This is a working shelf rather than a complete bibliography: books from my own library, archives I use, organizations worth knowing, and railway blogs I follow.
Alongside the books and websites below, I’m slowly making my way through roughly 35,000 Prince Edward Island railway files shared with me by Steve Hunter—a collection that should keep me researching, modelling, and discovering new rabbit holes well into old age.
New to the Island railway?
The Prince Edward Island Railway Facebook group is an approachable place to begin, with photographs, memories, questions, and discussion from people who know the subject.
Books in my library
These are working references from my own collection, grouped by subject rather than ranked or reviewed.
Prince Edward Island & local history
- Gaudet, Harold. Remembering Railroading on Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown: self-published, 1989.
- Graham, Allan. A Photo History of the Prince Edward Island Railway. Edited by Mary Graham; maps by Clint Morrison. Alberton, PE: Allan Graham, 2000.
- Rogers, Irene L. Charlottetown: The Life in Its Buildings. Charlottetown: Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation, 1983.
- York History Committee, comp. The Valiant Connection: A History of Little York. Edited by Nelda Murray. Little York, PE: York History Committee, 1993.
- Pigot, Franklin L. A History of Mount Stewart: Illustrated & Extended Edition. Expanded by the Hillsborough River Association Publishing Committee. Mount Stewart, PE: Hillsborough River Association, 2017.
Atlantic Canadian railways
- Linley, Bill. Trackside Newfoundland. Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ: Morning Sun Books, 2019.
- Bailey, Bram. Canadian National Atlantic Region in Color. Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ: Morning Sun Books, 2020.
- Linley, William R. “Bill.” Trackside in the Maritimes, 1967–1993 with Bill Linley. Scotch Plains, NJ: Morning Sun Books, 2015.
- Nason, David. Railways of New Brunswick. Edited by Malcolm Somerville. Fredericton, NB: New Ireland Press, 1992.
- Ness, Gary W. The Dominion Atlantic Railway: 1894–1994. Halifax, NS: Nimbus Publishing, 2014.
Canadian National & equipment references
- Musgrave, Sarah. 100 Years of Building a Legacy Together, 1919–2019: A Century of Our Stories. Montréal: Sid Lee for CN, 2019.
- Hinman, Roger C. Merchants Despatch: Its History and Equipment. Wilton, CA: Signature Press, 2011.
- Peck, C. B., ed. Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice, 1950–52. 14th ed. New York: Simmons-Boardman Publishing Co., 1950.
- Hile, Stephen W. UTLX Steam Era Tank Cars. Guilford, CT: Speedwitch Media, 2018.
- Lepkey, Gay, and Brian West, eds. Canadian National Railways: An Annotated Historical Roster of Passenger Equipment, 1867–1992. From a manuscript compiled by Andrew Merrilees. Ottawa: Bytown Railway Society, 1995.
- Lepkey, Gay. A Companion to Canadian National Railways: An Annotated Historical Roster of Passenger Equipment. Ottawa: Bytown Railway Society, 1999.
Research, archives & reference sites
- PEI Public Archives and Records Office — searchable maps, plans, photographs, and other Island archival material.
- Ingenium Collection — Canada’s national science and technology collection, including railway photographs, drawings, records, and artifacts.
- Library and Archives Canada: Railway Employees — digitized records and research guidance for railway employment, including the Intercolonial and Prince Edward Island Railway provident fund.
- Canadian National Railways Historical Association — an extensive CN history and modelling resource, including CN Lines, locomotive and rolling-stock references, employee timetables, operations material, photographs, and volunteer research.
- CP Tracks — Canadian Pacific Historical Association — a CP-focused document library with more than 14,000 drawings, plans, timetables, and records, including a surprisingly useful collection of Canadian National material.
- Canadian Freight Cars — Ian Cranstone’s extensive visual and roster reference for Canadian freight equipment, private owners, and car builders.
- Canadian Freight Railcar Gallery — Chris VanderHeide’s searchable photographic reference for freight-car fleets, reporting marks, builders’ logos, and more than 100,000 images.
- C. Robert Craig Memorial Library — a Canadian railway-history research collection of books, magazines, photographs, plans, timetables, and archival material.
Railway organizations & modelling resources
- New Brunswick Railway Museum — the Hillsborough museum preserving New Brunswick railway history and the current home of operational former CN RSC-14 No. 1754, which served on Prince Edward Island.
- Maritime Federation of Model Railroaders — the umbrella organization for model-railway clubs and groups in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
- Eastern Canada Division, Northeastern Region, NMRA — the NMRA division serving Atlantic Canada, with regional events, modelling resources, presentations, and The Hot Box newsletter.
- Bytown Railway Society — an Ottawa-based nonprofit devoted to Canadian railway history through preservation, Branchline magazine, specialist publications, and the annual Canadian Trackside Guide.
- Elgin Car Shops — Pierre Oliver’s detailed prototype-modelling journal covering freight-car kit construction, detailing, painting, weathering, and layout projects.
- Speedwitch Media — Ted Culotta’s prototype-modelling resource and publisher, with deeply researched freight-car publications, models and parts, plus useful downloadable clinic and reference files.
Blogs & ongoing reading
- Prince Street — Chris Mears on thoughtful, creative model railway practice.
- Half Nuts Model Railroaders — an archival but still-live glimpse of an informal Summerside, Prince Edward Island operating group.
- The Model Railway Show — Trevor Marshall’s writing on layout design, construction, operations, and prototype-informed modelling.
- Traingeek — Trains and Photography — Steve Boyko’s long-running Canadian railway blog, combining photography, history, documents, timetables, and substantial Atlantic Canadian material.
Off the rails: Airline reading
A small detour into Canadian commercial aviation and airline history.
- Ward, Max. The Max Ward Story: A Bush Pilot in the Bureaucratic Jungle. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1991.
- Pigott, Peter. National Treasure: The History of Trans Canada Airlines. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 2001.
- Smith, Philip. It Seems Like Only Yesterday: Air Canada, the First 50 Years. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1986.
- McGregor, Gordon R. The Adolescence of an Airline. Montreal: Air Canada, 1970.
- McArthur, Keith. Air Monopoly: How Robert Milton’s Air Canada Won—and Lost—Control of Canada’s Skies. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2004.
- Fattedad, Sid. An Insider’s Story of the Rise & Fall of Canadian Airlines. Vancouver: Warfleet Press, 2014.
- Glenn, Clayton H. From Lodestars to Jets: TCA Memoirs, 1943–1964. Presented by Henry Tenby. London: Astral Horizon Press, 2025.
This is a working list and will grow as useful books, sources, and sites turn up.