Books: No Sins of Emission

THE WAY TO GO by THOMAS C. SOUTHERLAND JR. and WILLIAM McC LEERY 256 pages. Simon & Schuster. $8.95.

Railroad enthusiasts in recent years have ranked somewhere between walrus watchers and Zeppelin buffs. Now, they have emerged as the Cassandras of the energy crunch.

Thanks to Arabs, environmentalists, and Nader's Raiders, among others, the long American love affair with the big car has distinctly chilled. In the face of fuel cutbacks and a growing resistance to new jetports, air travel is more parlous than ever. As the clickety-clackers have insisted for decades,...