Civil War Railroad Books

Another excellent railway history by Mr. Stover about THE North / South American road. Abraham Lincoln worked for them as a lawyer.

'History of the Illinois Central Railroad' by
John F Stover

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Review by Paul Eckler
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent history of early Illinois railroad industry
February 11, 2008

"History of the Illinois Central Railroad," by John F. Stover, Railroads of America series, Macmillan, New York, 1975. This 575 page tome covers the history of the Illinois Central Railroad from its founding to the merger with Gulf Mobile and Ohio to form the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad. The book is part of the Macmillan Railroads of America series. Its coverage is extensive and detailed.

The story of the Illinois Central is typical of Midwestern railroads of the age. Illinois had extensive raw prairie lands to be sold and developed. The land was ideally suited to agriculture, but transportation was limited. Railroads were the solution. The state legislature had already blessed the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1832, which Congress had given a land grant in 1827. In 1836, a charter was granted to the Central Railroad Co. for a line from the mouth of the Ohio River at Cairo to Galena in the far northwest corner of the state.

In 1837, the legislature funded construction with $10MM of state securities. Most of the funds went to the Central Railroad, but other supplementary rail lines were included. One was the Northern Cross Railroad from Quincy via Decatur to Danville. Another was a line from Alton via Hillsboro and Shelbyville to near Terre Haute, IN. There was also a Southern Cross line from Alton via Salem to Mt. Carmel, and a Peoria to Bloomington line. Construction on the Northern Cross, the first railroad in Illinois (and the only one of these to get built this early), began at Meredosia in 1838 and was completed to Springfield in 1842. However this line failed to prosper. It was the subject of jokes in a time of Abraham Lincoln.

A major development was the decision of Congress to provide land-grant lands for construction of the Illinois Central, the first such grant to a railroad. This grant was arranged by Senator Stephen A. Douglas, in 1848. The act provided for six square-mile sections of public land for each mile of railroad constructed. It also provided for a branch line from Centralia to Chicago. The grant extended south through Alabama and Mississippi to Mobile for what became the Mobile & Ohio Railroad.

Once again funding the railroad proved to be a challenge. Initial attempts to sell bonds were unsuccessful, but fortunately, New York Central interests through their connections were able to market the bonds, primarily in Europe, especially in England and in Holland. Construction of the original line began on December 23, 1851 and was completed on September 27, 1856. The resulting 705-mile system was the longest in the US at the time. Other railroads were also building in Illinois. They included the Chicago, Alton, & St. Louis, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and the Chicago & Rock Island. They were built from Chicago to the Mississippi. There was also the Galena and Chicago Union, later, the Chicago & Northwestern, and to the south, the Great Western (Northern Cross/Wabash/Norfolk Southern), the Terre Haute & Alton (contested by Pennsylvania and NY Central), and the Ohio & Mississippi (B&O).

A temporary depot was built, just outside of Chicago at Hyde Park. The first passenger train ran on May 22, 1852, to the Indiana State line. The Michigan Central had completed its line from Detroit to New Buffalo on Lake Michigan. It made arrangements to build around the southern end of Lake Michigan and to use the Illinois Central tracks into the city of Chicago connecting Chicago with the East by rail in 1852. The telegraph had come to Chicago, Springfield, and St. Louis by 1848. But the railroad soon created the Illinois Central Telegraph Co. and installed telegraph lines on its routes by 1855.

The railroad set about making improvements and prospered. It reached Dunleith across the Mississippi River from Dubuque on June 11, 1855. Iowa too wanted railroads. A half-dozen mostly east-west railroads were proposed as early as 1853. Congress granted land grants for Missouri and Arkansas in 1853 and finally for Iowa, in 1856. Four east-west railroads were authorized from Dubuque, Lyon City, Davenport, and Burlington. The Dubuque & Pacific Railroad was chartered April 28, 1853 and began construction in 1855. Eventually the line was completed to Sioux City and the IC leased it in 1867. In 1862 Congress authorized construction of the Transcontinental Railroad from Omaha. There was to be a branch line connecting at Sioux City, but that was later canceled. The IC constructed a bridge over the Mississippi River at Dubuque, in 1869.

Initially, the IC extended only to Cairo, Illinois. South of Cairo, the IC cooperated with the Mobile and Ohio Railroad for connections. Southern railroads were devastated during the Civil War. After the war, the IC made an effort to strengthen those lines, and eventually reached New Orleans. The southern connection originally had been constructed at 5 ft. gauge compared to the 4 ft 8-1/2-in. standard gauge used on the Illinois Central. Under IC ownership the lines were converted to standard gauge in 1881. There was also increased use of steel rails, more powerful locomotives, the improved Janney coupler, and Westinghouse air brakes. Standard Time was adopted in 1883.

The IC also developed new products and new markets. Bananas which had been enjoyed in New Orleans were first brought to Chicago in 1880 by the IC. Fresh strawberries raised in southern Illinois were brought to Chicago beginning in 1867, eventually in special refrigerated express trains. Later strawberries from Louisiana, extended the season. George Pullman constructed his Pullman plant by the IC tracks south of Chicago in 1880. The IC began suburban service in Chicago in 1856. The Chicago fire of 1871 damaged railroad property, but it was promptly rebuilt. In 1902, the IC began construction of 750 miles of telephone lines in Illinois, Tennessee and Mississippi.

In 1893 automatic block signals were installed on the tracks south of Chicago. In the 1920s, the commuter service south of Chicago was electrified. In 1913, the IC used an equipment trust for the first time to lease/purchase railroad equipment. Double tracking was installed south of Centralia to Cairo, and later to Fulton, KY. The railroad undertook educational programs along its route to encourage better agriculture. In 1906, a six-car special train called "The Corn and Seed Special" operated on the southern lines. In 1927, the "Soybean Special" followed.

Several famous persons were associated with the IC. One was Casey Jones, whose cannon ball incident happened on April 29, 1900, on the southbound out of Memphis headed for New Orleans. The five Sullivan brothers of Waterloo, IA, enlisted as a group and were killed in action in World War II. Their father, T. A. Sullivan, was a conductor on the IC. George B. McClellan served as vice president of the Illinois Central beginning in 1858. In 1855, James F. Joy was a company attorney.

On October 1, 1895, the IC completed a 99 year lease for a portion of the St. Louis, Alton & Terre Haute. The agreement gave the IC direct entry into St. Louis via DuQuoin, and connection to Paducah. The rest of the Alton line became part of the Big Four. In 1899, the IC obtained the Springfield to East St. Louis portion of the old Wing Milling Co.'s Wings Road. This route provided direct connection to St. Louis from the north.

