William L. Withuhn (1941–2017) was the long-time transportation curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. He was a licensed locomotive engineer who ran dozens of steam engines, from saddle-tankers to Northerns. Withuhn was also the chairman of the Federal Railroad Administration's Engineering Standards Committee, which re-wrote regulations for the 21st century and thus helped ensure continued operation of heritage locomotives. He was author of The Spirit of Steam and Rails Across America.

American Steam Locomotives: Design and Development, 1880–1960 figures to be an authoritative reference for generations to come, written by that rarest of men who not only understand the engineering, but who have the writing skill to communicate it.(Trains Magazine) "The book, which features one of the all-time great U.S. locomotives, a Nickel Plate Road Berkshire, on its cover, is a highly readable, entertaining, information packed volume."(Trains) Now, with Withuhn, we have pretty much all we need: the details, the analysis, the scholarship, along with a wealth of supportive photography. But we also get something much more, and that's Bill engaging prose. More than any reference book I've ever encountered, this one has wit and style. You can curl up with it and read it for pleasure.(Classic Trains) American Steam Locomotives is, and will continue to be, a landmark title in the field of railroad literature. If you are seriously interested in the history of steam locomotives, this is a volume that you have to purchase and read.(Milepost) An outstanding, authoritative history of the steam locomotive from the late 1800s to the 1960s. . . . Highly recommended.(Choice)

• 1. High-Wheeled Racers2. More Wheels and Bigger Fireboxes3. Vehicular Design for Horsepower4. Big Wheels Turnin': A History of Counterbalancing 5. Innovation and Risk in Design: From Compound Cylinders to Superheating6. Superheating: Design and Risk7. Francis Cole and his Triumph of Empiracl Science8. Locomotive Safety Regulation: The Locomotive Inspection Act of 1911 and the Nationwide Shopmen's Strike of 19229. Leadership in Industrial Research10. Federal Takeover: Engineering and Politics -The U.S. Railroad Administration, 1917-192011. The Formative Contest12. The Steam Locomotive's Final Form - The Hudson13. The Steam Locomotive's Final Form - The Texas14. The Steam Locomotive's Final Form - The Hudson - Part 215. The Steam Locomotive's Final Form - The Northern16. Giants in the Earth17. Counterpoint: Why the Diesel?18. "Big Boy" and Allegheny: The Most Powerful of All19. The T1 and Poppet Valves: The Last Important Innovation20. The "Big Three" of the Norfolk & Western21. Resisting the Revolution22. Industrial Beauty and the Beholder