Back in the late 1990s I traveled a lot with my son. We’ve ridden the southwest chief and the zephyr multiple times. There was a book we had that told us about the signage, what the whistles meant, what the conductor was doing and saying to others, it also told about train cars along the track or at stops. was a great book. My son is asking me about it and I can’t find it. I tried looking online for something similar but not having luck. It wasn’t a child’s book. Can anyone help me

When I traveled by train across the US back in 2012 I used this book: https://www.bradtguides.com/product/usa-by-rail-9/

Sounds like a very interesting book.

You might find some related information on this site:

https://railroadsignals.us/signals/pl/pl.htm

Try your local library. I know San Francisco libraries have their own search system, not Google, they might help.

These were all popular in the late 90s:

The Big Book of Trains
The Historical Guide to North American Railroads
All Aboard:: The Complete North American Train Travel Guide