During World War I, the government took over operation of the nation's railroads. A major problem was a shortage of railcars. Unloading of cars in the East was delayed, and hence the cars were used for storage. The IC managed to avoid bankruptcy during the Great Depression, but they were forced to suspend their dividend reluctantly. During World War II, a shortage of crude oil developed when German submarines torpedoed tanker ships enroute to East Coast refineries. Some 20,000 idle tank cars were pressed into service in early precursors of unit trains carrying trainloads of oil. From a prewar level of 580K tons (1939), IC shipments of crude oil jumped to almost 9MM tons in 1942.

In 1952 automatic block signals were installed on the 165 mile Edgewood cut off north of Fulton, KY at a cost of over $1 million. Centralized traffic control became available in the 1920s, but in 1930, only 554 miles had been installed on US railroads. Costs were prohibitive. IC's first installation in the 30s was 1.6 miles at the Cairo Bridge. At the end of World War II, IC had 32 miles of CTC. In the 1950s, 21 miles was installed between Ottawa and Gilman IL; in 1960, 37 miles outside of New Orleans along Lake Pontchartrain; and then 126 miles from Bluford IL to Fulton KY; by the end of 1964, 390 miles of CTC was installed. Single track with CTC could often replace double track. Hence pulling up double track justified the installation of CTC. In the 60s radio telephones were installed on many diesel engines and some cabooses. Automatic hotbox detectors were installed in 1960, greatly reducing the incidence of hot boxes.

The first computer, an IBM 650 with magnetic drum memory, arrived in 1955 in the accounting department. In 1957, the stores department was converted to a punched card inventory system using an IBM 705 with 7000 vacuum tubes.

In 1962, IC reorganized as a holding company, under the name Illinois Central Industries, or ICI. The new company undertook development of its real estate holdings-especially the air rights over rail yards in downtown Chicago. Projects included the construction of the Prudential building, and various similar ventures. The company also made non-railroad investments, including Waukesha Foundry Co., Signal-Stat Corp., Pepsi Cola Bottlers of Chicago, Dad's Root Beer Co., Perfect Plus Hosiery, and Midas International.

Piggyback freight service became important. Service was initiated between Chicago and Memphis in 1968. The first unit train was a grain train that began in 1967 under the name Rent-A-Train. In 1970, 36-car unit trains of sewage sludge ran from the Chicago Sanitary District to Arcola, IL for use as fertilizer.

In Chicago's worst rapid transit accident, on October 30, 1972, a commuter train of four bilevel Highliner cars overshot the 27th St Station and then backed into the station. It was rear-ended by another train, resulting in 45 dead and more than 350 injured. This was the worst US rail accident since 1958 when a Jersey Central commuter train ran through an open drawbridge.

In 1966, the railroad began installation of microwave communications links between New Orleans and Jackson, MS. The network was later extended to Chicago. It provided 420 voice channels and allowed data transmission at speeds up to 3000 words a minute. In 1970, the railroad began installing computer readable automatic car identification labels on its 50,000 freight cars. This is part of the Tele-Rail automated information network, which allows trackside data collection recording the location of freight cars.

Discussions of the merger of the IC with the Gulf Mobile & Ohio had been ongoing since 1962. The GM&O had been formed only in 1940 by the merger of the Mobile & Ohio with the Gulf Mobile & Northern. In 1947, it had absorbed the Alton Railroad. The Alton had been formed in 1850, but had had a financially shaky history, and had been reorganized in 1931 and in 1942. In 1946 it had 958 miles of track from Chicago to St. Louis and extending to Kansas City (from Springfield, IL). The merger was completed in August of 1972.

The book ends with an appendix listing: Presidents of the Illinois Central, total mileage of the system from 1850 to 1972, income by decades, major products carried, freight and passenger traffic data, equipment data, number of employees, and operating ratios and dividends. Extensive references, bibliography and index. The ICG had a main network stretching from Chicago southward to New Orleans and Mobile including St. Louis and Memphis with branches extending to Sioux Falls, Sioux City, Omaha, Kansas City, Shreveport, Montgomery, Birmingham, Nashville, Louisville, Indianapolis, and Madison, WI.

This is one of the finest summaries of Illinois railroads available. It contains extensive information not only on the Illinois Central, but on the other Illinois railroads too. Readers will find it a valuable source of information.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/002614980X/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
'Brigadier General John D. Imboden: Confederate Commander in the Shenandoah' by Spencer C. Tucker

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" John D. Imboden is an important but often overlooked figure in Civil War history. With only limited militia training, the Virginia lawyer and politician rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Confederate Army and commanded the Shenandoah Valley District, which had been created for Stonewall Jackson. Imboden organized and led the Staunton Artillery in the capture of the U.S. arsenal at Harper's Ferry. He participated in the First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas and organized a cavalry command that fought alongside Stonewall Jackson in his Shenandoah Valley Campaign. The Jones/Imboden Raid into West Virginia cut the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and ravaged the Kanawha Valley petroleum fields. Imboden covered the Confederate withdrawal from Gettysburg and later led cavalry accompanying Jubal Early in his operations against Philip Sheridan in Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Imboden completed his war service in command of Confederate prisons in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Spencer C. Tucker fully examines the life of this Confederate cavalry commander, including analysis of Imboden's own post-war writing, and explores overlooked facets of his life, such as his involvement in the Confederate prison system, his later efforts to restore the economic life of his home state of Virginia by developing its natural resources, and his founding of the city of Damascus, which he hoped to make into a new iron and steel center. Spencer C. Tucker, John Biggs Professor of Military History at the Virginia Military Institute, is the author of Vietnam and the author or editor of several other books on military and naval history. He lives in Lexington, Virginia.


Review
"Both a serious study of a controversial figure and a very readable story of a nineteenth century American."―Army History

"Follows Imboden's career through and beyond the Civil War. Tucker profiles a non-military man, more inclined to business and local politics, who with troops drawn primarily from the areas that they defended, made the most of his own innovation, initiative and drive to serve state and country. Imboden's efforts in the closing days of the war on behalf of Union prisoners at Andersonville highlight his humanity."―Blue Ridge Country

"With extensive research in primary and secondary sources, Tucker highlights Imboden's strengths and points out that he has not received proper credit for his contributions to the Confederate war effort."―Civil War History
"Tucker has endeavored to rescue John D. Imboden from the ranks of the little-understood and unjustly pilloried."―Fredericksburg (VA) Free Lance-Star

"Well written and persuasively argued, Tucker's biography of John D. Imboden provides a new look at the life of a fascinating man and the turbulent times he lived through."―H-Net Reviews

