Images of Rail
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(1)
Long Island Rail Road: Morris Park Shops
by David D. Morrison
Part of the Images of Rail series
David D. Morrison, retired Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) branch line manager and railroad historian, has compiled rare photographs to showcase the shops that power the LIRR, the busiest railroad in North America.
The LIRR provides passenger rail service from Midtown Manhattan to to the far ends of Long Island at Greenport and Montauk. A vast operation such as this requires a huge fleet of locomotives and cars. The reliability of the fleet rests mainly upon the shop maintenance facility. The Morris Park Shops, opened in 1889 and closed in the early 2000s, provided over a century of maintenance and repair service, allowing the LIRR to develop and expand through the years. The complexity of the shop facility, from the days of steam locomotives to multiple-unit electric cars and diesel locomotives, is a fascinating chapter in LIRR history.
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(3)
Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal
by Anthony Puzzilla
Part of the Images of Rail series
The historic Central Railroad of New Jersey (CRRNJ) Terminal operated for nearly 80 years from 1869 until 1967. It served as the main passenger terminal for the CRRNJ and its tenant Class I railroads serving the New York City metropolitan area. For approximately two-thirds of the 12-17 million new citizens that successfully passed through the Ellis Island Immigration Station between 1892 and 1954, the CRRNJ Terminal became their gateway to America. In addition, the terminal became the New York City origination/destination point for the CRRNJ and its tenant Class I railroads and their famous named trains. These trains were, and are still today, widely renowned in the annals of American railroading.
Anthony Puzzilla is a retired federal government employee after 43 years of service. He is now a full-time writer, as well as a railfan and model train lover. He is a member of the Jersey Central Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Historical Society, and the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society. This book contains memorable images, many from the author's own private photograph collection, showing the remarkable history of this notable railroad terminal.
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Arcade and Attica Railroad
by Kenneth C. Springirth
Part of the Images of Rail series
In 1881, a narrow-gauge railroad was built in southwestern New York, from Attica to Arcade. It was later rebuilt to standard gauge to connect with what became the Pennsylvania Railroad. Concerned that the line would be abandoned, local farmers, merchants, and others raised money to purchase the railroad and formed the Arcade and Attica Railroad. Through vintage photographs, Arcade and Attica Railroad highlights the history of a railroad that, faced with declining revenues, launched steam-powered passenger service in 1962. With a dedicated management team that has taken the time and effort to face obstacles, the pride of loyal employees, and a supportive community, the railroad has endured a variety of herculean challenges to continue passenger and freight service in Wyoming County, New York.
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Southeastern Pennsylvania Trolleys
by Kenneth C. Springirth
Part of the Images of Rail series
An extensive number of trolley car lines linked the city of Philadelphia to the rich farmland and picturesque towns of southeastern Pennsylvania. These trolley lines traversed miles of narrow streets lined with row houses whose residents were proud working-class Americans. These historic photographs trace the trolley cars' routes, including Route 23, the region's longest urban trolley route, from the expanses of Northwest Philadelphia's Chestnut Hill through the crowded commercial Center City to South Philadelphia with a variety of neighborhood stops at everything in between. Southeastern Pennsylvania Trolleys follows the history of the trolley cars that have served this diverse and historic region.
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Railroad Depots of Southwest Ohio
by Mark J. Camp
Part of the Images of Rail series
Springfield was the original destination of the two oldest railroad companies to lay rails in Ohio, the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad and the Little Miami Railroad. This would form the first rail link between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. Other routes became more important as rails eventually spread like spokes of a wheel from Cincinnati, and connections were made to Akron, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Lexington, Louisville, Marietta, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Toledo as well as many other cities by the late 1800s. Hundreds of depots were erected to serve train travelers, ranging from the smallest shelter to the standard combined passenger-freight building to the major city passenger terminal. Cincinnati, Dayton, and Springfield became railroad centers, and towns like Blanchester, Hamilton, Loveland, Middletown, Morrow, Wilmington, and Xenia, served by more than one line, became busy transfer points. With the decline of rail passenger service, depots became unnecessary--many were demolished. Railroad Depots of Southwest Ohio presents a pictorial look at a sampling of these grand structures when they were in their prime.
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Canton Area Railroads
by Craig Sanders
Part of the Images of Rail series
Canton and the nearby cities of Massillon and Alliance are located in the great steel-making region of northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Railroads brought coal, much of it mined in southeastern Ohio, and iron ore to the steel plants and hauled away the finished products. The Timken Roller Bearing Company moved to Canton in 1902 and in the 1920s began making roller bearings for railroad locomotives and rolling stock. Written in cooperation with the Akron Railroad Club, this book chronicles the history and development of the railroads that served Stark, Wayne, Holmes, Carroll, and Tuscarawas Counties. It shows how rail operations changed as the steel industry declined and railroad consolidations led to traffic shifts and route abandonment. Among the railroads that served this region were the Pennsylvania, Baltimore and Ohio, New York Central, and Wheeling and Lake Erie.
