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At well over 100 years old, Tampa Union Station is one of the few historic buildings in Tampa that still serves its original purpose. Designed by architect J.F. Leitner of Wilmington, North Carolina, Tampa Union Station has seen millions of travelers pass through its doors since its 1912 opening--from servicemen and women to "flower children" and from families on vacation to college kids setting out on their own. Once threatened with demolition, the train station reopened its doors to the traveling public in 1998 following a multimillion-dollar restoration. Through images from archives and individuals, Tampa Union Station captures moments in time related to this iconic building, including pictures of trains such as Seaboard Air Line's Silver Meteor and Atlantic Coast Line's Tampa Special, as well as other fascinating looks at life at the station.

This pictorial history illustrates the Tennessee River's influence on Northwest Alabama and people, places, and events that have shaped the area's cultural and natural history.

For centuries, the Tennessee River has shaped the lives of northwest Alabamians. Native peoples made their homes on its shores, living on the rich resources found in its waters and on its banks. Early Europeans and Americans recognized the river's importance in connecting east with west, although traveling the 40-mile stretch of rocky shoals between present-day Decatur and Florence was difficult. Overcoming that navigation challenge led to such 19th-century technological advances as the Tuscumbia, Courtland & Decatur Railroad--the first rail line west of the Appalachian Mountains--and the Muscle Shoals Canal. During the Civil War, skirmishes over control of factories, rail lines, and bridges characterized most military activity in northwest Alabama. In the 20th century, the construction of Wilson Dam and the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority improved the quality of life and increased economic opportunities in northwest Alabama.

While Cincinnati intended their new subway, started in 1920, to be a shining jewel for public transportation, the story of its origin and ultimate failure show the history of the Queen City.

Cincinnati emerged from a tumultuous 19th century as a growing metropolis committed to city planning. The most ambitious plan of the early twentieth century, the Cincinnati Subway, was doomed to failure. Construction began in 1920 and ended in 1927 when the money had run out. Today, two miles of empty subway tunnels still lie beneath Cincinnati, waiting to be used. The Cincinnati Subway tells the whole story, from the turbulent times in the 1880s to the ultimate failure of ""Cincinnati's White Elephant."" Along the way, the reader will learn about what was happening in Cincinnati during the growth of the subway-from the Courthouse Riots in 1884 to life in the Queen City during World War II.

The Delaware & Hudson Canal and the Gravity Railroad tells the story of an American industrial masterpiece.

From the anthracite mines of Pennsylvania at Carbondale to the Hudson River in New York near Kingston, the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company and the Gravity Railroad transformed long tracks of wilderness into thriving economic areas. Conceived as an inexpensive way to transport anthracite coal, the canal began hauling loads in 1828 to the Hudson River, where barges to New York City took over. A leader in the technologies of the time, the canal company used the first telegraph system in America, and when Delaware & Hudson engineer Horatio Allen ran the locomotive Stourbridge Lion in Honesdale, he became the first to run a commercial steam locomotive on tracks in the Western Hemisphere. The Delaware & Hudson Canal was privately funded, and when stock was offered for sale in 1825, it soon became the first American company capitalized at $1 million. The Delaware & Hudson Canal and the Gravity Railroad uses fascinating vintage photographs to tell an amazing piece of American history. It shows the mules, the canal boats, the locomotives, and the men who ran this technological wonder, boasting one hundred eight locks over one hundred eight miles, plus four suspension aqueducts built by John A. Roebling of Brooklyn Bridge fame. The Gravity Railroad is shown as well, hauling coal from Carbondale to Honesdale over the Moosic Mountains, a rise of more than one thousand feet.

Return to the fondly remembered glory days of an upstate New York railroad in The Fonda, Johnstown, & Gloversville Railroad: Sacandaga Route to the Adirondacks.

The innovative Fonda, Johnstown, & Gloversville Railroad, a source of great interest for railroad enthusiasts, served its communities for over 100 years, using the finest and newest equipment available. Here is the chance to view it like never before, through the eyes of early photographers in many previously unpublished images.

