Transportation

The historic Central Railroad of New Jersey (CRRNJ) Terminal operated for nearly 80 years from 1869 until 1967. It served as the main passenger terminal for the CRRNJ and its tenant Class I railroads serving the New York City metropolitan area. For approximately two-thirds of the 12–17 million new citizens that successfully passed through the Ellis Island Immigration Station between 1892 and 1954, the CRRNJ Terminal became their gateway to America. In addition, the terminal became the New York City origination/destination point for the CRRNJ and its tenant Class I railroads and their famous named trains. These trains were, and are still today, widely renowned in the annals of American railroading. 

Anthony Puzzilla is a retired federal government employee after 43 years of service. He is now a full-time writer, as well as a railfan and model train lover. He is a member of the Jersey Central Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Historical Society, and the Reading Company Technical and Historical Society. This book contains memorable images, many from the author’s own private photograph collection, showing the remarkable history of this notable railroad terminal.

In the history of the steam locomotive Roanoke Machine Works played a key part. Take a look at this important economic center of the New South.

Roanoke Shops has been an indispensable part of the Roanoke Valley and the Magic City for more than 125 years. Founded in 1881 as an independent company, Roanoke Machine Works built new locomotives and cars for the Shenandoah Valley and Norfolk & Western Railroads. Situated between the picturesque Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains, the facility caused an economic boom in the nearby village of Big Lick and the surrounding area. By 1891, Big Lick had become Roanoke and had emerged as one of the most important economic centers in the New South. Today, Roanoke Shops employs skilled craftsmen who provide the highest-quality overhauls and repairs to diesel locomotives. This book takes a look into its history, particularly at production during that exciting and enchanting era of the steam locomotive.

Incorporated in 1909, the Camas Prairie Railroad (CPRR) was a successful joint venture between two major competing companies, the Union Pacific and Northern Pacific Railroads.

Despite covering less than 300 miles total, the Camas Prairie Railroad connected the region’s largest exporters of wheat and lumber and was the last vital section of rail to directly connect the eastern United States with the Pacific Northwest. In addition to freight, the CPRR was the most reliable method of transportation for people and the postal service in this rural area, even allowing for the creation of new towns along the line. The Camas Prairie itself ranged from desert to mountainous forests, with rugged river canyons in between. Infamously known as the “Railroad on Stilts,” one subdivision alone boasts 44 bridges, many of them made from heavy timber. No longer in business, portions of the track have been removed while some remain active, carrying freight to larger markets. Trestles and tunnels still dot the landscape, giving a peek into the not-so-distant past.

Special collections librarian Robert Perret and archives manager Amy Thompson work in the Special Collections and Archives at the University of Idaho, where they are immersed in the history of the Inland Northwest.

For 60 years, the Southern Pacific’s Slim Princess served as the lifeline to remote areas of western Nevada and eastern California.

In 1880, the financiers of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad organized the Carson & Colorado Railroad to build a narrow-gauge line from the Carson River to the Colorado River, but that dream was never fully realized. In 1900, the Southern Pacific Railroad purchased the 300-mile line, envisioning it as a shortcut from Nevada to Southern California. The northern half of the line was converted to standard gauge in 1905. The section from Mina, Nevada, to Keeler, California, remained an isolated and celebrated part of the Southern Pacific until it succumbed to the scrapper’s torch in 1960.

Author Andrew Brandon has over 30 years of extensive study in railroad history and involvement with noteworthy projects in the railroad preservation community. Since 2001, he has been involved with the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Nevada City, where he currently serves as the curator. Brandon also serves on board of directors for the Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge Historical Society and the Nevada–California–Oregon Railway. In 2009, he helped establish PacificNG.org—a website dedicated to researching narrow-gauge railroads around the Pacific Rim.

Learn the exciting story of the railway that changed the country and the masterminds behind it all.

A full generation has passed since a New York Central emblem dashed across the countryside on a railroad car, but few could ever forget the greatest railroad in the world. The New York Central System grew from an amalgamation of smaller lines stretching from Albany to Buffalo in the 1830s. Twenty years later, the lines were gathered into a single company. Its phenomenal success did not go unnoticed by Cornelius the Commodore Vanderbilt. In his late sixties, when most men retire, he methodically started acquiring railroads in the New York City and Hudson River region. He then acquired the New York Central and merged it with his Hudson River Railroad. The Commodore and his son William, the foremost rail barons of their age, forged ahead with one of the most dynamic future-directed endeavors in the world-a railroad empire that traversed 11 states and 2 Canadian provinces.