"Comprehensively researched and narrated in detail, Spencer Tucker's biography will endure as the standard study of General Imboden. The book places Imboden's reminiscences of Stonewall Jackson in perspective and reveals new insight on Imboden's supervision of Andersonville and postwar promotion of railroads and mining in Virginia."―James A. Ramage

"Imboden's interesting life and career make for good biography."―Journal of Military History

"Tucker has written well about the career and record of John D. Imboden."―Journal of Southern History

"Tucker examines the life of this Confederate cavalry commander, including Imboden's postwar writing, and explores overlooked facets of his life, such as his involvement in the Confederate prison system, his efforts to restore the economic life of his home state of Virginia by developing its natural resources and his founding of the city of Damascus, which he hoped to make into a new iron and steel center."―Lexington (VA) News-Gazette

"Tucker fully examines the life of this Confederate cavalry commander."―McCormick (SC) Messenger

"Carefully and critically compares Imboden's own accounts of events against each other, as well as against other sources, to come up with an excellent look at the general's role in the war."―NYMAS Review

"Reexamines the career of a distinguished Confederate cavalry commander who has largely been ignored."―Pelgram (TN) Advocate

"Tucker has provided a solid work on Imboden. No other biography will be necessary in the foreseeable future."―Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Fills a useful role―the account of the life of a Virginian general, dedicated in war and peace to Virginia."―Roanoke Times

"Imboden had a fascinating career, both in and out of the Confederate Army. . . . Students of the Shenandoah Valley campaigns, and those just plain interested in the remarkable lives of the lesser-known military leaders will enjoy this biography."―Signal Flag

"Prof. Tucker has provided a good critical military biography of the man, fitting his career into the wider framework of operations."―The NYMAS Review

About the Author

Spencer C. Tucker holds the John Biggs Chair of Military History at the Virginia Military Institute.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/081312266X/?tag=civilwartalkc-20


Along with Brig. Gen. William E. "Grumble" Jones, Imboden led the famous Jones-Imboden Raid of 3,400 partisan rangers into northwestern Virginia, destroying rail track and bridges of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. During the raid he also captured thousands of horses and heads of cattle and ruined the petroleum fields in the Kanawha Valley. This raid covered 400 miles (640 km) in 37 days. In the Gettysburg Campaign, Imboden's brigade served under Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart as the rearguard for Gen. Robert E. Lee's movement north through the Shenandoah Valley. (His brigade did not participate in Stuart's foray away from Lee's army, but instead raided the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Martinsburg, West Virginia, and Cumberland, Maryland.)


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Imboden

Cheers,
USS ALASKA



 
'Brigadier General John D. Imboden: Confederate Commander in the Shenandoah' by Spencer C. Tucker

View attachment 185054

" John D. Imboden is an important but often overlooked figure in Civil War history. With only limited militia training, the Virginia lawyer and politician rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Confederate Army and commanded the Shenandoah Valley District, which had been created for Stonewall Jackson. Imboden organized and led the Staunton Artillery in the capture of the U.S. arsenal at Harper's Ferry. He participated in the First Battle of Bull Run/Manassas and organized a cavalry command that fought alongside Stonewall Jackson in his Shenandoah Valley Campaign. The Jones/Imboden Raid into West Virginia cut the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and ravaged the Kanawha Valley petroleum fields. Imboden covered the Confederate withdrawal from Gettysburg and later led cavalry accompanying Jubal Early in his operations against Philip Sheridan in Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Imboden completed his war service in command of Confederate prisons in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Spencer C. Tucker fully examines the life of this Confederate cavalry commander, including analysis of Imboden's own post-war writing, and explores overlooked facets of his life, such as his involvement in the Confederate prison system, his later efforts to restore the economic life of his home state of Virginia by developing its natural resources, and his founding of the city of Damascus, which he hoped to make into a new iron and steel center. Spencer C. Tucker, John Biggs Professor of Military History at the Virginia Military Institute, is the author of Vietnam and the author or editor of several other books on military and naval history. He lives in Lexington, Virginia.


Review
"Both a serious study of a controversial figure and a very readable story of a nineteenth century American."―Army History

"Follows Imboden's career through and beyond the Civil War. Tucker profiles a non-military man, more inclined to business and local politics, who with troops drawn primarily from the areas that they defended, made the most of his own innovation, initiative and drive to serve state and country. Imboden's efforts in the closing days of the war on behalf of Union prisoners at Andersonville highlight his humanity."―Blue Ridge Country

"With extensive research in primary and secondary sources, Tucker highlights Imboden's strengths and points out that he has not received proper credit for his contributions to the Confederate war effort."―Civil War History
"Tucker has endeavored to rescue John D. Imboden from the ranks of the little-understood and unjustly pilloried."―Fredericksburg (VA) Free Lance-Star

"Well written and persuasively argued, Tucker's biography of John D. Imboden provides a new look at the life of a fascinating man and the turbulent times he lived through."―H-Net Reviews

"Comprehensively researched and narrated in detail, Spencer Tucker's biography will endure as the standard study of General Imboden. The book places Imboden's reminiscences of Stonewall Jackson in perspective and reveals new insight on Imboden's supervision of Andersonville and postwar promotion of railroads and mining in Virginia."―James A. Ramage

"Imboden's interesting life and career make for good biography."―Journal of Military History

"Tucker has written well about the career and record of John D. Imboden."―Journal of Southern History

"Tucker examines the life of this Confederate cavalry commander, including Imboden's postwar writing, and explores overlooked facets of his life, such as his involvement in the Confederate prison system, his efforts to restore the economic life of his home state of Virginia by developing its natural resources and his founding of the city of Damascus, which he hoped to make into a new iron and steel center."―Lexington (VA) News-Gazette

"Tucker fully examines the life of this Confederate cavalry commander."―McCormick (SC) Messenger

"Carefully and critically compares Imboden's own accounts of events against each other, as well as against other sources, to come up with an excellent look at the general's role in the war."―NYMAS Review

"Reexamines the career of a distinguished Confederate cavalry commander who has largely been ignored."―Pelgram (TN) Advocate

"Tucker has provided a solid work on Imboden. No other biography will be necessary in the foreseeable future."―Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Fills a useful role―the account of the life of a Virginian general, dedicated in war and peace to Virginia."―Roanoke Times

"Imboden had a fascinating career, both in and out of the Confederate Army. . . . Students of the Shenandoah Valley campaigns, and those just plain interested in the remarkable lives of the lesser-known military leaders will enjoy this biography."―Signal Flag

"Prof. Tucker has provided a good critical military biography of the man, fitting his career into the wider framework of operations."―The NYMAS Review

About the Author

Spencer C. Tucker holds the John Biggs Chair of Military History at the Virginia Military Institute.

https://www.amazon.com/Brigadier-General-John-Imboden-Confederate/dp/081312266X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519849354&sr=1-1&keywords=Brigadier+General+John+D.+Imboden:+Confederate+Commander+in+the+Shenandoah&dpID=513Oj%2Bf4EuL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch


Along with Brig. Gen. William E. "Grumble" Jones, Imboden led the famous Jones-Imboden Raid of 3,400 partisan rangers into northwestern Virginia, destroying rail track and bridges of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. During the raid he also captured thousands of horses and heads of cattle and ruined the petroleum fields in the Kanawha Valley. This raid covered 400 miles (640 km) in 37 days. In the Gettysburg Campaign, Imboden's brigade served under Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart as the rearguard for Gen. Robert E. Lee's movement north through the Shenandoah Valley. (His brigade did not participate in Stuart's foray away from Lee's army, but instead raided the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Martinsburg, West Virginia, and Cumberland, Maryland.)


