In one of the greatest engineering feats of his time, Claudius Crozet led the completion of Virginia's Blue Ridge Tunnel in 1858. Two centuries later, the National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark still proudly stands, but the stories and lives of those who built it are the true lasting triumph. Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Hunger poured into America resolute for something to call their own. They would persevere through life in overcrowded shanties and years of blasting through rock to see the tunnel to completion. Prolific author Mary E. Lyons follows three Irish families in their struggle to build Crozet's famed tunnel and their American dream.

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 In this riveting account, rail historian Scott Mangold draws on interviews, in-depth research and previously unpublished maps and photographs to document the events at Tunnel 13.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.

Op die Spoorweg neem lesers mee in Suid-Afrika se lewendige spoorwegerfenis. Ontdek die ingenieurswonderwerke wat die moeilike terreine oorwin het en die lewendige spoorwegdorpe wat gemeenskappe onderhou.Williams skroom nie om die bitter werklikheid van rasseskeiding te bespreek nie. Hy balanseer vaardig die glans van die spoorweë teen die skerp waarhede.

Praised by the Chicago Tribune as "thoroughly and compellingly detailed history," Volumes I and II of Maury Klein's monumental history of the Union Pacific Railroad covered the years from 1863-1969. Now the third and final volume brings the story of the Union Pacific--the oldest, largest, and most successful railroad of modern times--fully up to date.
The book follows the trajectory of an icon of the industrial age trying to negotiate its way in a post-railway world, plagued by setbacks such as labor disputes, aging infrastructure, government de-regulation, ill-fated mergers, and more. By 1969 the same company that a century earlier had triumphantly driven the golden spike into Promontory Summit--to immortalize the nation's first transcontinental railway--seemed a dinosaur destined for financial ruin. But as Klein shows, the Union Pacific not only survived but is once more thriving, which proves that railways remain critical to commerce and industry in America, even as passenger train travel has all but disappeared. Drawing on interviews with Union Pacific personnel past and present, Klein takes readers inside the great railroad--into its boardrooms and along its tracks--to show how the company adapted to the rapidly changing world of modern transportation. The book also offers fascinating portraits of the men who have run the railroad. The challenges they faced, and the strategies they developed to meet them, give readers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of one of America's great companies.
A capstone on a remarkable achievement, Union Pacific: The Reconfiguration will appeal to historians, business scholars, and transportation buffs alike.

On the Railway takes readers through South Africa’s rich railway history, from Estcourt to the grand steam engines on narrow gauges. David Williams highlights luxurious trains like the White and Blue Trains, and the vital role of goods trains in the economy. He explores engineering feats that tamed tough terrains and the growth of railway towns. The book also addresses racial segregation, the decline of the rail network, and reflects on the past and uncertain future of South African railways.

Experience the world by train alongside best-selling travel writer Tom Chesshyre, as he takes a whistle-stop tour around the globe in 49 unique journeys Why do people love trains so much? Tom Chesshyre is on a mission to find the answer by experiencing the world through train travel - on both epic and everyday rail routes, aboard every type of ride, from steam locomotives to bullet trains, meeting a cast of memorable characters who share a passion for train travel. Join him on the rails and off the beaten track as he embarks on an exhilarating whistle-stop tour around the globe, on journeys on celebrated trains and railways including: India's famed toy train Sri Lanka's Reunification Express The Indian Pacific across the Australian outback The Shanghai maglev And the picturesque rail journeys of the Scottish Highlands Plus trains through Kosovo, North Macedonia, Turkey, Iran, Finland, Russia, America and France, with short interludes in North Korea, Italy, Poland, Peru, Switzerland, England and Lithuania. All aboard!

On June 27, 1835, New Hampshire chartered the Boston & Maine Railroad, and a juggernaut was born. By 1900, the B&M operated some 2,300 miles of track in northern New England, having taken over an astonishing forty-seven different railroads since its inception. The B&M loomed particularly large in the Granite State, where it controlled 96 percent of all tracks and was the primary conveyance through the rugged heart of New England s most formidable mountain range.

From the gravity-defying Mount Washington Cog Railway to logging transport trains to the famous Depression-era Snow Train, "A History of the Boston & Maine Railroad" traces the fascinating history of New England's most renowned railway.

From its earliest days, the cinema has enjoyed a special kinship with the railroad, a mutual attraction based on similar ways of handling speed, visual perception, and the promise of a journey. PARALLEL TRACKS is the first book to explore and explain this relationship in both historical and theoretical terms, blending film scholarship with railroad history. This highly original work reveals the profound impact that the railroad and the cinema have had on Western society and modern urban industrial culture. It will be eagerly received by those involved in film studies, American studies, feminist theory and the cultural study of modernity. It will also have appeal to general readers interested in silent films or in the history of the railroad.