Beginning in 1932, Linwood W. Moody (1905–1983) documented in photographs and collected artifacts of Maine’s two-footer railroads. A pioneer of railroad photography, his work led to articles in numerous publications such as Railroad Magazine and later culminated in Linwood’s 1959 publication The Maine Two-Footers. Among his personal effects at the time of his death in 1983 were hundreds of photographs of three of the Maine two-footers—the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway; the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad; and the Monson Railroad. The state of Maine was unique in regards to its narrow-gauge railroads. Most railroads in the United States have a width of four feet, eight and one half inches between the rails, known as standard gauge. Due to the efforts of George Mansfield, a railroad promoter of the late 1800s, a very narrow gauge of two feet between the rails was successfully developed in the state of Maine. 

The Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railway (CA&E) ran electric passenger and freight service from 1902 until 1959. Although classed as an interurban, it was a hybrid of rapid transit and commuter rail. CA&E trains ran to downtown Chicago via the Metropolitan West Side “L,” ending at the Well Street Terminal. This was a high-tech endeavor funded by industrialists from Cleveland, Ohio, who wanted to open Chicago’s western suburbs for development. The result was a high-speed operation, built to steam road standards, with an electrified third rail powering the trains. It thrived until World War I, was modernized in the Roaring Twenties, weathered the Great Depression, and did its duty during World War II. A privately owned railroad, without subsidies, the CA&E began losing money in the 1950s due to highway construction that stopped it from running into Chicago. Efforts to save the railroad failed, and passenger service ended in 1957, with freight following two years later. 

David Sadowski is the author of Chicago Trolleys, Building Chicago’s Subways, Chicago’s Lost “L”s, and The North Shore Line and runs the online Trolley Dodger blog. Photographs shown are from the author’s extensive collections and archival sources such as the Chicago History Museum, Forest Park Historical Society, and Lake States Railway Historical Association.

Opened in 1913, Grand Central Terminal is a world-famous landmark building with a magnificent 48-foot-high, 1,500-ton statuary group on top of the main facade.

Designed by sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan, a 13-foot-wide Tiffany clock serves as the centerpiece.The figure above the clock is Mercury, with Hercules to the left and Minerva to the right.In the late 1990s, a historic restoration was performed on the terminal after which two cast-iron eagle statues were placed over entrances at Lexington Avenue and Forty-Second Street/Vanderbilt Avenue.These eagles were from the 1898 Grand Central Station building that was demolished in 1910 to make room for the construction of the new Grand Central Terminal structure.Penn Station, which opened in 1910, covered two full city blocks and had statuary groups, designed by sculptor Adolph Weinman, on all four sides of the building.After Penn Station was demolished in the mid-1960s, the statuary was dispersed throughout various locations, mainly in the Northeast.

In 1857, the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) took over Pennsylvania's Main Line of Public Works, a state-owned railroad and canal system built in the 1830s. Most are gone, but fortunately some still stand and are in use today.

Costly to build and maintain, and never attracting the traffic needed to sustain it, the state was eager to let it go. Keeping the rail portion and combining it with its own lines, the PRR ultimately developed a well-built and well-run rail line from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh all while keeping the main line moniker. The eastern section between Philadelphia and Harrisburg was especially successful, particularly after the railroad built new communities along the line that were at first summer destinations and later year-round homes for daily commuters. Other towns and cities along the main line had a strong industrial or agricultural base needing rail access, and many of these communities had attractive train stations. Images of America: Pennsylvania Main Line Railroad Stations: Philadelphia to Harrisburg documents many of these passenger stations through vintage photographs and other images.

The legendary Blue Comet train no longer streaks through the pines of New Jersey. However, its memory still lives on through timeless images and the sustained efforts of historical societies and preservation organizations.

The Garden State's Blue Comet passenger train service operated from 1929 to 1941, on a route from the New York metropolitan area to Atlantic City. Despite the backdrop of the Great Depression and stiff competition from other railroads, it survived and established an enduring legacy in the annals of New Jersey rails. This book contains memorable images, many from private archival photograph collections, showing the remarkable history of this classic train and of the many hardworking, dedicated people who made it all possible.

The State of Georgia chartered the Western & Atlantic Railroad in 1836. The railroad aided in the development and growth of many communities between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tennessee.

In constructing the railroad, workers created a winding route that cut its way across the North Georgia landscape. During the Civil War, both armies used this vital artery, and it was the setting for one of the war's most iconic events, the Great Locomotive Chase. The state still owns the Western & Atlantic and has leased it since 1870. The line remains an essential part of North Georgia and is a backbone of the region's industry. As Atlanta ponders its transportation future, it is important to remember that without the Western & Atlantic, Atlanta would not be the city it is today.

Todd DeFeo has studied railroads since growing up alongside the Northeast Corridor line in New Jersey. He is editor of Railfanning.org and founder of The DeFeo Groupe. Today, he lives near the historic Western & Atlantic. The images that help make up the visual history in this book come from the many libraries and museums dedicated to preserving the Western & Atlantic’s history, the archives of Railfanning.org, and the author’s collection.

