Iowa Railroads

Iowa Railroads

Author: Frank Pierce Donovan (Jr.)

Publisher: University of Iowa Press

Published: 2000-05

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 9780877457237

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

What began as a study of the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway stretched into more than a dozen contributions on Hawkeye state railroad topics. By 1969 Donovan had examined Iowa's “Little Three”: Chicago Great Western, Illinois Central, and Minneapolis & St. Paul as well as the state's “Big Four”: Chicago & North Western; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific; and Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific. In addition to these seven core carriers, Donovan covered the state's less prominent railroads: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Great Northern; and Union Pacific and Wabash. Moreover, he contributed an issue on Iowa's principal interurbans, most of which survived into the 1950s as electric-powered freight-only short lines. In uniting Donovan's articles into a single volume, Iowa Railroads provides the most complete history of Iowa's rail heritage.


Iowa's Railroads

Iowa's Railroads

Author: H. Roger Grant

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780253314253

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A rich photographic record of Iowa's railroad history


The Hook & Eye

The Hook & Eye

Author: Donovan L. Hofsommer

Publisher: U of Minnesota Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 178

ISBN-13: 9780816644971

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Traces the colorful history of the Iowa Central Railway and its valuable contributions to the development of the upper Midwest, chronicling the origins, growth, and eventual dismantling of the railroad and assessing its relationship with its customers, its influence on the state's agricultural and industrial commerce, and more.


Iowa's Railroads

Iowa's Railroads

Author: H. Roger Grant

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2009-06-01

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 0253013763

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A definitive history of the railroads of Iowa, featuring over four hundred black-and-white photographs. At one point in time, no place in Iowa was more than a few miles from an active line of rail track. In this splendid companion volume to Steel Trails of Hawkeyeland (IUP, 2005), H. Roger Grant and Don L. Hofsommer explore the pivotal role that railroads played in the urban development of the state as well as the symbiotic relationship Iowa and its rails shared. With more than four hundred black-and-white photographs, a solid inventory of depots and locations, and new information that is sure to impress even the most well-versed railfan, this detailed history of the state’s railroads—including the Chicago & North Western, Cedar Rapids & Iowa City, and the Iowa Northern—will be an essential reference for railroad fans and historians, artists, and model railroad builders. “Iowa’s Railroads is a solid visual introduction to the railroad history of the state.” —Industrial Archeology “With more than 400 black and white photographs, an inventory of depots and locations, and new information that will please railroad fans, [Iowa’s Railroads] will be an essential reference for historians, fans, and model railroad builders.” —Abstracts of Public Administration, Development, and Environment,2010 “This excellent volume is sure to appeal to anyone with an interest in Midwest railway history.” —The Michigan Railfan, March-April 2010 “Grant and Hofsommer, both native Iowans and respected railroad historians, have mined a wide variety of public and private photo collections, and the result is a visual feast of Iowa’s railroad experience.” —The Annals of Iowa, 69, Number 2


Iowa's Last Narrow-Gauge Railroad

Iowa's Last Narrow-Gauge Railroad

Author: John Tigges

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780738541181

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

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.


Railroads of Dubuque

Railroads of Dubuque

Author: John Tigges

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780738539577

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The city of Dubuque, settled on the west side of the Mississippi River in 1833, has historically been home to four major railways and numerous trolleys and passenger trains. Dubuque's railroad legacy was precipitated by local resident John Plumbe Jr., "the Father of the Transcontinental Railroad," who proposed a transcontinental railroad in 1838 and promoted the idea throughout the Midwest. The Illinois Central Railroad first reached the east bank of the Mississippi in 1855, followed by the Milwaukee Road, the Chicago and Great Western, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroads. This book uses rare photographs and historical text to chronicle the development and heyday of these four pioneering railways, as well as Dubuque's many trolleys and its two funicular railroads. While the glory days of Dubuque's railroads may have passed, the legacy they brought to the city lives on, and is evident in the Fourth Street Elevator, which remains the world's shortest, steepest railroad.


Steel Trails of Hawkeyeland

Steel Trails of Hawkeyeland

Author: Don L. Hofsommer

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 9780253345158

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"Steel Trails of Hawkeyeland offers a comprehensive examination of railroads in Iowa from the introduction of the iron horse to the present. It is more than a study of a single, albeit significant American state. Hofsommer superbly relates local events to the national picture. His is a 'one-of-a-kind' volume." —H. Roger Grant, author of Follow the Flag: A History of the Wabash Railroad Company In the time of jet airplanes and interstate highways, the Internet and e-commerce, it is difficult to comprehend and appreciate the impact that railroads had on Iowa's landscape—in terms not just of transportation service and economic development, but of political, social, and cultural linkage as well. Railroads helped to define the character of America, and that certainly was the case in Iowa. Pioneer lines penetrated the interior from established Mississippi River communities during the state's early railroad era, and later opened up huge tracts for agricultural opportunity as well as urban development. A wide-ranging survey of Iowa's railroad experience, Steel Trails of Hawkeyeland offers a snapshot of a fascinating and critically important element in the state's history, and emphasizes the tight symbiotic relationship between Iowa and its railways. Packed with more than 250 photographs, this is a thorough and engaging book.


Alaska Railroad

Alaska Railroad

Author: Barton Jennings

Publisher: Techscribes, Incorporated

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 9780984986668

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

From Seward to Fairbanks, this book describes the route of the Alaska Railroad past and present, plus the sights and wildlife that have fascinated visitors for more than 100 years. This book includes detailed route guides for the Alaska Railroad, information about the history of the railroad, the history of Alaska, and current railroad operations.


Nothing Like It In the World

Nothing Like It In the World

Author: Stephen E. Ambrose

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2001-11-06

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 9780743203173

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The story of the men who build the transcontinental railroad in the 1860's.


Railroads and the American People

Railroads and the American People

Author: H. Roger Grant

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2012-10-17

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 0253006333

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Railroads and the American People is a sparkling paean to American railroading by one of its finest historians.