New Book Releases

Name: Sacramento's Streetcars
Brand: William Burg
SKU: 9780738531472
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

We’re always on the hunt for the next great American history book. When we find it, you’ll see about it here, with our new book releases. We release new history books each month in a variety of subjects and series. Browse through all of our newest titles below, and discover your next favorite history book at Arcadia Publishing! [View all New Book Releases]

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Railroading around Hazard and Perry County

$24.99

Sacramento's Streetcars

$24.99

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Maryland

$24.99

Laramie Railroads

$24.99

Slavery & the Underground Railroad in New Hampshire

$21.99

Rails Around Fort Worth

$24.99

Portland's Interurban Railway

$24.99

Rails in Rochester and Monroe County

$24.99

Reading Trains and Trolleys

Pennsylvania Main Line Railroad Stations

$24.99

Lost Towns of Mason County, Michigan

$21.99

New Jersey Central's Blue Comet

$24.99

Tragedy at Southern Oregon Tunnel 13

$24.99

Badlands, Gateways, and Ghost Towns

$24.99

Pittsburgh's Inclines

$24.99

The Hidden History of the Main Line:

$21.99

Railroads of New York's Capital District

$24.99

The Long Island Railroad

$24.99

New York's Original Penn Station

$21.99

Auto-Train

$24.99

Rails around Westchester County

$24.99

Roaring Camp Railroads

$24.99

The Upper Merrimack Valley to Winnipesaukee By Rail

$24.99

San Francisco's Market Street Railway

$24.99

Johnstown Trolleys and Incline

$24.99

Manchester Streetcars

$24.99

Norfolk Southern in Hampton Roads

$24.99

New York Central's St. Lawrence Division

$24.99

Central Illinois Train Depots

$24.99

Railroad Depots of Northwest Pennsylvania

$24.99

McDowell County Coal and Rail

$24.99

Iowa's Last Narrow-Gauge Railroad

$24.99

The Rise and Fall of Pennsylvania Station

$24.99

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Railroading around Hazard and Perry County

9780738542737

$24.99

Besides the 1795 settling of what later became Hazard, Kentucky, and the establishment of Perry County in 1821, no other event has had the historical significance of the coming of the railroad. Until the track-laying train came through the tunnel north of town and stopped briefly for a celebration, Hazard was landlocked, and the townspeople had never heard the earthshaking sound of the train whistle. Before the railroad, the river was their road. The only few household conveniences known to these isolated people were laboriously brought up the river on push boats. Many materials used to build the railroad were also transported on flatboats. As a bridge and tunnel were built, and a passage was made for the engine that carried the railroad ties, John G. Kinner documented the change with his camera. Images of Rail: Railroading Around Hazard and Perry County features John G. Kinner's vivid and historic\photographs and others from the Bobby Davis Museum collection.

Sacramento's Streetcars

9780738531472

$24.99

Until 1947, Sacramento's streetcars linked a bustling downtown district with residential neighborhoods, workplaces, and a growing series of suburbs. Starting with horse-drawn cars on Front Street, the streetcar system owned by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company expanded to include Midtown, Curtis Park, Land Park, Oak Park, and East Sacramento. But PG&E was not alone; two other companies ran streetcar routes downtown, along with suburban lines to West Sacramento, North Sacramento, Rio Linda, Elverta, Colonial Heights, and Colonial Acres. Sacramentans rode the cars to work, to school, to the state fair, and just about anywhere they wanted to go until the streetcars were replaced by buses owned by National City Lines.

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Maryland

9781467121422

$24.99

Incorporated in 1827, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was one of America's first railroads, and Maryland was its heart and soul.

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's (B&O) creation was a tangible symbol of the Industrial Revolution, representing commerce and progress to towns along its route. Its headquarters and operations, centered in Baltimore, provided years of economic growth for the port city. This book contains images of well-known stations in Maryland, including Ellicott City Station, Gaithersburg Station, Camden Station, and the Mount Clare Shops--a self-contained industrial city, now home to the B&O Railroad Museum. Some stations still exist and are home to small museums or restaurants; others no longer stand, but images of them will remind even the casual historian of a time when railroads were a part of everyday life in America.