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Kentucky and the Illinois Central Railroad
by Clifford J. Downey
Part of the Images of Rail series
The Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR) operated approximately 600 miles of mainline track throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky, stretching from the Mississippi River to the central part of the state. In addition to Louisville, the state's largest city, the ICRR also served dozens of small towns. Kentucky's economy was built around coal mining and farming, and the ICRR played a major role in both industries. ICRR's coal trains served as a conveyor for Kentucky coal moving to Midwest factories, and the road hauled a wide variety of agricultural products, including tobacco, grain, and fresh fruit. No mention of the ICRR would be complete without discussing the fleet of fast passenger trains that whisked Kentucky residents to and from distant cities. To maintain the locomotives that hauled all these trains the ICRR operated one of the nation's largest locomotive repair shops in Paducah.
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Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad
by Kenneth C. Springirth
Part of the Images of Rail series
Andrew Carnegie's vision of transporting iron ore from his boats on Lake Erie to his Pittsburgh steel mills was realized when he obtained ownership of a series of railroad companies in the region. In 1900, these companies became the Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad, which connected the Lake Erie ports of Erie, Pennsylvania, and Conneaut, Ohio, south to North Bessemer near Pittsburgh. Through vintage photographs, Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad highlights the railroad passenger excursions to Conneaut Lake Park and the steam and diesel locomotives used on the well-maintained line. The railroad continues to serve the steel industry today and in May 2004 was acquired by the Canadian National Railway.
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Rails Around Fort Worth
by Ian Taylor
Part of the Images of Rail series
Railways played a central role in the development of the American West. The railroad came to Fort Worth in 1876, and with it came the boom that transformed a city into a metropolis. From the arrival of the Texas & Pacific Railroad to the streamliners of the postwar era, Fort Worth has always seen the railroad as a vital part of its character. From transcontinental locomotives to the construction of elegant architectural landmarks and to small but convenient interurban passenger lines, railroad history is central to Fort Worth's development. This is the story of a city's love affair with technology, transportation, and industry. Through its connection to an emerging country via the railroad, the young frontier town of Fort Worth came to offer as much to the nation's development as it benefited from it.
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Sierra Railway
by Stephen D. Mikesell
Part of the Images of Rail series
The Sierra Railway is one of the most intact steam railroads in the United States. It is operated today by California State Parks to interpret and celebrate the importance of steam railroading in California history. Located in the Gold Rush town of Jamestown, in Tuolumne County, the railway began operations in 1897 and played an important role in developing the economy of Tuolumne and adjoining Calaveras County. While nearly all other steam short-line railroads in the United States were dismantled in the 1950s, the Sierra line has survived in a remarkably complete condition. The railway was a big hit among railfans, who flocked to it as early as the 1930s and in increasing numbers in the 1950s. Now operated as Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, the steam operation of the railroad is very much alive.
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Railroads of Los Gatos
by Edward Kelley
Part of the Images of Rail series
The picturesque town of Los Gatos stands between the once verdant orchards of the Santa Clara Valley and the forested slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The narrow-gauge South Pacific Coast Railroad arrived in 1878 and, within two years, laid track over the mountains to carry passengers, redwood, and tons of ripe produce. Less than a decade later it was purchased by Southern Pacific, and completely converted to standard gauge by 1909. Invigorating business and industry, the railroad remained a vital part of the economy of Los Gatos for over 80 years. Although the era of commercial rail ended in 1959, Billy Jones and his scaled-down Wildcat Railroad" still offered weekend rides at his ranch to guests, including Walt Disney. The Wildcat still operates in two local parks today.
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The Southern Railway
by Sallie Loy
Part of the Images of Rail series
The Southern Railway was the pinnacle of rail service in the South for nearly 100 years. Its roots stretch back to 1827, when the South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company was founded in Charleston to provide freight transportation and America's first regularly scheduled passenger service. Through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Great Depression, rail lines throughout the South continued to merge, connecting Washington, D.C. to Atlanta and Charleston to Memphis. The Southern Railway was born in 1893 at the height of these mergers. It came to an end in 1982, merging with Norfolk and Western Railway to become Norfolk Southern Railway. The history of the railway lives on, however, and Norfolk Southern continues to "serve the South." In 2003, the Southern Railway Historical Association selected the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History as the repository for their extensive archives. Included in this collection are hundreds of professional quality, black-and-white photographs taken by company photographers throughout the railway's history. These photographs not only capture the transition from steam to diesel and the pinnacle of rail travel, but also the development of the South through much of the 20th century. While a few of these images have been seen by the public, the vast majority have not.
