Ride this train

California is well-represented in the coffee-table book, America’s Great Railroad Stations, and our area is showcased in the stations at both Sacramento and Davis. Roger Strauss III has an eye for station architecture and he presents views of murals or stained glass windows alongside photos of stairways, ceilings and building exteriors. Accompanying text informs us that, upon completion in 1926, the Sacramento station “was one of the grandest and most imposing stations in the West, befitting a city whose role in American railroading history cannot be overstated,” and that the Davis depot is “in the mission revival style totally indigenous to California.” A whirlwind tour of America via the train station, the book covers every region that has tracks, with images worth taking time to savor. It is the perfect book for photographers, architects and rail aficionados.