Take a step back in time and revisit the sites, stations, and trains of the B&Othat were once part of everyday life in Maryland and remember the glory of a bygone era.

Laramie Railroads

9781467130837

$24.99

On July 1, 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act. This act created the Union Pacific Railroad and authorized government loans and land grants to aid in the construction of the nation's first transcontinental railroad, which would connect Omaha, Nebraska, to Sacramento, California. As the Union Pacific raced west across prairies, mountains, and basins in 1867 and 1868, the Territory of Wyoming and many of its southern towns and cities were founded, including Laramie. In 1869, the Union Pacific met the Central Pacific at Promontory Summit, Utah, and the transcontinental railroad was complete. This is the story of the railroads of Laramie, a fabled place along the Union Pacific's Overland Route.

Slavery & the Underground Railroad in New Hampshire

9781467118347

$21.99

New Hampshire was once a hotbed of abolitionist activity. But the state had its struggles with slavery, with Portsmouth serving as a slave-trade hub for New England. Abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison, Nathaniel Peabody Rogers and Stephen Symonds Foster helped create a statewide antislavery movement. Abolitionists and freed slaves assisted in transporting escapees to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Author Michelle Arnosky Sherburne uncovers the truth about slavery, the Underground Railroad and the abolitionist movement in New Hampshire.

Rails Around Fort Worth

9781467131681

$24.99

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.

Portland's Interurban Railway

9780738596174

$24.99

At the end of the 19th century, Portland led the nation in the development of interurban electric railways. The city became the hub of an electric rail network that spread throughout the Willamette Valley. This is the story of the pioneering local railways that started it all as they built south along the Willamette River to Oregon City and east to Estacada and Bull Run in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. More than 200 historic images illustrate Portland's Interurban Railway from its rudimentary beginnings through the peak years, when passengers rode aboard the finest examples of the car builders' art, to the sudden end in 1958.

Rails in Rochester and Monroe County

9781467134378

$24.99

From photography to farming and from medicine to music, Rochester and the county in which it resides, Monroe County, are known throughout the world. This book brings to life the role that rail transportation had in developing an economy that made these contributions possible. By 1900, some of the county's biggest railroads had been drawn to the Rochester and Monroe County markets. They attracted people and businesses to the area and ensured the flow of products to the marketplace. Trolleys enabled people to commute to and from work as well as to enjoy the recreational resources of Lake Ontario and Irondequoit Bay. Rail transportation helped make Rochester and Monroe County truly great places to live and work.

Reading Trains and Trolleys

9780738535142

$24.99

Reading Trains and Trolleys documents the impact of railroad and trolley networks on Reading and adjoining communities.

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 Schuylkill 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.

Hartford Trolleys

9780738536002

$24.99

By 1908 Hartford had an extensive system of streetcar lines radiating from the city in all directions. The Hartford division of the Connecticut Company totaled more than one hundred twenty-five miles of track for streetcars, the dominant mode of public transportation in central Connecticut. One could take a car to New Britain, Stafford Springs, or all the way to Springfield, Massachusetts. By the 1920s, the lighter density streetcar lines were no longer lucrative and the system was converted to a motor coach operation; by the early 1930s, the automobile had replaced the streetcar as the favored mode of transport. The advent of automobile transportation eventually led to the closing of all the Hartford streetcar lines in July 1941.

Alameda by Rail

9780738547060

$24.99

Across the great bay from San Francisco, the city of Alameda evolved into an island hometown of fine Victorian and Craftsman architecture and a port containing a naval air station, shipbuilding center, and the winter home of the long-gone Alaska Packers fleet of "tall ships." But Alameda also was a busy railroad town. In 1864, a passenger railroad with a ferry connection created a commute to San Francisco. In 1869, the city became the first Bay Area terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad. Alameda became an island because a railroad allowed construction crews to dig a tidal canal, separating it from Oakland in 1902. Later generations rode steam, then electric, trains to a grand ferry pier where ornate watercraft guided them the 20 minutes to San Francisco. An auto tube, and later the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge, hastened the demise of ferry, then rail, operations before World War II.