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Imboden

Cheers,
USS ALASKA


Tucker has a strange relationship with his subject -- while finding him interesting and worthy of a full biography, Tucker believes that Imboden is a liar.

From my book Locomotives Up the Turnpike, p. 144:
"Spencer Tucker’s 2003 Brigadier General James D. Imboden: Confederate Commander in the Shenandoah attacks the story head-on, attempting to debunk the story by pointing out that everything we know about the incident comes from a mention by Imboden in an article he wrote for the Century Magazine. Readers will find Imboden’s description of the story in the book published from the Century articles–Battles & Leaders of the Civil War, Volume I, p. 122. Tucker boldly states that there is very little evidence that the event ever happened. He claims that there are no official documents from either the Union or the Confederate side that refer to the event. Further, the records of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad do not indicate such happened and not a single newspaper in the South reported this important Southern “victory.” He claimed that it was not mentioned in any diaries, memories or letters surviving from the period: It is difficult to see what motive Imboden might have had for conjuring up this story … but there is simply no proof of the event having transpired.3 (his p. 41)"

If Tucker cannot do the simple research to prove that the Haul took place, how can we trust the rest of his book?
 
Tucker has a strange relationship with his subject -- while finding him interesting and worthy of a full biography, Tucker believes that Imboden is a liar

OK sir - that's one to strike off the list. Is Collins' Imboden book any better?

Thanks,
USS ALASKA
 
'Forging Industrial Policy: The United States, Britain, and France in the Railway Age' by Frank Dobbin

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The United States, France, and Britain use markedly different kinds of industrial policies to foster economic growth. To understand the origins of these different policies, this book examines the evolution of public policies governing one of the first modern industries, the railroads. The author challenges conventional thinking in economics, political science, and sociology by arguing that cultural meaning plays an important role in the development of purportedly rational policies designed to promote industrial growth. This book has implications for the study of rational institutions of all sorts, including science, management, and economics, as well as for the study of culture.

Review
"Dobbin amasses substantial historical evidence to support his arguments and, on balance, makes a good case for the plausibility of his central thesis. He has added substantially to our understanding of these roles, particulary in the formation of railway policy and industrial policy generally." Journal of Economic History

"...his [Dobbin's] arguments are provocative, and one has to admire a young scholar with the fortitude to undertake informed speculation and interference." Journal of Economic Literature

"...an elegant study designed to develop a cultural theory of these national industrial policies through a comparative study of the railroad industry in the United States, Britain, and France....Forging Industrial Policy is a bold approach to developing a full cultural theory rather than just applying a cultural analysis to railroad policy." Richard Rubinson, American Journal of Sociology

"...this exceptionally well-organized book should be required reading for everyone interested in political and economic sociology, comparative political economy, and economic history." John L. Campbell, Contemporary Sociology


"Dobbin's analysis makes us aware of a truism often lost to us--that every society does not have the same conception of efficiency or rationality....gives us a refreshingly different and significant perspective on the problem of the state and its relation to industrial policy." Bernard S. Silberman, American Political Science Review

"...the book is studded with insight...offer a provocative case for the significance of socially constructed belief systems for assessing comparative and persisting industrial policy paradigms." Dolores Greenberg, The Journal of American History

"...a welcome rejoinder to those students of industrial policy who try to impose a single logic of development onto the very different experiences of particular countries....its very real merits as a comparative study should not be ignored." Colin Divall, Times Higher Education Supplement

"...smoothly written and lively exposition of great coherence that won the 1996 Max Weber Prize from the Organizations, Occupations, and Work Section of the American Sociological Association." Societies, Economies, and Organizations

"Princeton University sociology professor Frank Dobbin has written an insightful and challenging comparative analysis of railroad development policy in the United States, France, and Britian in the nineteenth century." Alfred C. Mierzejewski, Railroad History

"...this book does a thorough job of documenting railway policy development, grounded in a detailed account of its historical-cultural context, and its subsequent influence on economic development policy." William M. Cross, The European Studies Journal


Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
'Second Only to Grant: Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs' by David W. Miller

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A master logistician. Meigs saw to the supply of every Union army from his appointment as quartermaster general in May 1861 through to the end of the war.

Customer Review

The Quartermaster Department, commanded by the quartermaster general, was established for the U.S. Army by an act of Congress on 28 March 1812. The department was responsible for purchasing military stores, camp equipment, and other necessities for the troops, as well as providing transportation. One exception to the duties of this office was the role of providing food, which was the responsibility of the Office of the Commissary General of Subsistence. During The War Between The States, the quartermaster played a vital part in keeping both the Union and Confederate armies equipped and supplied, a task accomplished with varying degrees of success.

Serving as quartermaster general for the U.S. Army during The War Between The States was the very capable Montgomery C. Meigs. He filled the vacancy created when Joseph Johnston, who served as quartermaster general for less than ten months, resigned his commission, and then joined the Confederate army. From 22 April 1861, until Meigs took office on 13 June 1861, Major Ebenezer S. Sibley was acting quartermaster general. Sibley experienced a frustrating two months in office because of the haphazard way the War Department was managed under Secretary of War Simon Cameron, who appointed his own supply agents with little regard to their experience or qualifications. The War Department would remain hindered until the more competent Edwin Stanton replaced Cameron in 1862.

Meigs immediately set abut to create a centralized organization to manage the U.S. Army's logistical situation. He expanded his Quartermaster Department's from 60 staff members to more than 300 staff members, including six departmental inspectors of colonel's rank to oversee quality control. Of all the basic necessities, clothing and footwear proved to be the most difficult to procure. By 1862, Meigs established policies and procedures to ensure consistent size, quality, and even color of uniforms.

