Steam Trains

A Modern View of Yesterday's Railroads

James P. Bell

• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Year: 2023
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• eBook ISBN:
  9781510756908
• Subtopic: History of Photography
• Index: Technology & Engineering

For train enthusiasts, model railroaders, and history buffs, hop aboard this tour of North American railroads, both great and obscure. Few images speak as clearly of a time and a place as a dramatic black-and-white photograph of an American steam locomotive powering through that storied era of railroad history. All the new photographs in this beautiful book meticulously recreate that original style, capturing the bygone age of steam rail against the settings of its heyday, including period architecture and other details. The result is the crisp, stunning quality of contemporary photography of the iconic locomotives of yesteryear. Featured trains include the Milwaukee Road; the Cumbres and Toltec snowplow runs; the Cotton Belt 819 in Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois; the Savannah and Atlanta No. 750; the Frisco 1522 in Missouri; the Norfolk and Western 611 and 1218 in Georgia and Tennessee; the Union Pacific 3985 in Wyoming, Nebraska and Arkansas—these are just some of the historic runs and routes Steam Trains brings this era to life with its evocative photographs and accompanying narrative accounts of the locomotives thatare still cherished today. This fantastic photographic gallery features twenty-three preserved steam railroad lines and events covering a twenty-five year period. Perfect for train enthusiasts, model railroaders, and history buffs alike, North American railroads, both great and obscure, are highlighted in Steam Trains.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1 Spokane, Portland & Seattle No. 700 Returns to the “Last Best Place”: Steam in Montana
• 2 An Arkansas Shortline Survives: Celebrations on the Dardanelle & Russellville
• 3 Absorption of the Missouri Pacific into the Union Pacific Brings a Return of Steam to Arkansas
• 4 A Railroad War in the Ozarks: A Tale of Two Shortlines with Claims on Eureka Springs
• 5 Frisco No. 1522 on the Route of the Heartland Flyer in Oklahoma
• 6 Down Along the Cotton Belt
• 7 Wayzata, Minnesota, Invites a Superstar: Milwaukee Road No. 261
• 8 Union Pacific and North Platte, Nebraska: History Along the Overland Route
• 9 Changes Along the Rio Grande Narrow Gauge: the Durango & Silverton
• 10 Rough Times on the Reader: Tales of an Arkansas Shortline
• 11 Life on the Narrow Gauge in Chama, New Mexico
• 12 The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad: Battles with Nature on Cumbres Pass
• 13 Norfolk & Western No. 1218 and a Conductor Remembered
• 14 Southern Pacific No. 4449: Daylight to the Fair
• 15 A Homecoming Excursion Up the Columbia River: SP&S No. 700 Returns
• 16 Frisco No. 1522: Movie Star
• 17 Cheyenne to Laramie: Sherman Hill Stands Between
• 18 Union Pacific No. 3985 Along the Route of the Old Missouri Pacific
• 19 Carl Franz and the “Photo Special”: Mountain Thunder on the Western Maryland
• 20 Norfolk & Western No. 611: In Search of O. Winston Link
• 21 The Engineer Was a Woman: Adventure on the Grand Canyon Railway
• 22 Movie Magic on the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad: The Making of Biloxi Blues
• 23 Go North for Steam: Canadian Pacific No. 2816
• Acknowledgments