Pennsylvania Main Line Railroad Stations

9781467116770

$24.99

In 1857, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) took over Pennsylvania's Main Line of Public Works, a state-owned railroad and canal system built in the 1830s. Most are gone, but fortunately some still stand and are in use today.

Costly to build and maintain, and never attracting the traffic needed to sustain it, the state was eager to let it go. Keeping the rail portion and combining it with its own lines, the PRR ultimately developed a well-built and well-run rail line from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh all while keeping the "main line" moniker. The eastern section between Philadelphia and Harrisburg was especially successful, particularly after the railroad built new communities along the line that were at first summer destinations and later year-round homes for daily commuters. Other towns and cities along the main line had a strong industrial or agricultural base needing rail access, and many of these communities had attractive train stations. Images of America: Pennsylvania Main Line Railroad Stations: Philadelphia to Harrisburg documents many of these passenger stations through vintage photographs and other images.

Lost Towns of Mason County, Michigan

9781467142656

$21.99

More than a century ago, Mason County was a much different, harsher place. Arriving by foot and boat to find a dense wilderness, hardy pioneers carved out tiny settlements stretching right to the coast of Lake Michigan. When the lumber industry arrived in Michigan, the settlements grew to boomtowns and new towns formed. To serve the lumber industry, the railroad spread across the county, and immigrants and settlers flooded in to have their chance at the American Dream. But when the lumber ran out, the mills closed down. Jobs disappeared, and so did these towns. Out of the thirty-nine settlements, only two cities and six fading villages remain today. Join local author Sandi Lewis-Malburg as she uncovers the towns that time forgot.

New Jersey Central's Blue Comet

9781467126540

$24.99

The legendary Blue Comet train no longer streaks through the pines of New Jersey. However, its memory still lives on through timeless images and the sustained efforts of historical societies and preservation organizations.

The Garden State's Blue Comet passenger train service operated from 1929 to 1941, on a route from the New York metropolitan area to Atlantic City. Despite the backdrop of the Great Depression and stiff competition from other railroads, it survived and established an enduring legacy in the annals of New Jersey rails. This book contains memorable images, many from private archival photograph collections, showing the remarkable history of this classic train and of the many hardworking, dedicated people who made it all possible.

Tragedy at Southern Oregon Tunnel 13

9781626193468

$24.99

The DeAutremont brothers were looking for a big score. They brought dynamite, guns and a getaway car. On October 11, 1923, at the summit of the Siskiyou Mountains in southern Oregon, the three young men held up a passenger train, with disastrous consequences. Their rash actions resulted in the tragic deaths of three Southern Pacific trainmen and one U.S. Mail clerk, unleashing a public outcry that still rings through Oregon's history. In this riveting account, rail historian Scott Mangold draws on interviews, in-depth research and previously unpublished maps and photographs to document the events at Tunnel 13. Join Mangold as he chronicles the resulting four-year manhunt and eventual conviction of the DeAutremonts and provides insight into the lives derailed by the robbery's bitter legacy.

Badlands, Gateways, and Ghost Towns

9781467128360

$24.99

Before the early 1900s, the northern edge of the eroded White River Badlands was virtually impenetrable except for the precarious horseback trails that reached the plain below. The "Badlands Wall" is an escarpment that separates the upper prairie from the lower prairie for 60 miles. In 1907, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad pushed west from Chamberlain and reached the lower plains of the Badlands. Small towns sprang up to provide water for the steam engines and trade centers for the cattlemen and homesteaders moving into the area. These towns flourished for a time, but when they were no longer needed, they disappeared or became ghost towns. Meanwhile, settlers clamored for roads from the north into the interior. When the Badlands became accessible, tourists traveled to see them. Two towns, Kadoka and Wall, accommodated the tourists and became promoters as the gateways to the Badlands.

Pittsburgh's Inclines

9781467127806

$24.99

Offering a panoramic view of present-day Pittsburgh, Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines attract pedestrians traveling from the river's shore to the top of Mount Washington.