The history of Grand Central Terminal, from construction to world-famous landmark, and its influence on the New York City community surrounding it.

Built in the heart of the Empire City is the world's greatest and most iconic railway terminal. A colossal Beaux-Arts style transport nexus, Grand Central Terminal was completed in 1913 from the legacy of the railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt. The terminal quickly became vital to travel and today accommodates 750,000 people daily. This book documents the construction of Grand Central Terminal, the former Grand Central Depot (1871) and Grand Central Station (1900), and illuminates the incredible story of the terminal that revolutionized transport, developed Midtown Manhattan, and opened railroad access to suburban areas.

Take a nonstop journey through 131 years of the Western Maryland Railway's history in this photographic tale.

The Western Maryland Railway was never a large Class 1 rail carrier, but during its 131 colorful years of existence, it provided extremely fast, efficient, and reliable freight; coal-hauling; and passenger service in the states it served. This book contains images from the history of this remarkable railroad and also provides the reader the opportunity to see how the legacy of the Western Maryland Railway is being maintained and remembered even today at some of its well-known train stations, such as in Cumberland and Union Bridge, Maryland, now home to the Western Maryland Railway Historical Society (WMRHS). The Western Maryland is now gone, but through the wonderful images captured and preserved by the WMRHS and private archival photograph collections, the dream of the railway will live on.

Track the history of the Chicago Great Western Railway through vintage images in this volume authored by David J. Fiore Sr.

The Chicago Great Western Railway (CGW) was a Midwestern line that operated in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska. Although this territory was served by much larger systems, the CGW was able to retain its share of passenger and freight business for 83 years through aggressive management, dedicated employees, innovations, and efficient operations. By the early 1960s, however, the growth of the trucking industry and airlines had taken away a substantial amount of the business previously handled by railroads. The CGW would not survive as operating costs increased while revenues declined. The only solution was to consolidate with another railroad, and a favorable agreement was reached with the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW). At 12:01 a.m. Monday, July 1, 1968, the CGW ceased to exist, as it became part of the C&NW. Since that time, much of the system has been abandoned, and today only a few segments of former CGW trackage remain in service. This book provides nostalgic images and photographs of the operations, employees, locomotives, and stations of a little railroad that is now only a memory.

Offering a panoramic view of present-day Pittsburgh, Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines attract pedestrians traveling from the river's shore to the top of Mount Washington.

These inclines were completed in 1870 and 1877 by real estate speculators hoping to capitalize on undeveloped land at the top of Coal Hill, a name given due to its many coal mines. Housing in the valleys and other low-lying areas could not accommodate the influx of new residents following the Civil War. Using technology perfected to haul coal from mines, the region's first inclined railroads, or funiculars, carried people and goods and formed a part of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. By 1900, inclines were an integral part of the city's identity. During the early decades of the 20th century, however, automobiles and trucks made access to Pittsburgh's hilltops relatively easy. Before the automobile, there were at least 15 inclines in Pittsburgh. Today, there are two: the Monongahela and Duquesne Inclines.

Go inside the transition from steam to diesel, the pinnacle of rail travel and the development of the South through much of the 20th century.

The Southern Railway was the pinnacle of rail service in the South for nearly 100 years. Its roots stretch back to 1827, when the South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Company was founded in Charleston to provide freight transportation and America's first regularly scheduled passenger service. Through the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Great Depression, rail lines throughout the South continued to merge, connecting Washington, D.C. to Atlanta and Charleston to Memphis. The Southern Railway was born in 1893 at the height of these mergers. It came to an end in 1982, merging with Norfolk and Western Railway to become Norfolk Southern Railway. The history of the railway lives on, however, and Norfolk Southern continues to "serve the South."

In 2003, the Southern Railway Historical Association selected the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History as the repository for its extensive archives. Included in this collection are hundreds of professional quality, black-and-white photographs taken by company photographers throughout the railway's history. While a few of these images have been seen by the public, the vast majority have not.

Incorporated in 1827, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad  was one of America's first railroads, and Maryland was its heart and soul.

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s (B&O)   creation was a tangible symbol of the Industrial Revolution, representing commerce and progress to towns along its route. Its headquarters and operations, centered in Baltimore, provided years of economic growth for the port city. This book contains images of well-known stations in Maryland, including Ellicott City Station, Gaithersburg Station, Camden Station, and the Mount Clare Shops—a self-contained industrial city, now home to the B&O Railroad Museum. Some stations still exist and are home to small museums or restaurants; others no longer stand, but images of them will remind even the casual historian of a time when railroads were a part of everyday life in America.

