Freight Train Graffiti

While I was hoping for larger pictures throughout, to use as references for my detailing of model railroad freight cars, there are only a few large pictures that are of use. Most, are small photos, showing only the tags/writings and not the whole car, or of individual "artists plying their trade". There is some discussion about each of the "artists"; I'm personally not interested in the why behind the graffiti - to me, while some call it art, I consider it defacement of private property (unless the owners give permission to do this, it's wrong, IMHO) and an unsafe practice to go sneaking around trains, that could very well kill a person alongside or in-between cars. However, it is there on the freight cars and to model my freight cars prototypically, I have to understand and see what is being done to them. The photos are crisp and there are some pretty good background on the choice of trains, etc.I paid much less than the cover price and I consider it a worthwhile resource at that price. Not sure I'd have even considered purchasing it at $29.95.

Unlike some of the people who have written bad reviews of this book, I actually BOUGHT IT and READ IT. I found the book to be chock full of stories and anecdotes. Some of the pictures are too small for my tastes, but this book doesn't look like it was intended to be a picture book. It looks like a good resource for people who want to read firsthand accounts of what it is like to be a train writer, learn a little bit about the history and origins of the freight tag, and have plenty of pictures to go with the text.If you want to see huge photos of incredibly intricate work that took several artists days to perfect, this is not your book. If you want to learn about the scene, read stories about the hazards and risks involved, and see a broad range of tags, from small hollow ones to huge full color end-to-ends, to hobo drawings, try this book.How many trains would a train writer write when a train writer writes on trains? It's in the book. Some books have pictures, but they don't answer this one. This book belongs in my collection, and that's where it will stay.

EXCELLENT book - I always thought of graffiti as just disfigurement, but it is actually quite an art and quite a science, and the reasonpeople do it will rather surprise you. A lot of it is actually very artistic and colorful. I am going to go out this spring and take pictures ofthe graffiti on the trains by my house and see if I can match any of the "painters".

Exceeded our expectations

Got this for my husband as a gift. he loves trains and train graffiti, so this was perfect. He read the whole book in a couple of days, which shows how much he liked it-because he doesn't usually read that fast! He told me it was perfect gift!

Very interesting nostalgic.

I feel like this product is pretty self-explanatory. If you want a high-quality book including lots of great pictures and funny, personal first-person accounts, then this is the book for you. If not, then I really don't know why you'd want a book entitle Freight Train Graffiti. Delivers exactly as expected!

great book, i really enjoy it.

My son finds this very good

Was a gift and was well received. Liked the history behind the artists and great pictures to go along with it.

What a great book! If you like freights its pretty much the "Subway Art" of freight train graffiti. The history, writers from all over North America, monikers, FTRA, etc. Way too many artists to mention. Big pictures and lots of quality and the book is huge too. Highly recommended.

I'm not qualified to give a review, except to say, I like it and it answered some of the questions I had.

Very in depth details describing the railroad culture's history and art form decorating the sides of many cars. A must read for any train buffs or people who want to learn more about the railroad's artistic side