums & Trips series are ideal for a traveling rail enthusiast, preservationist, or historian. Their compact size allows them to be easily stowed into camera bags or laptop cases while traveling. Additionally, they're great resources for trip planning purposes. As a West Virginia native, I was very impressed that the Eastern States edition included some of West Virginia's most obscure tourist attractions.

Each booklet is priced at $9.95, while the three-pack all inclusive guide is priced at $24.95. The booklets are a publication of Bella Terra and hit news stands in early 2014. Laminated copies of the maps are available, per request. Visit BellaTerraMaps.com for the latest product information.