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Reading Trains and Trolleys
by Philip K. Smith
Part of the Images of Rail series
Rail transportation has been part of daily life in Reading since the 1830s. Reading Trains and Trolleys portrays the good old days of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway (reorganized as the Reading Company in 1923), the Schuykill Valley Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Mount Penn Gravity Railroad, the Neversink Mountain Railroad, the Reading City Passenger Railway, and the Reading Traction Company. The Reading Railroad gained widespread recognition as a property for sale on the Monopoly board, but the history of trains and trolleys in Reading goes well beyond that iconography. Reading Trains and Trolleys documents the impact of railroad and trolley networks on Reading and adjoining communities, including photographs of the interior of the locomotive shop and the carbarn at Tenth and Exeter Streets, views of the Walnut Street yard before and after the Outer Station was constructed, and views from the Swinging Bridge, which spanned the yard by the Outer Station. The Historical Society of Berks County's collection of rail photographs includes many never-before-published images of diverse scenes in and around Reading.
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(3)
The Lehigh Valley Railroad across New Jersey
by Ralph A. Heiss
Part of the Images of Rail series
Constructed as the Easton and Amboy Railroad and opened by 1875, the Lehigh Valley Railroad was instrumental in developing the commerce and communities of central New Jersey through which it once ran. Originally built to haul unending trains of "black diamonds" from Pennsylvania to Perth Amboy, the Lehigh Valley Railroad became so much more than a conduit for shipping coal. In building across the state, it became instrumental in not only hauling produce to New York City markets but also for providing service to companies like Johns-Manville and Lionel Trains. From Phillipsburg to Jersey City and all points in between, the Lehigh Valley Railroad hauled freight and passengers, while at the same time contributing to the social fabric of the area. The Lehigh Valley Railroad across New Jersey paints a picture of a railroad that provided over 100 years of quality service to the Garden State.
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(6)
Northwestern Pacific Railroad
Eureka to Willits
by Susan J. P. O'Hara
Part of the Images of Rail series
The year 2014 marks the centennial of the completion of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP), celebrated by driving a "golden spike" at Cain Rock in October 1914. This achievement was the culmination of a massive, six-year engineering effort to connect rail lines ending at Willits with the early lumber company railroads of the Humboldt Bay region. When it was completed, the NWP linked Eureka with San Francisco by rail, a milestone in the history of Humboldt and Northern Mendocino Counties. This book examines the impact of the NWP on Northwestern California. Although no longer operational, the railroad today symbolizes the ongoing struggle to connect this isolated region with the wider world.
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Eastern Shore Railroad
by Chris Dickon
Part of the Images of Rail series
In the 1880s, New York railroad magnate Alexander Cassatt looked at a map of America's East Coast and decided that he could overcome a challenge of geography if he thought of a new railroad in a non-traditional way. North and South were now trading with each other postwar, and the two most prominent coastal cities of those regions, New York and Norfolk, were less than 500 miles apart--except for one very large problem: at the end of a straight route down the Eastern Shore of Virginia lay the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, with more than 20 miles of open water to the rail yards of Norfolk. Thus Cassatt created the New York, Philadelphia, & Norfolk Railroad, which ran overland from Philadelphia to Cape Charles, Virginia; at Cape Charles, the railroad became waterborne on barges and passenger ferries that traveled the rough waters at the mouth of the bay. Now known as the Eastern Shore Railroad, since 1884, the operation has followed a path through history that has been no less dramatic than the rise and fall--and curves in the right of-way--of American railroading during that time.
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Nebraska's Cowboy Rail Line
by Keith Terry
Part of the Images of Rail series
Nebraska's Cowboy Line existed for nearly 125 years and covered more than 400 miles as it made its way across the northern portion of the state. The construction of the rail line, which started in 1869, was the impetus for the establishment of many towns, and even the relocation of some, along the route. The line was employed to transport miners to the Black Hills during the gold rush of the late 1800s, it carried thousands of Irish and German immigrants to the largely unsettled area, and it allowed politicians to meet their constituents. It also was used to deliver necessities, amusements, technology, and new innovations to the state's citizenry.
