Any Kindle books about locomotive and railroad operations?

Not sure if you are only looking for "How to..." books, but there are a good number of RR "story" books that describe daily operations. Search "railroad stories" on Amazon Kindle. Some are free...like a great book "Held For Orders" stories of RR life.

I'm not sure as to the extent you wish to get technical but two recommendations concerning locomotive operation I have are reprints of actual manuals issued by Baldwin and the Reading in the late 40s. The first book is a reprint of a 1947 steam locomotive firing manual issued by the Reading and the second title is a reprint of Baldwin Operator's Manual for diesel units from 1949. These books will provide you with some good insight regarding locomotive operation.

http://www.amazon.com/Firing-S...ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y

http://www.amazon.com/Baldwin-...rators/dp/1935700626

Original builder and railroad issued manuals can be found with some searching but they can get pricey.

I hope this helps.

Bob      

Just my opinion but, I don't think it is appropriate to provide information on how to "operate a locomotive" on the internet. There have already been more than enough cases of some idiot "stealing" a diesel unit and taking it for a joy ride.

I don't want to steal one, just drive a little toy one as if it were a real one. These are all great starting points. I'll begin here.

Famous last words!

Naw...I don't want to joy-ride a diesel one, either, which you can do for a fee in

Fort Wayne, Ind.: a little industrial engine they will let you run up and down the

tracks.  But since my dad fired steam, I would like to do that (hopefully with a

stoker,not sure he had that luxury), and to engineer a steam engine.  (I have not heard of a place you can pay $70 and do THAT)

When I had my kindle I had five or six RR history and such books which were either free or ridiculously cheap (like 84 cents, etc).  All were non "picture book" types - lots of text and story and not a lot of old photos or drawings though, or new books with photos and how to modeling tips.  Those types of books and kindles don't seem entirely compatible, to me.  Anyway, they were not available at low cost.

I think you need to be more specific. Do you want to know how to run a steam locomotive? From the fireman's perspective, or the engineer? Both? What do you want to know about operating a railroad? Track laying? Surveying? Freight operations? passenger? Switching?

There are great books out there that cover all these topics. If you could specify exactly what you want to know, that would certainly be helpful.

I guess my interest falls into 2 main categories:  If you are in charge of operating the train (most likely the engineer) what tasks must you perform to operate the train and keep the train running (knobs, gauges, brakes, maintenance etc). I'm interested in learning this both for steam and diesel locomotives.

Separately, I'm interested in what aspects of operating a railroad (managing freight, passengers, switchlists, industries) would lend themselves well to fun activities for a user with a home layout. 

I've spent some time doing operating sessions at a big club where we have a dispatcher, yardmaster and engineers managing a schedule (which is fun and I'd love to learn more about that too) but I am keenly interested in coming up with activities a single user on a home layout might enjoy.

I don't mind getting a bunch of different books to learn about all these various things (as I know they are all different subjects).

One subject that was interesting I was discussing with a friend was understanding which kinds of freight are the highest priority and managing your cars with this in mind.  Another subject I think is interesting is understanding the pitfalls and things that could go wrong in real life that might keep the train from getting where it needs to go (unless the train crew was prepared for these things).

I understand my interests are diverse, but appreciate any good reading tips (they don't necessarily need to be kindle books).

A good book that covers real railroad operations, and how to apply them to a model railroad, is this:

Realistic Model Railroad Operations

As for books on operating steam locomotives, a good one is:

The Engine Drivers Manual - How to Prepare Fire and Drive a Steam Locomotive

Even though it focusses on British steam, virtually everything can be applied to American steam practices.

A fascinating book is an 1889 volume called "The American Railway." Topics include The Freight Car Service, Railway Management, The Railway in its Business Relations, The Everyday Life of Railroad Men, The Prevention of Railway Strikes, etc.

If you are REALLY interested in the real thing (re steam), you have to hunt down the ICS courses.