The Heritage of North American Steam Railroads
Steam trains stitched together the vastness of North America. In the 1860s, President Lincoln urged the completion of the first United States transcontinental steam railroad route as a way of uniting the North and preserving the Union. Two decades later, the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway joined Canada's far-flung regions. Of course, the story of North American steam railroads didn't start then. As early as 1828, curious American engineers had ordered locomotives from Britain's railroading pioneers, George and Robert Stephenson. Within three years, the first all-American—built locomotives were at work in South Carolina, Maryland, and New York. The Heritage of North American Steam Railroads follows the extraordinary story through the early regional steam railroads, the historic linking of East and West, the rise of the railroad moguls, the race for bigger and faster locomotives, the shaping of urban North America by rail, the critical wartime role of the railroads, and the final triumph of the diesel-electric.
During the railroads' golden age, elegant coaches offered the luxuries of steam heat, electric lighting, and plush appointments to the traveling public, who welcomed innovations such as the sleeping and dining car. With later refinements such as air conditioning, streamlining, and all-steel cars, passenger trains reached a zenith of style and sophistication. While heavier tracks, more powerful and efficient locomotives, and increased traffic brought North America's railroads to their peak, the steam engine eventually lost its supremacy. Rail itself was soon to be eclipsed by air and road travel, yet thanks to the preservation efforts of modern enthusiasts, we can still savor at least a taste of those glory days.
Hardback with dust jacket, 256 pages, black & white photographs
Condition: Very Good
ISBN: 9780762103270
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