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(3)
Erie Railroad's Newburgh Branch
by Robert McCue
Part of the Images of Rail series
For over 130 years, the Erie Railroad's Newburgh branch was a key factor in the economic and social life of the city of Newburgh, New York, and the towns that had stations along its 19-mile route between Newburgh and the Erie main line. Only five miles of this once vital rail link survive today. Looking at this lightly used rail spur today, the casual passerby would have no hint of the rich history that can be seen for only a moment from the car window. Erie Railroad's Newburgh Branch will take both dedicated and new rail fans back to the days when rail travel was every town's modern mode of transport as well as its economic lifeblood. It was a simpler time, before the age of air travel and America's love affair with a new invention called the automobile.
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Big Bend Railroads
by Dan Bolyard
Part of the Images of Rail series
The Big Bend area had its start with a land grant given by President Lincoln to the Northern Pacific Railway. As such, the railway company heavily promoted the area to encourage settlement and populate the station sites along the way. Towns began to develop in the late 1880s; prior to that time, the few settlers had a difficult time getting around. Despite snow, floods, fires, wrecks, human error, sabotage, and government regulation, the railroads continued and were able to serve the communities and help them survive. The earliest lines were built largely by man and beast with few large machines. The last transcontinental line in the Big Bend, the Milwaukee Road, featured groundbreaking technology in the form of electrically operated locomotives. The building of Grand Coulee Dam brought more railroad lines, with tracks that featured grades and locomotives normally seen on logging railroads, to bring in construction materials to the largest concrete structure in the world at the time.
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(5)
The Long Island Railroad
1925-1975
by David Keller
Part of the Images of Rail series
Chartered on April 24, 1834, as a route from Brooklyn to Boston, the Long Island Rail Road commenced in 1836 with service between Brooklyn and Jamaica, New York. The railroad has linked Long Island and New York City through several periods of increasing immigration and population beginning in the 1880s. Farmers and fishermen have depended on the railroad for their livelihood, and every summer thousands of tourists flock to Long Island beaches on the Long Island Rail Road. It is still the nation's largest commuter railroad, transporting an average of over two hundred fifty thousand commuters daily. The Long Island Rail Road: 1925-1975 offers a behind-the-scenes look at freight and passenger activities and the people who worked on the railroad. These one-of-a-kind photographs depict structures no longer in use, such as towers, water tanks, and crossing shanties, as well as electric motive power and other facets of a working railroad.
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Revisiting the Long Island Rail Road
1925-1975
by David Keller
Part of the Images of Rail series
Planned and chartered on April 24, 1834, the Long Island Rail Road commenced operations in 1836 to provide a route to Boston. Stretching 110 miles east of New York City, the Long Island Rail Road has been the backbone of population growth and suburban development for over a hundred years. Electrification was begun on the Long Island Rail Road in 1905. Whether it was commuter, freight, or special trains, third-rail operations played a major role in the Long Island Rail Road's development as well as the people, places, and industries it served. This book offers an insider's view of the Morris Park shops and photographs of the varied passenger operations found on the Long Island Rail Road.
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Nevada's Virginia & Truckee Railroad
by Stephen E. Drew
Part of the Images of Rail series
The Virginia & Truckee is the most famous short line railroad in American history. Brainchild of William Sharon and the Bank of California, the V&T hauled the silver and gold ore, the cordwood, and the mining timbers that made the 1870s "Big Bonanza" a reality. From the state capital at Carson City, V&T rails stretched 66 miles to Virginia City, Reno, and Minden, Nevada. Serving the transportation needs of the Comstock's nearly 40,000 inhabitants, the V&T remained in operation until 1950. The enormously successful railroad paid its early owners handsome dividends. The V&T's ornate locomotives and cars have starred in hundreds of Hollywood productions and are now preserved in US museums. Since 1976, fourteen miles of the railroad have been restored to operation. The Virginia & Truckee has become an enduring legend.
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Middletown and Unionville Railroad
by Douglas Barberio
Part of the Images of Rail series
The Middletown and Unionville Railroad, successor to the Middletown, Unionville and Water Gap Railroad, operated from December 1, 1913, until May 31, 1946, when it was reorganized as the Middletown and New Jersey Railway. The railroad's main revenue was derived from the transportation of dairy products, feed, coal, lumber, and passengers along its 14.5-mile right-of-way from the city of Middletown through Slate Hill, Johnson, Westtown, and Unionville in Orange County, New York. It provided a connection between the Erie Railroad in Middletown; the New York, Ontario & Western Railway in Middletown; and the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad in New Jersey. All three of these railroads had unique relationships with the M&U during its period of operation.