To facilitate efficient logistics in the field and across half a continent. He created what eventually became a three-tiered supply depot system. The first tier were the general or principal depots located at Washington D.C. and St. Louis, Missouri. From these locations, the supplies were then distributed by railroad, riverboat, and wagons to the second tier or advance depots at Nashville, Tennessee and City Point, Virginia. From there, they would then be sent to the third tier or temporary depots located near the front lines. At each level, careful co-ordination was needed to avoid bottlenecks. Meigs and his staff also made significant advances in standardizing identification and assignment of baggage, food, and other essential equipment.

Meigs and his subordinates completely revamped the Quartermaster Department's internal structures and functions. He established specific guidelines in regard to purchasing of material and equipment as well as establishing competitive bidding to prevent fraud and profiteering. He and members of his department can be credited with many outstanding logistical feats: supplying and maintaining McClellan's Army of the Potomac during his offensive on Richmond in the spring of 1862 as well as the supplying of General Meade at Gettysburg and General Sherman during his March To The Sea.

Under Meigs administrative genius, more than $1 billion was spent on supplying the Union armies. This sum amounted to approximately one-half of the Civil War's direct cost for the Union and more than forty times more than the Quartermaster Department's pre-war peacetime budget.

SECOND ONLY TO GRANT: QUARTERMASTER GENERAL MONTGOMERY C. MEIGS is one of those rare books that not only gives the reader an excellent biography of the man but also successfully intertwines it with the logistical triumphs him and his subordinates were able to make towards the Confederacy's final defeat. Meigs is truly one of those unsung heroes that one doesn't associate with The War Between The States. With author David W. Miller's account, this unknown and dedicated Union officer finally gets the recognition he truly deserves as one of the major contributors to the Union victory.


Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard
Orlando, Florida

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1572492120/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
'The Business of Civil War: Military Mobilization and the State, 1861–1865' by Mark R. Wilson

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This wide-ranging, original account of the politics and economics of the giant military supply project in the North reconstructs an important but little-known part of Civil War history. Drawing on new and extensive research in army and business archives, Mark R. Wilson offers a fresh view of the wartime North and the ways in which its economy worked when the Lincoln administration, with unprecedented military effort, moved to suppress the rebellion.

This task of equipping and sustaining Union forces fell to career army procurement officers. Largely free from political partisanship or any formal free-market ideology, they created a mixed military economy with a complex contracting system that they pieced together to meet the experience of civil war. Wilson argues that the North owed its victory to these professional military men and their finely tuned relationships with contractors, public officials, and war workers.

Wilson also examines the obstacles military bureaucrats faced, many of which illuminated basic problems of modern political economy: the balance between efficiency and equity, the promotion of competition, and the protection of workers' welfare. The struggle over these problems determined the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars; it also redirected American political and economic development by forcing citizens to grapple with difficult questions about the proper relationships among government, business, and labor.

Students of the American Civil War will welcome this fresh study of military-industrial production and procurement on the home front―long an obscure topic.

Review
"A superlative and welcome addition to Civil War scholarship... clear, informative and consistently insightful."

(Ethan S. Rafuse Civil War News)

"A good book for anyone interested in logistics, as well as the more serious student of the Civil War."

(NYMAS Review)

"A 'must' for any serious student of Civil War history who would go beyond the usual statistics and battle events."

(Midwest Book Review)

"Anyone interested in the antebellum army, the Civil War, or the role of the military in the American political economy will find this book worthwhile."

(Robert G. Angevine Journal of Military History)

"Wilson says something new and vital about the war by illustrating the role of war and the military in American business and politics. Nothing like it has ever been published."

(Civil War Book Review)

"This clearly written and detailed study of the northern procurement effort represents a fresh take on the 'sinews of war'."

(C. Wyatt Evans North & South)

"The first systematic and comprehensive study, based on original archival research into both military and business records, devoted exclusively to the Union's economic mobilization."

(Jeffrey Rogers Hummel Public Choice)

"A much-needed analysis of Union production and procurement issues."

(Lenette S. Taylor Journal of American History)

"Perhaps the highest compliment I can pay the author is to say that after I finished reading his book I felt compelled to re-write the lectures in my Civil War course that I devote to mobilization."

(Roger Ranson EH.Net)

"One of the most important Civil War books to appear in quite some time."

(Rick Sauers Blue and Gray Magazine)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0801883482/?tag=civilwartalkc-20.

Another volume from the folks at Johns Hopkins...

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
'The Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Rail Road: Dreams of Linking North and South' by H. Roger Grant

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Among the grand antebellum plans to build railroads to interconnect the vast American republic, perhaps none was more ambitious than the Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston. The route was intended to link the cotton-producing South and the grain and livestock growers of the Old Northwest with traders and markets in the East, creating economic opportunities along its 700-mile length. But then came the Panic of 1837, and the project came to a halt. H. Roger Grant tells the incredible story of this singular example of "railroad fever" and the remarkable visionaries whose hopes for connecting North and South would require more than half a century―and one Civil War―to reach fruition.

Review
Professor Grant has produced an outstanding work on an important element of American railroad history. Grant has devoted much of his life to the story of America’s railroads, and it shows. The book is rich in detail, and he very skillfully places what was happening in South Carolina within the context of railroad history throughout the country. The endnotes reveal an extensive mining of primary and secondary sources. In short, The Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Rail Road tells an important story―and tells it well. (The Civil War Monitor)

Professor Grant's well-researched book traces the attempt to connect Charleston with the Ohio, and muses on what might have been, had the projects succeeded. . . . Thanks to the author's treatment of the subject matter, the book should appeal to anyone interested in the history of early railroads, not just those of the Old South. (The Lexington Quarterly)

The history of American railroading is littered with overambitious plans, failed schemes, unfinished lines, bankrupt corporations. . . . Grant turns his sights on one such failure, the Louisville, Cincinnati, and Charleston Rail Road. . . and in the process reveals as much, if not more about the messy business of railroad construction, as one could learn from a history of a successful line. (Ohio Valley History)

H. Roger Grant has written an interesting book about something that did not happen. . . . Grant speculate
that a healthy LC & C would have influenced American history, perhaps to the point of changing the trajectory towards war. Railroad enthusiasts will certainly like this book . . . but Civil War scholars should find the last chapter an interesting exercise in Civil War causation. . . . [H]e has written a well-researched book that should make you think about the antebellum South and the coming of the Civil War. (Civil War Book Review)

As a researcher and railroad history writer, Grant is one of the best. (Herbert H. Harwood, Jr. author of The Railroad That Never Was: Vanderbilt, Morgan, and the South Pennsylvania Railroad)

This book holds appeal within the market segments of both railroad and U. S. Civil War scholars and enthusiasts, especially in view of the attention that will be generated by the forthcoming Civil War Sesquicentennial activities. (John Spychalski Emeritus, Pennsylvania State University)