These inclines were completed in 1870 and 1877 by real estate speculators hoping to capitalize on undeveloped land at the top of "Coal Hill," a name given due to its many coal mines. Housing in the valleys and other low-lying areas could not accommodate the influx of new residents following the Civil War. Using technology perfected to haul coal from mines, the region's first inclined railroads, or funiculars, carried people and goods and formed a part of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. By 1900, inclines were an integral part of the city's identity. During the early decades of the 20th century, however, automobiles and trucks made access to Pittsburgh's hilltops relatively easy. Before the automobile, there were at least 15 inclines in Pittsburgh. Today, there are two: the Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines.

The Hidden History of the Main Line:

9781609490645

$21.99

Beyond the grand facades and trappings of the Main Line cream-and-crystal crowd are hidden tales and scintillating stories.

Author Mark Dixon's collection of articles from Main Line Today explores the region's offbeat and oft-forgotten history. With a keen eye and a touch of humor, Dixon delves into the Welsh origins of nearly unpronounceable towns and the journey of the Sound of Music's Trapp family to Merion. From anecdotes of the socialite who divorced her husband when he had the gall to survive the sinking of the Titanic to the Wayne native who turned from the convent to a career as an internationally renowned opera star, Dixon brings to light the lost pages of Main Line history.

Railroads of New York's Capital District

9781467105606

$24.99

New York's Capital District was ideally situated to become one of the nation's earliest and most important transportation crossroads. The Mohawk River was the only water level gap in the Appalachian range to the west, which led to the construction of the Erie Canal. Soon after its completion, the state's first railroad began operating between Albany and Schenectady in 1831. Other pioneer railroads followed, heading north to Canada, south to New York City, west to Chicago, and east to Boston. Over the next century, railroads like the New York Central, Boston & Albany, Boston & Maine, and Delaware & Hudson built extensive passenger stations, freight and classification yards, and repair shops in the tri-city region. Passenger operations continue today at the Schenectady and Albany-Rensselaer Amtrak stations, while the Selkirk Yard is still an important classification point for CSX Transportation.

The Long Island Railroad

9780738536378

$24.99

Travel back to 20th century New York along the historic tracks of the Long Island Railroad through this stunning image collection.

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.

New York's Original Penn Station

9781467139403

$21.99

In early twentieth-century New York, few could have imagined a train terminal as grandiose as Pennsylvania Station.

Sandhogs would battle the fiercest of nature to build tunnels linking Manhattan to New Jersey and Long Island. For decades, Penn Station was a center of elegance and pride. But the ensuing rise of the airplane and automobile began to diminish train travel. By the mid-1960s, the station was tragically destroyed. The loss inspired the birth of preservation laws in the city and the nation that would save other landmarks like Grand Central. Author Paul Kaplan recounts the trials and triumphs of New York's Penn Station.

Auto-Train

9780738567853

$24.99

Although most Americans have heard of the Auto Train, many have uncertain ideas regarding what it is and where it operates. The "longest passenger train in the world" provides a luxury auto-ferry service between Lorton, Virginia, and Sanford, Florida. The original Auto-Train Corporation, founded by Dr. Eugene Garfield, struggled financially in spite of its immense popularity. The company faced numerous crises, including financial setbacks and equipment problems due to damages that occurred during several derailments, which led to the corporation's demise in 1981. Although the corporation sold off its corporate assets, the concept was revived when Amtrak added the Auto Train service to its East Coast schedule. Images of Rail: Auto-Train presents photographs from the early operations to today, including pictures from the Amtrak era.

Rails around Westchester County

9781467102896

$24.99

Developed by a stagecoach maker in lower Manhattan, Westchester County's first railroad, the New York & Harlem Railroad, arrived in the 1840s. Since commuting by train allowed convenient short travel, its arrival accelerated growth and commerce throughout the county due to New York City's proximity. Within the same decade, the New Haven Railroad arrived in Westchester from New England, followed by the upstate-backed Hudson River Railroad in 1849. At its peak in 1930 and on the eve of the Great Depression, Westchester County maintained as many as eight rail lines and branches. Today, three of the county's original rail lines, the Harlem line, the New Haven line, and the Hudson line, are still in use and as busy as ever.

