Taiwan’s most-widely published expert on rail transportation Su Chao-Hsu has distilled a career’s worth of knowledge and insights into this landmark four-book reference series. Get the lowdown on faraway exotic and scenic travel destinations while becoming comfortably conversant with “all things railroad”.

Trains and railways, the mainstay of large-scale land transport for two centuries, are naturally associated with countless fascinating stories. This latest work by railway expert Su Chao-Hsu is a compendium reference on “all things railroad” that invites readers on a globe-spanning adventure exploring the history, evolution, and diversity of steam trains; traveling popular tourist train lines; and visiting train-themed museums and iconic train stations on every continent.

Volume one examines in bright, engaging detail the 300 or so types of steam engines developed over the past two centuries. The text is well seasoned with the author’s own pictures as well as engine schematics and rarely seen contemporary models.

In volume two, readers take a captivating deep-dive into world railway heritage, learning along the way about the state of railway heritage preservation in various countries and embarking on eye-opening tours of some of the world’s best rail scenery and tourist rail lines – quite a few of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Volume three takes readers through some 70 railway-related museums around the world. The author also plumbs the merits of establishing a Taiwan railway museum, discussing its ideal scale, character, and mode of operation and pondering on how some of its more iconic collection items might best be presented.

In volume four, readers learn all about railway stations and stops, starting with differences among building, track, and platform elements; then distinguishing among functional, architectural, scenic, and design characteristics; and finally ending with introductions to over 300 of the world’s most iconic stations.

The closely interwoven narrative, photographs, and illustrations in this series compellingly reflect the fruits of a career’s worth of dedicated work and research. This is both the perfect travel guide and educational reference book for casual readers and hard-core train enthusiasts alike.