American railroads were the Internet of the 19th century. The whole country opened up. Industry exploded. Numerous fortunes were made, lost, and sometimes made again. Railroads had a profound impact on technology, business, politics, and culture. This reference guide includes seven essays which provide historical overview and detailed examinations of critical aspects of the railroads. Also included are 15 in-depth biographies of persons who greatly influenced the history of the rails; 23 primary documents that illustrate the story with the participants' own words; 10 photos; a timeline; and an annotated bibliography to aid further research. This book is the perfect starting point for anyone interested in this fascinating period of U.S. history. After a historical overview that opens the book, railroad historian Augustus Veenendaal explores the technology that made the railroads possible and the innovations in financing that got them built. A chapter is devoted to the Civil War, as the rails were used as a tool of war. An in-depth look at the epic story of transcontinental railroad is followed by an examination of the quest for monopolies. Finally a summary chapter focuses on the economic impact of railroads in the nineteenth century and beyond. Biographical portraits of figures like Jay Gould, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and James J. Hill detail the lives of industry movers and shakers. Excerpts from primary documents ranging from Abraham Lincoln's legal defense of the railroad industry to Charles Dickens' description of his railroad trip through America, to a secret agreement between J. P. Morgan and railroad tycoons to avoid competition provide first-hand accounts of the events of the day.

Not long after the end of the American Civil War, a wealthy young Dutchman by the name of Claude August Crommelin embarked on a tour of the young country, visiting New England, the Middle Atlantic States, the Upper Mississippi Valley, and the war-ravaged South. His family connections allowed him to meet important people, and his interests in industry, politics, and public institutions led him to observe what others might not have noticed. His meticulously kept journal reveals an inquisitive traveler with a keen eye for detail and a genial writing style. Available in English for the first time, Crommelin s book provides an illuminating outsider's account of the United States at a pivotal point in its history."

Narrow Gauge in the Tropics is the first comprehensive history of railways and tramways in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) from breaking ground in 1864 to the invasion of the Japanese during World War II. During the mid-19th century under colonial rule, the Dutch East Indies experienced enormous increases in production of sugar, coffee, and other commodities, resulting in a great dilemma: How were these goods to be moved to port when wagons hauled by animals was the only available form of transportation? The solution was to build a railway network through some of the most challenging terrain on the planet. Lavishly illustrated, Narrow Gauge in the Tropics explores technical aspects of the construction of the railways over difficult terrain, the origin of the technicians who made the seemingly impossible happen, and the social impact of the railways on the indigenous population.

Oklahoma was in the throes of the Great Depression when Preston George acquired a cheap Kodak folding camera and took his first photographs of steam locomotives. As depression gave way to world war, George kept taking pictures, now with a Graflex camera that could capture moving trains. In this first book devoted solely to George's work, his black-and-white photographs constitute a striking visual documentary of steam-driven railroading in its brief but glorious heyday in the American Southwest. The pictures also form a remarkable artistic accomplishment in their own right. Prominent among the magnificent action images collected here are the engines that were George's passion - steam locomotives pulling long freights or strings of gleaming passenger cars through open country. But along with the fireworks of the heavier steam engines slogging through the mountains near the Arkansas border on the Kansas City Southern or climbing Raton Pass in New Mexico on the Santa Fe, George's photographs also record humbler fare, such as the short trains of the Frisco and Katy piloted by ancient light steamers, and the final years of that state's interurban lines. Augustus J. Veenendaal Jr.'s brief history of railroads in the Sooner State puts these images into perspective, as does a reminiscence by George's daughter Burnis on his life and his pursuit of railroad photography. With over 150 images and a wealth of historical and biographical information, this volume makes accessible to an audience beyond the most avid railfans the extent of Preston George's extraordinary achievement.