Included in this collection are the communities through which the railroad traveled along its 130 miles of operation, captured in images from the 1870s to the 1980s. Thanks to early historians with the foresight to preserve such records, we are able to return to the heyday of the railroad, when the FJ&G stopped at splendid Victorian stations and boasted some of the most advanced equipment in the country. The railroad used an extensive steam division as well as an electric division and frequently traveled to the beautiful Sacandaga Park near Northville, New York. A popular destination for thousands of tourists to the southern Adirondacks in the late 1800s, the park is one of the many FJ&G stops included in this impressive collection of images.

Author Randy L. Decker brings his lifelong love of railroads to this unique historical work, as well as his memories of growing up in Gloversville during the 1960s. He has spent many years traveling throughout the communities along the route, collecting vintage images and countless stories from the people who worked on the railroad and the passengers who relied on it for transportation. Discover a true historical gem, a reminder of our nation's past, and a source of pride for the people of upstate New York in this valuable addition to the Images of America series.

To reach the Port of Houston's Turning Basin, a ship must travel 50 miles along a narrow and twisting channel that passes through Galveston Bay, the San Jacinto River, and Buffalo Bayou. Despite this improbable location, Houston has the world's largest landlocked port. Measured by annual tonnage shipped, the Port of Houston is the second-largest port in the United States. Its docks, wharves, and facilities cover more than 25 miles. The port starts its second century as a seaport in 2014. Its transformation from a crowded river port into an industrial giant is fascinating. It is a tale of technology, geography, politics, hard work, and Texas brag--mixed with a little luck.

Railroads have played an integral part in shaping the identity of America, from carrying loads for industrial pursuits to connecting urban dwellers to recreational escapes in the countryside. In this volume, you will travel on the rail line that links New Hampshire's upper Merrimack Valley to the Lake Winnipesaukee region. From your window seat, you will watch beautiful, late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century landscapes unfold. You will experience the diverse personalities of several whistle-stops along the way, and will visit picturesque riverside towns, such as Concord, Penacook, Boscawen, and Franklin on the Merrimack River; places on up the Pemigewasset River, like Bristol, Ashland, and Plymouth; and towns such as Tilton, Belmont, and Laconia on the Winnipesaukee River.

Trolleys Under the Hub, a fantastic collection of photographs and captions documenting the history of Boston's Green Line, commemorates the 100th anniversary of America's first subway system. Through a remarkable series of over two hundred unique images, authors Frank Cheney and Anthony M. Sammarco document the development of this active and diverse system over the years. In September of 1897, the first trolley emerged from Park Street under the Boston Common. The transportation system that developed from this early foundation connected Boston with its suburbs, providing a convenient mode of travel for commuters in Roxbury, Charlestown, Dorchester, West Roxbury, and Brighton. Through rare--and in some cases unique--images, authors Cheney and Sammarco develop a portrait of this life-changing and city-building force that will surely delight both trolley buffs and modern-day riders of the MBTA.

Vinalhaven Island has been the home port of a productive commercial fishing fleet for over 200 years. By 1819, Vinalhaven vessels were fishing for cod and herring from Seal Island all the way to Labrador waters. By 1878, Carver's Harbor was lined with docks, fishhouses, a sail loft, a net factory, and the Lane & Libby fish plant. Throughout the 19th century, boats brought bait, salt, and supplies to Vinalhaven and returned with fish and granite from the island's quarries. Lighthouses at Brown's Head, Heron Neck, Saddleback Ledge, Goose Rock, and Matinicus guided mariners through storms. In Vinalhaven shops, boatbuilders constructed small dories, peapods and double-enders, masted schooners, and lobster boats, as well as the 365-ton Margaret M. Ford. Passenger ferries played an important role as the primary link between Vinalhaven and the mainland. The island has long been a successful center of maritime economic activity, so it is no surprise that islanders call it "the center of the universe."