Since the mid-nineteenth century the East Coast Main Line has been one of the major routes from London to northern England and to Scotland. It has seen some of the greatest achievements in the railways, most notably the 'Flying Scotsman' becoming, in 1934, the first locomotive in the world to exceed 100mph and the 'Mallard' in 1938 claiming the as-yet-unbroken world speed record for steam locomotives of 126mph. The East Coast Main Line not only made history by facilitating an ever-faster link between two capital cities, it also provided an international stage for Britain's engineering marvels, inspiring many generations of schoolboys and adults alike. That was to continue after the end of the steam era on British Railways, with diesel and then electric traction setting a series of new records over the route. This new book looks at how the London-Edinburgh line became the world's fastest steam railway and how its proud and unique heritage is appreciated and celebrated today more than ever before.

Electric streetcars and interurbans appeared in Washtenaw County in the 1890s. Evolved from horse-drawn streetcars, electric cars were ideal for public transportation. They were cheap, fast, and went to plenty of places. The system developed around Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, branching out to Detroit to the east and Jackson to the west. Bigger and better equipment was added, and larger companies took over the small ones. In western Washtenaw County, two interurban railways engaged in a struggle for survival. Occasionally the interurbans crashed into buildings or one another, with disastrous results. Electric Trolleys of Washtenaw County explains how electric mass transportation flourished starting in the 1890s, why it bloomed, and why it suddenly became extinct after only a few decades.

The District Railway was designed by a committee with impractical aspirations. A banking crisis and collapse of one of its contractors during construction created long term financial difficulties. It was complicit in completing the long hoped for `inner circle' railway that was a financial disaster and very difficult to operate. Its directors were for many years ineffectual and its managing director, though getting off to a good start, became complacent and distracted and failed to pursue with vigour the policies that were needed. Even the American entrepreneurs, who arrived with the twentieth century, had their work cut out trying to make something of a line that rarely paid dividends and had never been far from bankruptcy. In all this, the railway and its operational staff provided good and useful services to important parts of London or the suburbs it helped to shape. Why a railway like this found itself in such a sorry state is part of the story covered in this definitive volume. Well illustrated in colour and black and white.

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.

In the spring of 1847, James Brooks met with six associates in Providence to forever change the face of transportation in Indiana. The New Albany and Salem Rail Road Company was born as a result of this historic meeting. Today this railroad, most often called the Monon, is only a memory of a time when trains streaked across the hills and farmland of southern Indiana. The Monon Railroad in Southern Indiana examines the real purpose of railroads as movers of people and the products they devoted their lives to producing and focuses on areas from New Albany to Bloomington. It identifies the only two counties in Indiana that were a part of the Salem limestone district and gives a glimpse of how the stone was removed from the earth and eventually formed into some of the nation's most beloved buildings and structures. It also takes a look at the history of several lumber-based industries and the famed products that they manufactured. New Albany was once known across America as a key producer of hardwood plywood, used in custom cabinetry, and the Showers Brothers Furniture Company of Bloomington was once the largest manufacturer of furniture in America. This book talks about the industries that created the cities and towns that many Hoosiers called home.

A special board book edition of the original, classic story introducing Thomas the Tank Engine!

This is a beautifully-illustrated story about Thomas the little blue Tank Engine, who worked really hard on The Fat Controller's railway. Every day he puffed around Sodor shunting trucks and pulling freight. But what he dreamed about was having his very own branch line …

Thomas has been teaching children lessons about life and friendship for 75 years. He ranks alongside other beloved characters such as Paddington Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage.

This true story is of two boys in their later teens who have saved up like mad to buy seven-day Railrovers and go on their train spotting trip of a lifetime. Their Railrovers give unlimited travel for one designated week on the London Midland Region of British Rail. It is the first week of August 1965. Around 4,000 steam engines are still alive and kicking but there would be just over three years more before steam would be finally gone from British Rail. The week is planned in advance with rigorous research and military precision. the actual visit encapsulates eight days (seven by London Midland Region Railrover) of total frenetic excitement. Although the Railrover covered only the London Midland Region a necessary pilgrimage was made to Barry Docks. Rewinds and fast forwards to other trips are also made where appropriate. There are frequent scarcely credible brushes with shed masters and railway police. Visits to railway sheds are packed into every available daylight minute and early starts are ensured through planned overnight stays on railway platform waiting rooms etc. predictably a lot of the week did not go according to the planned timetable and the unforeseen consequences of this add to the overall enjoyment of the tale. Every single engine observed (on and off shed) is recorded in detail, together with the itineraries and in-depth commentaries on all the amusing incidents that took place. This work therefore provides a camera shot of one week in the declining years of steam on British Rail.