Roger Grant has taken on a formidable challenge, a history of a railroad that was never built, and he has succeeded in writing an excellent book on the Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad. He takes the reader through the undeveloped hinterlands of the South, to the bustling ports of Charleston, to the Knoxville Railroad Convention, to the halls of the State Capitol in Columbia and to the homes and hearts of the individuals who dreamed of building or stopping this railroad. It is an epic tale and Roger gives us a very readable book that is grounded in sound scholarship. This is an excellent addition to any railroad library. (Nicholas Fry Curator, John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library)

About the Author
H. Roger Grant is Kathryn and Calhoun Lemon Professor of History at Clemson University. He is author of 30 books, including Visionary Railroader (IUP, 2008), Iowa’s Railroads (with Don L. Hofsommer) (IUP, 2009), and Railroads and the American People (IUP, 2012).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0253011817/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

The Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad was an
antebellum railroad that served the State of South Carolina and Augusta, Georgia. It was a 5 ft (1,524 mm) gauge railroad line

The Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston was chartered in the States of South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky in 1835 and 1836 as The Cincinnati and Charleston Rail Road Company, to construct a railroad from an intersection with the
South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company, which operated a railroad line between Charleston, South Carolina and Hamburg, South Carolina, to a point on the Ohio River near Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1836 and 1837, the name of the company was changed in the charter states to The Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Rail Road Company. Partly because the company was unable to obtain a charter through all states on the planned line the original plan was abandoned.

Former South Carolina Governor
Robert Y. Hayne was named the first president of the Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston, and other board members included John C. Calhoun and Robert Mills. In 1840, James Gadsden became president, a position he held for 10 years. Gadsden was a proponent of a Southern transcontinental railroad and was convinced it would be necessary to purchase a strip of territory along the Gila River from Mexico to make that project a reality. As Minister to Mexico, he negotiated the Gadsden Purchase, which enabled the United States to buy more than 45,000 square miles (120,000 km2) of land from Mexico for $10 million.

In late 1839, after the company obtained financing in 1838, the company acquired control through a stock interest in the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company of the 136-mile (219 km) railroad line between Charleston and Hamburg, South Carolina.

In 1840, the South Carolina company constructed a 66.3-mile (106.7 km) railroad line between
Branchville, South Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina.

In 1844, the Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad purchased the stock, road, and corporate privileges of the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company for $2.4 million. In 1844, the two companies were merged under an act of the
South Carolina General Assembly of December 19, 1843 as the South Carolina Railroad Company.

In 1848, the South Carolina Rail Road Company constructed a 37.1-mile (59.7 km) railroad line between
Kingsville, South Carolina and Camden, South Carolina. In 1853, the company constructed a 1.8-mile (2.9 km) line, mainly a bridge over the Savannah River, from Hamburg, South Carolina to Augusta, Georgia.

The South Carolina Rail Road Company, in turn, was sold at foreclosure on November 1, 1881 to the organizers of The South Carolina Railway Company, incorporated under the general laws of South Carolina, October 17, 1881, amended by act of December 24, 1885.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisville,_Cincinnati_and_Charleston_Railroad

And as always, please see @DaveBrt 's http://www.csa-railroads.com/ under South Carolina


Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
Suggested by @DaveBrt in another thread...

'British Investment in American Railways 1834-1898' by Dorothy R. Adler

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This is the first authoritative treatment of British investment in American railroads during the 19th century, the crucial building boom years. Chapters cover the negotiation of securities in the City in the 1850s, 1860s and 1870s, British investment in the Erie and the Atlantic and Great Western, the attraction for the British of coal and iron, the organization of the market between 1879-1898, and methods used to protect British investments. Appendices list securities issued publicly (1865-80), unlisted securities (1886), directors and founders of three Anglo-American trusts, and the reorganization plans for the Texas-Pacific and Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroads. With extensive footnotes throughout. 234 pages with detailed index.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0813903114/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

I own this book - well worth the time and effort if your interests extent past the basic railroad building, equipment, and operations.

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
'Streight's Foiled Raid on the Western & Atlantic Railroad: Emma Sansom's Courage and Nathan Bedford Forrest's Pursuit' by Brandon H Beck

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In the spring of 1863, Union colonel Abel D. Streight sought to raid and destroy parts of the vital span of the Western and Atlantic Railroad in north Georgia with his mule-riding infantry brigade. Determined to thwart the potentially deadly attack, Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest fervently pursued Streights forces. With the help of unlikely ally fifteen-year-old Emma Sansom of Gadson, Alabama, Forrest falsely convinced Streight he was vastly outnumbered, foiled the raid and forced Streights surrender. Brandon H. Beck details Streights dubious plan and the exciting story of a running battle between hunter and quarry that colors history from the hills of northeast Mississippi to the heart of Georgia.

About the Author
Dr. Brandon H. Beck is director emeritus of the McCormick Civil War Institute at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia. He is the author of ten books. Since retiring and moving to Columbus, Mississippi, he has written Defending the Mississippi Prairie: The Battle of Okolona and Holly Springs: Van Dorn, the CSS Arkansas, and the Raid That Saved Vicksburg. He teaches part-time at East Mississippi Community College.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1540213048/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
One of the lines that lead the way after the ACW. A rail-centric 'Reconstruction' if you will...

'The Southern Railway: Roads of the Innovators' by Burke Davis

41SNrJK+SkL__SX330_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


Davis traces railroad development in the South by a cast of remarkable entrepreneurs and the subsequent creation of the Southern Railway's network from the ruins of those early enterprises. This is also a full account of the many innovations wrought by the Southern's leaders: the first major railroad to convert to diesel power; a pioneer in mechanized maintenance of right-of-way; the use of gigantic box cars to carry bulky cargo; and the operation of coal trains in continuous shuttle.

Originally published in 1985.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0807816361/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

The Southern Railway (
reporting mark SOU) (also known as Southern Railway Company and now known as the current incarnation of the Norfolk Southern Railway) is a name of a class 1 railroad that was based in the Southern United States. The railroad is the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894.

Official Predecessors

Creation and independent status

The pioneering
South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company, Southern's earliest predecessor line and one of the first railroads in the United States, was chartered in December 1827 and ran the nation's first regularly scheduled steam-powered passenger train – the wood-burning Best Friend of Charleston – over a six-mile section out of Charleston, South Carolina, on December 25, 1830. (The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ran regular passenger service earlier that year.) By 1833, its 136-mile line to Hamburg, South Carolina, was the longest in the world. The company leased enslaved African Americans from plantation owners when free white people refused to work in the swamps. The company eventually purchased 89 people to work as slaves.