Roaring Camp Railroads

9781467129961

$24.99

In 1963, Norman Clark officially opened Roaring Camp to the public. Since then, it has become a popular and well-known destination for tourists and rail buffs from around the world who wish to visit and ride on its 100-year-old steam trains. Isaac Graham, who constructed the first powered sawmill and the first whiskey distillery in the American West, settled the area in the 1840s. Graham was notorious for his boisterous antics, and his settlement became known as a "wild and roaring camp." Clark arrived in the area in the mid-1950s with $25 in his pocket and the dream of preserving a piece of early California. Clark's dream included a plan to construct an 1880s railroad town, complete with an authentic narrow-gauge logging railway. Over the last 50 years, Clark's dream has been continued and expanded, now incorporating two railroads, one of which dates to 1875.

The Upper Merrimack Valley to Winnipesaukee By Rail

9780738564784

$24.99

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.

San Francisco's Market Street Railway

9780738529677

$24.99

The Market Street Railway Company thrived in an age when rails ruled San Francisco. Spanning the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the boom times of World War II, it had a long and legendary lifetime that is deeply ingrained in the city's early identity. Gradually, however, it became challenged by the emergence of the automobile, cheaper motor coaches, and "nickel jitneys"--competing cars on the same routes. The MSRy painted the fronts of its cars white to show up well in San Francisco's misty weather, and for many years people called them "the White Front cars." Franchise competition and city regulations undid MSRy, and its assets were absorbed into MUNI in 1944. However, the name lives on as the nonprofit Market Street Railway organization, dedicated to preserving the history of this company and also to retrofitting early streetcars from across the globe, putting them back in service on Market Street.

Johnstown Trolleys and Incline

9780738545837

$24.99

The Johnstown flood on May 31, 1889, virtually demolished the horsecar lines of the Johnstown Passenger Railway Company, resulting in the system being rebuilt with electric trolley cars. Johnstown Trolleys and Incline covers the history of the trolley car system, trackless trolleys, and the Johnstown Inclined Plane. Johnstown was the last small city in the United States to operate a variety of vintage and modern trolley cars along with trackless trolleys. The Johnstown incline played a key role in transporting residents to higher ground in the devastating floods of 1936 and 1977. Ridership declined with the coming of the automobile and the changing industrial scene in the region. Rail enthusiasts from all parts of the country came to Johnstown on its last day of trolley service in 1960, and the last runs are fully illustrated in these vintage photographs.

Manchester Streetcars

9780738504124

$24.99

There was a time when streetcars were a vital part of daily life in Manchester. From 1877 until 1940, horsecars and trolleys glided up and down the principal streets of the Queen City. Today, only a few of Manchester's residents remember those days. Now, you can enjoy a ride with them in Manchester Streetcars, an unforgettable journey over the rails of long ago. By 1892, Manchester had a fine, extensive horsecar system, which was electrified three years later. Expansion began in 1896 and through 1907, the network of tracks grew steadily, with new lines not only serving the Queen City but also radiating to Goffstown, Concord, Nashua, and Derry. More than one hundred closed and open cars provided vital local transportation during the peak years of the trolley era. These pages intimately describe the railway companies and the cars that made street travel in New Hampshire's largest city and vicinity so pleasant and so memorable for six decades.

Norfolk Southern in Hampton Roads

9781467106733

$24.99

Norfolk Southern Railway's history in southeastern Virginia began in the mid-19th century when a young civil engineer named William Mahone designed an innovative 12-mile-long roadbed through the Great Dismal Swamp that is still in use today. Trees were felled and laid side by side at right angles beneath the swamp's surface, forming a corduroy road, with the roadbed built on top of the logs. The logs sank into the boggy swamp, where they were preserved. Nearly 170 years later, Mahone's corduroy design continues to serve as a major route for Norfolk Southern traffic, supporting millions of tons of freight each year as the railroad provides extensive service throughout Hampton Roads. One of the nation's largest Class 1 railroads, Norfolk Southern was created through the merger of Roanoke-based Norfolk & Western Railway and Washington, DC-based Southern Railway in June 1982.

