Railroad names such as Nickel Plate, New York Central, and Sante Fe live on in railroading lore long after the demise of their namesake companies. Prolific railroad historian Solomon (Classic Locomotives: Steam and Diesel Power in 700 Photographs) tasks himself with bringing clarity to the bankruptcies, mergers, and acquisitions that over the last 150 years consolidated hundreds of American railroads into the handful of megasystems surviving today. His primary tool is a set of charts consisting of parallel, converging, and sometimes diverging color-coded lines showing the changing relationships among sets of railroads over time. Solomon concedes that the charts, which he supplements with time lines and route maps, are simplifications of events. His text is necessarily quite concise and serves mainly to place the charts in historical context. A sprinkling of colorful period maps and other illustrations with detailed captions provide additional interest. He concludes with a speculative chapter on possible future mergers or breakups.Verdict Lay readers will enjoy thumbing through the illustrations and should find the overall work an adequate introduction. Savvy railroad enthusiasts would probably only use it as a quick reference.—Lawrence Maxted, Gannon Univ. Lib., Erie, PA