As railroad fever struck other Southern states, networks gradually spread across the South and even across the
Appalachian Mountains. By 1857 the Memphis and Charleston Railroad was completed to link Charleston, South Carolina, and Memphis, Tennessee. The Western North Carolina Railroad was halted because voters were angry about that law allowed purchasers of private bonds to have the train tracks veer to their towns. The provision of the laws that allowed this was not repealed until Reconstruction.

Rail expansion in the South was also halted with the start of the
Civil War. The Battle of Shiloh, the Siege of Corinth and the Second Battle of Corinth in 1862 were motivated by the importance of the Memphis and Charleston line, the only East-West rail link across the Confederacy. The Chickamauga Campaign for Chattanooga, Tennessee was also motivated by the importance of its rail connections to the Memphis and Charleston and other lines. Also in 1862 the Richmond and York River Railroad, which operated from the Pamunkey River at West Point, Virginia to Richmond, Virginia, was a major focus of George McClellan's Peninsular Campaign, which culminated in the Seven Days Battles and devastated the tiny rail link. Late in the war, the Richmond and Danville Railroad was the Confederacy's last link to Richmond, and transported Jefferson Davis and his cabinet to Danville, Virginia just before the fall of Richmond in April 1865.

Known as the "First Railroad War," the
Civil War left the South's railroads and economy devastated. Most of the railroads, however, were repaired, reorganized and operated again. Convict lease was a near continuation of slavery as charges were often only applied to people of African descent. Five-hundred African Americans were assigned to provide back breaking labor on the Western North Carolina Railroad. Men were shipped to and from the worksite in iron shackles and around twenty were drowned in the Tuckasegee River weighted down by their shackles. In the area along the Ohio River and Mississippi River, construction of new railroads continued throughout Reconstruction. The Richmond and Danville System expanded throughout the South during this period, but was overextended, and came upon financial troubles in 1893, when control was lost to financier J.P. Morgan, who reorganized it into the Southern Railway System.

Southern Railway came into existence in 1894 through the combination of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, the Richmond and Danville system and the
East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad. The company owned two-thirds of the 4,400 miles of line it operated, and the rest was held through leases, operating agreements and stock ownership. Southern also controlled the Alabama Great Southern and the Georgia Southern and Florida, which operated separately, and it had an interest in the Central of Georgia. Additionally, the Southern Railway also agreed to lease the North Carolina Railroad Company, providing a critical connection from Virginia to the rest of the southeast via the Carolinas.

Southern's first president,
Samuel Spencer, drew more lines into Southern's core system. During his 12-year term, the railway built new shops at Spencer, North Carolina, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia, built and upgraded tracks,[9][10] and purchased more equipment. He moved the company's service away from an agricultural dependence on tobacco and cotton and centered its efforts on diversifying traffic and industrial development. Spencer was killed in a train wreck in 1906.


After the line from Meridian, Mississippi, to New Orleans, Louisiana was acquired in 1916 under Southern's president

Fairfax Harrison, the railroad had assembled the 8,000-mile, 13-state system that lasted for almost half a century.

1921_Southern_Railway_map.jpg


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Railway_(U.S.)

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
Southern Railway by Tom Murray

51TXAFwTZDL__SX374_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


Few railroads are as deeply associated with the regions they serve as the Southern Railway. This illustrated account of the venerable Southern is both the story of the railroads 88-year tenure as the transportation force in the region and a fascinating chapter of Southern history.

The Southern Railway--the first major U. S. railroad to completely convert to diesel--eventually incorporated some 150 individual predecessor railroads into its system.

Author Tom Murray explores this complex prehistory before examining the Southern's nearly nine decades of freight and passenger service, right up to its 1982 merger with Norfolk & Western to form Norfolk Southern. Financier J. P. Morgan makes an appearance in the story, which takes in points of interest such as the 21.5-mile trestle across Louisianas Lake Pontchartrain and legendary passenger trains like the Crescent and the Southerner.

Wonderful archival photos capture the railways motive power and rolling stock against the regions cityscapes and scenic countryside. The book also includes system maps, period ads, and timetables.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/0760325456/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
To take another tile off @DaveBrt 's list...

'The North Carolina Railroad, 1849-1871, and the Modernization of North Carolina' by Allen W. Trelease

41+Nqu16JxL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


In telling the story of the North Carolina Railroad's independent years (1849-71), Trelease covers all aspects of the company and its development, including its construction and rolling stock; its management, labor force, and labor policies; its passenger and freight operations; and its role in the Civil War. He also assesses the impact of the railroad on the economic and social development of North Carolina.

Reviews
Ranks as one of the most important recent works in railroad history. Allen Trelease expertly traces the development of this strategic southern pike from its opening in 1856 until its lease to the Richmond & Danville Railroad fifteen years later. He offers fascinating detail, in a pleasantly written fashion, that will appeal to every student of the iron horse. Trelease's achievement is immense and impressive.--H. Roger Grant, editor of Railroad History

Students of North Carolina's and the American South's economic development will find in Trelease's discussion abundant information and good leads for future investigation. Trelease has given us both a solid corporate history and a wealth of evidence for which other scholars should be grateful.--Journal of Economic History


https://www.amazon.com/dp/0807819417/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 
To go with thread - https://civilwartalk.com/threads/blue-ridge-tunnel-and-stonewall-jackson.144444/

'Great Railroad Tunnels of North America' by William Lowell Putnam

51dLbkcQlzL__SX348_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


Describing and detailing the boring of major railroad tunnels throughout Canada, the United States, and Mexico, this book covers the period from the creation of Virginia's Blue Ridge Tunnel in the 1850s to Copper Canyon's Continental and El Descanso tunnels in the early 1960s. Other notable tunnels featured here include Massachusetts' notoriously expensive and slow-progressing Hoosac Tunnel; Colorado's rail and water Moffat Tunnel; Montana's Flathead Tunnel; and several major tunnels along the Canadian Pacific's main line. In addition to providing details on the tunnels, the author considers the reasons they were created, their engineers, and their use. The book includes more than 50 period and contemporary photos. A glossary explains concepts related to railroad construction and maintenance.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0786459514/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
'The Iron Horse and the Windy City: How Railroads Shaped Chicago' by David M. Young

21VK8HN9FXL__BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


With the coming of railroads, upstart Chicago quickly became the Midwest's center for commerce and trade, overtaking its older rival, St. Louis. The first tracks to link the East coast with the West ran through Chicago, and within a few decades the city grew to be the hub of an immense transportation network that stretched across the nation.

Noted transportation writer David M. Young vividly tells how railroads created and shaped Chicago, from the earliest times to the present. He shows how the expansion of rail lines promoted the growth of the suburbs, and how Chicago's burgeoning manufacturing hub became home to such corporate giants as Cyrus McCormick's harvester operation and catalogue houses Montgomery Ward; Spiegel; and Sears, Roebuck and Company. For the most part, the railroad companies that schemed to bypass Chicago failed.