Wentzville, Missouri, was founded in 1855 by William M. Allen, a tobacco farmer and state senator. Allen knew that the new railroad would run through Missouri, so he used his senatorial influence to convince railroad engineers, particularly chief engineer Erasmus Livingston Wentz, to lay the tracks through his farmland and build a station with a promise to name the town after Wentz. The tobacco industry became a driving force for Wentzville's early growth. Since 1983, when General Motors built its plant on the outskirts of town, the population has exploded. Yet the Wentzville historic area maintains a small-town feeling that charms anyone who takes the time to explore.

The Boston Elevated Railway broke ground in 1899 for a new transit service that opened in 1901, providing a seven-mile elevated railway that connected Dudley Street Station in Roxbury and Sullivan Square Station in Charlestown, two huge multilevel terminals. When the EL, as it was popularly known, opened for service, it provided an unencumbered route high above the surging traffic of Boston, until it went underground through the city. The new trains of the EL were elegant coaches of African
mahogany, bronze hardware, plush upholstered seats, plate glass windows, and exteriors of aurora red with silver gilt striping and slate grey roofs. They stopped at ten equally distinguished train stations, designed by the noted architect Alexander Wadsworth
Longfellow. All of this elegance, let alone convenience, could be had for the price of a five-cent ticket. The popularity of the EL was instantaneous. The railway continued to provide transportation service high above Boston's streets until 1987, when it was unfortunately ended after 86 years of elevated operation. Today, the squealing wheels of the Elevated trains, the rocking coaches, the fascinating views, and the fanciful copper-roofed stations of the line are a missing part of the character of Boston, when one could ride high above the city for a nickel.

It was the 1850s when the first settlers arrived in the area that would become Willmar, Minnesota. Encouraged by the land itself, they came for the fertile soil and the beauty and serenity provided by the landscape. Calamity would strike in 1862 due to the Dakota War, causing residents to flee for safer pastures. In 1869, the Great Northern Railroad would again call settlers to Kandiyohi County. Most of Scandinavian descent, this hardy lot would not be driven from the land again. In 1870, acting as agent for the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, Leon Chadwick Willmar purchased the title to Section 1 of Willmar Township. The following year, Willmar was officially named a city and became the county seat of Kandiyohi County. As the years passed from then to now, Willmar residents would face success and challenge, feast and famine, and partnership and controversy. No matter the circumstance, they would band together to face whatever arrived and join together in both celebration and sorrow.

Winfield's history traces back to the mid-19th century, well before its official incorporation in 1921. It began as the Gary's Mill settlement and nearly became Fredericksburg and Frederick Park due to the German heritage that its early people brought with them. It became Winfield when it was believed that Gen. Winfield Scott passed through the area during the Black Hawk War of the early 1830s. Winfield's history is attributed to people, businesses, and social activities. Its people included unique individuals such as Jacob Mueller and John Hamm, as well as the Higgins, Enders, and Besch families. Its businesses included longtime staples Higgins Store and Schmidt's Meat Market, as well as popular gathering locales like Hamm's tavern. Early social activities usually centered at Forester's Hall. Many residents attended mass at St. John the Baptist Church, which started in 1867, burned in 1906, and was rebuilt and rededicated one year later. While Central DuPage Hospital is a staple of today's Winfield, early Winfield had the Forsythe Rest Farm and the Chicago-Winfield Tuberculosis Sanitarium.

Until hard surface, all-weather thoroughfares were constructed and private automobiles became numerous, residents of York County depended on trolleys for local transportation. Many people commuted regularly to and from work on the electric cars, which also carried children to school from September through June. In the winter, when streets, roads, and highways were buried under deep drifts, powerful snowplows swiftly cleared the street railway tracks after severe storms so the trolleys could get through. Maine's York County boasted more than 100 miles of trolley lines from 1907 through 1922. The World War I years were difficult for street railways throughout the United States. Soon after the conflict ended, automobiles began rolling off the assembly lines at progressively more attractive prices. As the nation entered the "Roaring Twenties," more and more residents of York County acquired motorcars and no longer needed the trolleys that had served them so faithfully through the years. York County Trolleys takes us on a visual journey from Kittery to Old Orchard Beach, from Old Orchard to Portland, and inland to Eliot, South Berwick, and Sanford.