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Railroads of Fort Bend County
by Jim Vollmar
Part of the Images of Rail series
Fort Bend County was formed in the early 1820s by members of Stephen F. Austin's "Old 300." Traders utilized barges and steamboats running along the Brazos River to transport cotton and other products from the lower Brazos Valley to the port at Galveston. In 1853, railroads began to play a larger role in the county's transportation system. Transportation facilities were greatly improved when the first railroad in Texas, the Buffalo, Brazos, and Colorado Railroad Company, completed its first 20-mile segment to Stafford's Point in Fort Bend County from Harrisburg (Houston). As many as eight separate railroads were chartered and operated in Fort Bend County by 1900. Today some of the names have changed but most of the original rail lines remain in operation. The Union Pacific, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and Kansas City Southern rail companies have picked up where their predecessors left off and are keeping Fort Bend County one of the busiest and fastest-growing counties in the United States.
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Copper Country Streetcars
by William J. Sproule
Part of the Images of Rail series
During the early 1900s, copper mining was at its peak in the "Copper Country" of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Numerous communities sprang up throughout the region, but travel between towns was difficult as the roads were not paved and became impassable during the winter months when over 200 inches of snow would inundate the area. The poor travel conditions and boom period in the Copper Country were instrumental factors that resulted in the construction of a streetcar line to serve the area. Service began in 1900, and the network was extended several times over the next few years. Ridership peaked in 1910, when over six million passengers rode the system; however, it declined in the 1920s as automobiles became more popular, roads were improved, and the copper boom subsided. Service finally ended in 1932. It is a fascinating history that surprises many of today's residents that streetcars operated in the area.
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Trolleys of the Capital District
by Gino DiCarlo
Part of the Images of Rail series
When it came to first-class transportation, not many regions of North America had more to offer than the trolley lines of New York's Capital District. From their humble beginnings as horse roads forming belts around Albany, Schenectady, and Troy, these trolley lines helped move people around Upstate New York from the late 1800s until their final exit after World War II. The lines of the United Traction Company, Schenectady Railway, and the Hudson Valley Railway provided hundreds of miles of track around their home cities, as well as direct routes to resorts in the Adirondacks, Lake George, and Saratoga Springs. The trolley lines became famous for disasters that made national headlines, labor disputes, and engineering wonders that included the longest trolley bridge in the world. The vintage images in Trolleys of the Capital District provide insight into an era gone by and an often forgotten form of transportation.
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The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
by James E. Castro
Part of the Images of Rail series
In the late 1860s, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) pushed its first tracks westward from Virginia's Tidewater region across the mountains into what was then the new state of West Virginia. Ultimately its tracks stretched across a half-dozen states and even into Canada. Appalachian coal was the C&O's primary cargo, but its fast freights carried shipments of all kinds, and its crack passenger trains were marvels of their day. In 1963, the C&O merged with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the first of what would become a wave of railroad mergers. Today the old C&O is part of giant CSX Transportation. Images of Rail: The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway gathers 200 photographs that chronicle the C&O story. Here is a fond look back at its mammoth steam locomotives and the diesels that replaced them, its bustling passenger stations, and much more, including the legendary John Henry, who beat that steam drill, and Chessie, the sleeping kitten that was the C&O's much-loved trademark.
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South Dakota Railroads
by Mike Wiese
Part of the Images of Rail series
The arrival of the railroad in South Dakota is directly responsible for the population boom and town development the state experienced in the early 1900s. Enticed by the promise of opportunity, many immigrants and East Coast residents hopped on the train and headed west, many settling in South Dakota. Railroads opened the doorway and made the West what it has become. Using over 200 images, authors Mike Wiese and Tom Hayes take the reader on a historic tour of the depots, trains, and wrecks that defined South Dakota railroading in the early part of the 20th century. Drawing on their immense collections of images and postcards, they tell a story of railroad development and local history in South Dakota.
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Kansas City Southern Railway
by Thad Hillis Carter
Part of the Images of Rail series
The Kansas City Southern Railway initially offered freight service to the immediate Kansas City area south. As the line expanded toward Texas, each tiny community had its own railway station with access to daily passenger service and less-than-carload lot freight services. No one could have foreseen that the road would eventually haul international import and export goods or that its line would reach into Mexico. Photographs in this book include the railway's involvement in operating steam engines over its lines as well as pictures from the files of esteemed rail photographers Harold K. Vollrath and Gary Coates.
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Tooele Valley Railroad
by Emma Louise Penrod
Part of the Images of Rail series
Shortly after the International Smelter offered economic salvation to Tooele's struggling desert community, the Tooele Valley Railroad became the town artery. Though originally built in 1908 to connect the smelter to the Union Pacific and Western Pacific lines west of town, the railroad became central to daily life. Hundreds of local workers rode it to and from work each day. As technology continued to change Tooele, the Tooele Valley Railroad shared Vine Street with the first automobiles-safety precautions required that the caboose, with a horn mounted to warn motorists, lead the oncoming train. However, the smelter's decades of prosperity proved short-lived, and by the 1930s, the town had fallen on difficult times once again. The railroad outlived the smelter, but operations ceased in the early 1980s, and the city had the abandoned tracks removed.