New York Central's St. Lawrence Division

9781467106061

$24.99

The New York Central System was a huge, 10,000-mile railroad in the Northeast, stretching from New York City to Chicago and Boston to St. Louis. This book focuses on the St. Lawrence Division as it was during the 1940s-1960s; this was the glory period of its greatest modern-day years. This non-main line division, located in Upstate New York, contained more than 600 miles of track, including branches and running rights. The mid-20th century was a time of enormous change in the railroad industry. New technology affording economy, competition in transportation, reduced labor, and politics would be some of the factors leading to the change. Neighboring division crews had great respect for their "Hojack" colleagues, as was the division's nickname.

Central Illinois Train Depots

9781467106054

$24.99

From the mid-1800s to the early 1960s, the most integral place for Central Illinois communities was the train depot. These buildings, home to wooden benches, telegraph equipment, and old train schedules hanging on the wall, were the gateway to the rest of the world. One could catch a train to almost anywhere in the United States back in the day, but during the postwar years of America, the railroad depot faded into history. Decreased train ridership due to the increasing popularity of air travel and automobiles led to thousands of these once-important buildings closing and later being burned or torn down. From larger union depots in cities like Bloomington and Peoria to smaller isolated stops, Central Illinois Train Depots tells the story of buildings that once played vital roles in the development of communities throughout Central Illinois.

Railroad Depots of Northwest Pennsylvania

9781467105774

$24.99

From 1860 until the decline of the railroads nearly 100 years later, Pennsylvania led the nation in railroad miles. The zenith came in 1920, when the state boasted 11,500 miles of track. The northwest corner of the state was home to the Pennsylvania oil rush in the late 19th century, coal mines, timber forests, and stone quarries. The landscape was dotted with railroad depots every couple of miles. These depots were waypoints for business transactions, family reunions, outings to amusement parks, and soldiers leaving for or returning from service; they also became hangouts for pickpockets, targets for nighttime burglars, and sometimes storage sheds for explosives. Although Pennsylvania still has over 5,000 miles of track, only a few stations remain, and most of them have been repurposed as museums and businesses. This book captures the stories these stations told when rail was king in the early 20th century.

McDowell County Coal and Rail

9781467121927

$24.99

Over 200 fascinating postcard images show early coal mining in McDowell County and how it progressed throughout the years.

Coal was discovered in McDowell County, located in the Billion Dollar Coalfield of southern West Virginia, in 1748, but it was not explored or mined until the early 1800s. Mill Creek Coal & Coke Company shipped the first railroad car of coal in March 1883 via the Norfolk & Western Railway. By the early 1900s, hundreds of mining companies dotted the county's landscape. The coal from McDowell County fueled the nation's home heating and steelmaking businesses and both world wars. As the coal industry developed, the local population grew; by 1950, the county had grown from a few hundred people to more than 100,000. .

Iowa's Last Narrow-Gauge Railroad

9780738541181

$24.99

When talk began circulating in 1848 about the importance of railroads, the people of Cascade grew anxious. Without direct access to navigable rivers other than the Mississippi over 36 miles away, their community could very well fade from existence. They needed a railroad as soon as possible. The idea raced forward, with the backing of the Chicago, Clinton, Dubuque and Minnesota Railroad Company, or "the River Road," which ran along the western bank of the Mississippi River and passed through Bellevue. Their hopes and dreams became reality in a three-foot-gauge line 31 years later, in 1879. In 1880, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway purchased the River Road, which included the narrow-gauge branch line to Cascade. Overjoyed at having a larger entity involved, anticipation for the widening of the rails to standard gauge grew quickly. This book relates the story from the beginning to its abandonment in 1936. Today Bellevue and Cascade survive as thriving small towns and are economically healthy. Despite the fact that 70 years have passed since the last spike was pulled, many people know of and recall Iowa's last narrow-gauge railroad.

The Rise and Fall of Pennsylvania Station

9781467105347

$24.99

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.