As the hub of a vast transportation network, Chicago experienced many tragic accidents at rail crossings. One of the first books to deal with the history of accidents and issues of safety, The Iron Horse and the Windy City reveals how Chicago eventually forced railroad companies to eliminate dangerous crossings by installing barriers or by raising tracks above street level.

Railroad magnates, entrepreneurs, and ordinary people come to life in this first comprehensive account of the impact of railroads on Chicago. Transportation historians and general readers interested in Chicago will find it both essential and engaging.

Review
"A fine book, worth the attention of any serious historian of the railroad industry."—Journal of Illinois History

"David M. Young enriches and expands upon our historical knowledge of Chicago by illuminating the centrality of railroading in the city's ascent. This book, in the company of Young's earlier studies about the city's transportation history, will rightfully assume an indispensable place on readers' bookshelves."—Michael H. Ebner, author of Creating Chicago's North Shore

"In this nicely crafted work, David Young takes the reader on a fascinating tour of the past and present of railroads in Chicagoland. This book is remarkably informative and offers lively reading. No one has ever done this topic so well."—H. Roger Grant, author of The North Western

About the Author
David M. Young, former transportation editor for the Chicago Tribune, is author of several books on transportation in Chicago, including Chicago Transit

https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Horse-Windy-City-Railroads/dp/0875803342/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1522178427&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Iron+Horse+and+the+Windy+City:+How+Railroads+Shaped+Chicago&dpID=21VK8HN9FXL&preST=_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

Chicago is the most important railroad center in North America. More lines of track radiate in more directions from Chicago than from any other city. Chicago has long been the most important interchange point for freight traffic between the nation's major railroads and it is the hub of Amtrak, the intercity rail passenger system. Chicago ranks second (behind New York City) in terms of the volume of
commuter rail passengers carried each day.

The first railroad in Chicago was the Galena & Chicago Union, which was chartered in 1836 to build tracks to the lead mines at Galena in northwestern Illinois. The first tracks were laid in 1848, and then not to Galena but to a point known as Oak Ridge (now Oak Park ). The Galena & Chicago Union's terminal stood near the corner of Canal and Kinzie Streets.

Other railroads soon completed lines of track linking Chicago with the wheat fields of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Later lines connected the city with Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, New Orleans, St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, and St. Paul. Railroads were especially important as haulers of grain and livestock, which helped Chicago gain a primary role in the grain marketing and meatpacking industries.

Many of the railroads built west of Chicago had their corporate headquarters in the city, as well as yards and shops. Chicago became a center for the manufacture of freight cars, passenger cars (Pullman Company), and, later diesel locomotives (Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, in La Grange ).

Freight moving across the country is funneled through the railroad yards of Chicago, where it is classified and then transferred to the yards of other railroads within the metropolitan area. The largest of these yards include Proviso and Bensenville on the western edge of the city, Clearing Yard in Bedford Park, Barr and Blue Island Yards on the far South Side, and Corwith Yard near the Stevenson Expressway. Although the nation's railroads now have been merged into just a few large systems, Chicago remains the hub where the tracks of one company end and those of another begin.

John C. Hudson


http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1039.html

How 'stuffs' got out of and into the Old Northwest - by boat...or rail...

RR1860.jpg


http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/Hist 111 Images/RR1860.jpg

...and Chi-town's connects had grown further by 1861...

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
'Southern Railroad Man: Conductor N. J. Bell's Recollections of the Civil War Era' by Nimrod J. Bell, edited by James A. Ward

512mY6LN4sL__SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg



Nimrod J. Bell worked as a conductor for several southern railroads in their formative period, from 1857 to 1894. After his career was cut short by an accident, he wrote his memoirs detailing his first glimpses of some of the earliest trains in the South and his thirty-eight years as a conductor. Published in Atlanta in 1896, his book offers a firsthand account of working conditions on the railroads, operational procedures, wartime railroading, and passenger travel during Reconstruction.

Review
"Those interested in a view of railroading practiced more than a century ago ... will find much of interest here."—National Railway Bulletin

"A rich picture of southern travel, tradition, and culture of a century ago."—Lexington Quarterly

"An invaluable record of changing operational procedures, the development of technology and, above all, the conditions of work of railway staff in the formative years, the Civil War era from 1861 to 1865 and the boom and slump years of the post-war period."—Journal of Transport History

From the Back Cover
Nimrod J. Bell worked as a conductor for several southern railroads in their formative period, from 1857 to 1894. After his career was cut short by an accident, he wrote his memoirs detailing his first glimpses of some of the earliest trains in the South and his thirty-eight years as a conductor. Published in Atlanta in 1896, his book offers a first-hand account of working conditions on the railroads, operational procedures, wartime railroading, and passenger travel during Reconstruction. Full of stories about colorful characters who rode the trains - from Confederate troops to train robbers - Southern Railroad Man is a rich source on late nineteenth-century southern culture, tradition, and travel. Perhaps because Bell worked as a conductor, some of his most interesting observations pertain to the people he encountered. Unintentionally, he also provides insights into race relations in a time of transition as he recalls his interactions with blacks as slaves, laborers, and patrons. Written in the language of the ordinary worker, Bell's narrative is a veritable treasure trove of information on southern railroads and their operations. Among the roads he traveled were several in the Carolinas, the Western & Atlantic, the East Tennessee & Georgia, the Alabama & Chattanooga, the South & North Alabama, and the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia. Many of the railroads for which Bell worked were eventually incorporated into the Southern Railway. A rare account of early railroading, Southern Railroad Man is edited by James A. Ward, who provides notes and an introduction that places Bell's story in historical context. This unique book will appeal to anyone interested in railroad history, the history of industrialization, the Civil War, and the culture of the South in the late nineteenth century.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0875801846/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

Cheers,
USS ALASKA



 
'Mr. Lincoln's Bridge Builders: The Right Hand of American Genius' by Phillip M. Thienel

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Tells the story of Civil War bridge engineers, the soldiers who worked with them, and the structures themselves. Explains the American and foreign engineering that made these bridges possible, and interweaves parallel efforts in the eastern and western theaters of operations to show how not only the engineering evolved, but also how the personalities of different generals affected the war effort. Includes b&w historical photos and illustrations. The author is a retired Army Corps of Engineers writer. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)


https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Lincolns-Bridge-Builders-American/dp/1572491981/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1527689615&sr=1-1&keywords=Mr.+Lincoln's+Bridge+Builders&dpID=51B7NHGEB0L&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

Cheers,
USS ALASKA
 
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