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Cleveland Mainline Railroads
by Craig Sanders
Part of the Images of Rail series
In the 1800s, railroad development was instrumental in enabling Cleveland to become an industrial center. By 1920, Cleveland was the nation's fifth-largest city, with an economy dependent on the iron and steel, petroleum-refining, automotive, and chemical industries. It was second only to Detroit among American cities in the percentage of the population employed by industry. Railroads brought raw materials needed for manufacturing and carried the finished products to markets everywhere. The mainline railroads serving Cleveland included the Baltimore & Ohio, the Erie, the New York Central, the Nickel Plate Road, the Pennsylvania, and the Wheeling & Lake Erie. Images of Rail: Cleveland Mainline Railroads describes how these six railroads developed and what freight and passenger markets they served through the 1960s, a period during which railroads were the primary carriers of goods and passengers to Cleveland. Industry changed following World War II, leading to the consolidation and abandonment of railroad routes in northeast Ohio.
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The Great Northern Railway in Marias Pass
by Dale W. Jones
Part of the Images of Rail series
Montana's Marias Pass is the lowest rail crossing through the Rocky Mountains. The tracks snake through narrow canyons, traverse the swift Middle Fork of the Flathead River, and twist through numerous snowsheds and tunnels to crest the 5,213-foot Continental Divide. James Jerome Hill was the driving force behind Great Northern Railway's mission to find the most economical route to the Pacific coast, with surveyor John F. Stevens taking a major role in locating the pass. Browning is the eastern gateway into Marias Pass as the railroad approaches the Rocky Mountain Front; continuing west from Summit, the tracks parallel Bear Creek and the Middle Fork of the Flathead River downgrade through Essex to Glacier National Park and into the Flathead Valley.
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Delaware Valley Railway
1901-1937
by Michelle Jacques
Part of the Images of Rail series
From 1901 to 1937, the lone engine of the Delaware Valley Railway chugged up and down its solitary track, from the Stroudsburgs to Bushkill. It was a time of heady prospects as the resorts of the Delaware Water Gap pushed north up the valley. Modest farmhouses became vacation boardinghouses, and some then blossomed into grand hotels. The railway brought in vacationers by the carload, but it was not just about tourism. The dinkey hauled in coal for winter heat and hauled out lumber, dairy, and farm produce that kept the farmers in cash. Farm children commuted to town to earn their high school degrees. For more than a generation, the dinkey's whistle blowing over the valley linked its people and places.
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Rails in and around Saratoga Springs
by Richard (Dick) Chait
Part of the Images of Rail series
Saratoga Springs is special. Its reputation goes back to 1767 when Native Americans brought Sir William Johnson to the area for the healing powers of the High Rock Spring. From this humble beginning, the popularity of Saratoga Springs and its many mineral water springs grew from the 19th century to the mid-20th century. Railroads played a key role in that growth. The first train entered Saratoga Springs in 1832. Regularly scheduled passenger trains made Saratoga Springs more accessible, and as a result, it grew by leaps and bounds. Beautiful train stations welcomed visitors, the Saratoga Race Course opened, large bathhouses were constructed, the Grand Union and other luxurious hotels awaited overnight guests, and many people from all walks of life visited the casino in historic Congress Park. Visits to historic locations such as Mount McGregor and North Creek were made easier by train. Along with the railroads in and around Saratoga Springs, this book also includes historic highlights of those locations.
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Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Revisited
by David A. Guillaudeu
Part of the Images of Rail series
Washington & Old Dominion Railroad covered the railroad's corporate history, construction, and operation. This second volume expands the coverage with a geographic focus on four locations: Rosslyn, Great Falls, Leesburg, and Purcellville. The images within offer a look at the railroad's feed and grain business, railfan-type views of equipment, and a visual record of methods used to maintain the right-of-way and place equipment back on the tracks. Additionally, this work offers a history of the conversion of the right-of-way into the very popular Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park. Learn about the history of mills and their place in the local economy. See how the Burro crane was a jack of all trades. Look under the hood and inside the cab to imagine what it was like to be an engineer on one of the railroad's Baldwin-Westinghouse electric freight locomotives.
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Building Grand Central Terminal
by Gregory Bilotto
Part of the Images of Rail series
Built in the heart of the Empire City is the world's greatest and most iconic railway terminal. A colossal Beaux-Arts style transport nexus, Grand Central Terminal was completed in 1913 from the legacy of the railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt. The terminal quickly became vital to travel and today accommodates 750,000 people daily. This book documents the construction of Grand Central Terminal, the former Grand Central Depot (1871) and Grand Central Station (1900), and illuminates the incredible story of the terminal that revolutionized transport, developed Midtown Manhattan, and opened railroad access to suburban areas.
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Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad
by Cynthia L. Ogorek
Part of the Images of Rail series
The Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad was a short line running 16 miles from downtown Chicago to Dolton, Illinois, the first suburb south of Chicago, with another line running southeast from Eighty-First Street to the Indiana state line. Built in the 1880s, it was owned by five trunk line railroads that used it as an efficient and inexpensive route into downtown Chicago. Like many 19th-century railroads, the C&WI reached its traffic peak in the middle of the 20th century. After World War II, passenger travel and shipping moved to airlines and over-the-road trucking. The need for rail access into downtown Chicago declined, and the C&WI ended its service in 1994.
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Western & Atlantic Railroad
by Todd Defeo
Part of the Images of Rail series
The State of Georgia chartered the Western & Atlantic Railroad in 1836. The railroad aided in the development and growth of many communities between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tennessee. In constructing the railroad, workers created a winding route that cut its way across the North Georgia landscape. During the Civil War, both armies used this vital artery, and it was the setting for one of the war's most iconic events, the Great Locomotive Chase. The state still owns the Western & Atlantic and has leased it since 1870. The line remains an essential part of North Georgia and is a backbone of the region's industry. As Atlanta ponders its transportation future, it is important to remember that without the Western & Atlantic, Atlanta would not be the city it is today.
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Spokane International Railway
by Dale W. Jones
Part of the Images of Rail series
The last half of the 19th century was typified by tycoons and shrewd railroad barons. A key figure in the development of the Spokane International Railway was James Jerome Hill, or simply Jim Hill. Spokane businessmen regarded Hill as a tyrant and considered his Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroads unwelcome monopolies in Northeast Washington and the Idaho Panhandle. In 1905, Daniel Chase "D.C." Corbin broke the Hill lines' stronghold by forming the Spokane International Railway as a 140-mile rail line from Spokane, Washington, to Eastport, Idaho, to interchange traffic from the Canadian border to the Pacific. Today, the route continues to be profitable under Union Pacific Railroad ownership with commodities shipped to Western markets via the Canadian Pacific Railway. This book shares the story of the Spokane International Railway and traces its international and local connections with every major railroad in the Pacific Northwest.
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Nashville'S Streetcars And Interurban Railways
by Ralcon Wagner
Part of the Images of Rail series
Nashville's 150-year public transportation heritage is a rich and colorful one that began in 1866 when two private companies, the McGavock and Mount Vernon Horse Railroad Company and the South Nashville Street Railroad Company, commenced operation. The first cars were mule powered. During the 1880s, as streetcar routes became longer and too strenuous for animal power, steam dummy lines were introduced. On April 30, 1889, Nashville became one of the earliest cities served by electric street railways, developing a 70-mile system by 1915. In addition to its advanced streetcar system, Nashville was also served by two interurban railway systems. Over time, improved roads and affordable cars caused ridership on public transportation to drop rapidly. By February 1941, buses had replaced the last of the city's aging streetcars. The traction era had come to an end.
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Lake Tahoe's Railroads
by Stephen E. Drew
Part of the Images of Rail series
Lake Tahoe is the majestic mountain lake that spans the boundary line of California and Nevada. The lake's clarity and scenic beauty are legendary. In the 1870s, the Nevada Comstock Lode created an insatiable appetite for Lake Tahoe's virgin pine forests. The timbers would shore up underground mining and build communities approaching 40,000 inhabitants. Railroads on three shores delivered the logs lakeside, where they were towed by steam-powered tugs to sawmills, to lumber flumes, and again by rail to their final destinations. As the mines and giant lake pines subsided, railroads pushed farther north after 1898 into new timber stands in the Lake Tahoe and Truckee River basins. Other rail lines were sold, barged across the lake, and repurposed for the burgeoning new industry of tourism. For the next 40 years, railroads marketed Lake Tahoe as their unique scenic destination.
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East Texas Logging Railroads
by Murry Hammond
Part of the Images of Rail series
When the first logging railroad was built in Jasper County in the 1870s, the virgin East Texas forest spread across a vast area the size of Indiana. That first eight-mile logging line heralded a boom era of lumbering and railroading that would last well into the 20th century. Before the era was over, thousands of miles of logging railroads would be built, and hundreds of communities would spring up along their routes. As times changed, the mills closed and nearly all of the early rail lines were abandoned, but most of the communities they helped establish survived those changes and thrive into the present day.
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The Rise and Fall of Pennsylvania Station
by Gregory Bilotto
Part of the Images of Rail series
The construction of Pennsylvania Station (1904-1910) was a monumental undertaking equally for the voluminous earth displaced, incredible innovation, and brilliant French-influenced classical architecture, but it also was a quintessential archetype of the Gilded Age. The station reshaped the economic and social fabric of New York by dislodging scores of families and local businesses. It had been built for prestige and grandeur rather than sustainability and prolonged the rivalry with the New York Central and Hudson River Railroads, leading to the creation of Grand Central Terminal. Although the station was successful for increasing passenger journeys, the rise of independent travel after World War II and mounting financial losses culminated with its unfortunate demise and eventual destruction. Nevertheless, through the misfortune of demolition emerged the first historic preservation laws, which have saved countless historic buildings, including its Park Avenue rival.
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Long Island Rail Road
Babylon Branch
by David D. Morrison
Part of the Images of Rail series
The Long Island Rail Road is the oldest railroad in the country still operating under its original name. It is the busiest railroad in North America, with 90 million annual riders on 735 trains covering 11 different branches. The Babylon Branch, which serves 15 stations from Valley Stream to Babylon, carries 18 million annual riders over its 20-mile right-of-way. The branch has been totally electrified since 1925 and has not had any street crossings at grade since 1979. There are three signal towers and four junctions for other branches on this line. Two railroad museums are housed in former branch station buildings, those being Wantagh and Lindenhurst.
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Bucks County Trolleys
by Mike Szilagyi
Part of the Images of Rail series
Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was once served by 120 miles of trolley lines. During the decades spanning the 1890s to 1950s, a variety of trolley cars glided through Bucks County's towns and countryside, beginning with Langhorne's quaint open streetcars and culminating with streamlined interurbans streaking across open fields from Sellersville to Quakertown at 80 miles per hour. The trolleys were powered by electricity, with the line stretching north from Doylestown energized by renewable hydroelectric power generated by the Delaware Canal. Before automobiles and trucks were commonplace, and before roads were paved, the rapid, convenient electric trolley was the best mode of travel for both passengers and freight shipments. Although the trolleys have almost completely disappeared today, the photographs on these pages provide rare glimpses of a long-lost mode of travel and charming scenes of Bucks County's soon-to-be-altered landscapes.
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San Diego Trolleys
by Douglas W. Mengers
Part of the Images of Rail series
Starting with the first horse-drawn trolleys introduced by the San Diego Streetcar Company in 1886, San Diego's history included the growth and decline of several trolley systems. After electricity arrived, San Diego was the site of early experimentation for electric trolleys on the West Coast and home to a short-lived cable car system. In the 1890s, sugar baron John D. Spreckels purchased these failed lines and consolidated them into the San Diego Electric Railway. This railway expanded rapidly, leading to the development of new trolley suburbs at the turn of the century, including North Park, Normal Heights, and Mission Beach. Ridership waned with the Depression and the introduction of autobuses, and though it temporarily rose during the war years, this decline led to the dismantling of the trolley system in April 1949.
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Strasburg Rail Road
by Eric S. Conner
Part of the Images of Rail series
When the Strasburg Rail Road was chartered in 1832, no one anticipated the myriad of obstacles the short line would encounter. What began as an afterthought in the early 19th century eventually became one of America's premier steam train excursions and the most visited heritage railroad in the continental United States. By 1957, the declining condition of its rails and the lack of freight and passenger service seemed to mark the end of the railroad, but it was given new life in 1958, and not even the wildest imagination foresaw the remarkable transformation and development this "Methuselah of railroads" would undergo. This book chronicles the unlikely success of America's oldest continuously operating railroad. Explore how and why Strasburg's four-and-a-half-mile line survived, and discover the story behind its ascension to prominence as an iconic, internationally known, small-town steam railroad.
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Chicago Trolleys
by David Sadowski
Part of the Images of Rail series
Chicago's extensive transit system first started in 1859, when horsecars ran on rails in city streets. Cable cars and electric streetcars came next. Where new trolley car lines were built, people, businesses, and neighborhoods followed. Chicago quickly became a world-class city. At its peak, Chicago had over 3,000 streetcars and 1,000 miles of track, the largest such system in the world. By the 1930's, there were also streamlined trolleys and trolley buses on rubber tires. Some parts of Chicago's famous L-system also used trolley wire instead of a third rail. Trolley cars once took people from the Loop to such faraway places as Aurora, Elgin, Milwaukee, and South Bend. A few still run today.