Take a step back in time and revisit the sites, stations, and trains of the B&Othat were once part of everyday life in Maryland and remember the glory of a bygone era.

The Toledo, Peoria & Western (TP&W) Railway has made a big impact on Illinois and railroading for over 150 years.

Author Thomas Dyrek is president of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Historical Society. Photographs and information from his collection as well as several other TP&W fans and historians have been assembled to tell the story of this unique railroad company.

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.

Through the  images and stories of the people who built it, discover the fascinating history of a railway established to fuel the nations' appetite for coal and that grew into so much more.

For a century, the Norfolk and Western Railway operated as one of the greatest transportation companies in the southeastern United States. From developing the coal fields of West Virginia to accommodating passengers aboard its famous Powhaten Arrow and Pocahontas lines, the N&W was the last major railroad to abandon the steam engine. The story of the N&W is a story about people-a story of the tens of thousands of people who worked in the shops and aboard the trains, sold the tickets and moved the freight, laid the track and managed corporate affairs. Images of Rail: Norfolk and Western Railway celebrates that heritage through the lens of some 200 archival photographs.

From images of the muscular Class J steam locomotive to the lone agent of the rural depot, these photographs have been harvested from the N&W's files at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. The archival material provides the reader the rare opportunity to rummage through the N&W's attic. See the engine crews at the turn of the last century, the shop gangs, freight agents, roundhouses, stations, and iron horses of a bygone age. With views of the rugged and, at times, dangerous days of railroading in the late 1800s to the rise of the N&W as a member of America's corporate elite, these pictures convey the railway's storied history.

Images of Rail: Pere Marquette 1225 presents the history of steam locomotive 1225, one of 39 Berkshire Class 2-8-4's built between 1937 and 1944 for the Pere Marquette Railway.

Although it is best known for being the sound and image behind the movie adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg's The Polar Express, 1225 has a rich history that preceded a life as a movie star. From her construction at Lima Locomotive Works and important role in hauling material from factories to the front in World War II to her unlikely preservation on Michigan State University's campus and eventual restoration, the history of 1225 covers nearly 75 years. The locomotive is now housed at the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan, and the story behind it will take readers back to a time when whistles in the night charged the imagination and the United States truly was the Arsenal of Democracy.

Through historic images, discover the story of Central Illinois’ most integral place in the mid-19th to 20th century: the train depot.

These buildings, home to wooden benches, telegraph equipment, and old train schedules hanging on the wall, were the gateway to the rest of the world. One could catch a train to almost anywhere in the United States back in the day, but during the postwar years of America, the railroad depot faded into history. Decreased train ridership due to the increasing popularity of air travel and automobiles led to thousands of these once-important buildings closing and later being burned or torn down. From larger union depots in cities like Bloomington and Peoria to smaller isolated stops, Central Illinois Train Depots tells the story of buildings that once played vital roles in the development of communities throughout Central Illinois.

Thomas Dyrek, a resident of Central Illinois, is a railroad and history buff who has spent years researching and documenting the area’s railroad history. Historic photographs from his collection as well as several other local railroad fans and historians were selected for this book to tell the story of the area’s railroad depots and their interesting history. Jack Keefe is a noted Central Illinois historian who has written many articles on the area’s railroad history and photographed many local railroad depots in the 1960s and 1970s.

Travel back to 20th century New York along the historic tracks of the Long Island Railroad through this stunning image collection.

Chartered on April 24, 1834, as a route from Brooklyn to Boston, the Long Island Rail Road commenced in 1836 with service between Brooklyn and Jamaica, New York. The railroad has linked Long Island and New York City through several periods of increasing immigration and population beginning in the 1880s. Farmers and fishermen have depended on the railroad for their livelihood, and every summer thousands of tourists flock to Long Island beaches on the Long Island Rail Road. It is still the nation's largest commuter railroad, transporting an average of over two hundred fifty thousand commuters daily. The Long Island Rail Road: 1925–1975 offers a behind-the-scenes look at freight and passenger activities and the people who worked on the railroad. These one-of-a-kind photographs depict structures no longer in use, such as towers, water tanks, and crossing shanties, as well as electric motive power and other facets of a working railroad.

Join Allen Meyers and Joel Spivak as they journey through the history of the railways that connected the Philadelpia communites.

Philadelphia became the railroad capital of the world in the 1830s when 12 distinct lines opened within a 100-mile radius of the city to carry people and freight. The railroad boom in the 19th century was made possible by the development of rural communities surrounding the city, the Industrial Revolution, excellent access to raw materials, and an influx of European immigrants. Philadelphia manufactured locomotives, railroad track, and other rail components and exported them around the world. The ability to move agricultural goods, manufactured products, and people commuting from home to work helped to unite the 27 boroughs, districts, and townships into one metropolis by 1854. Philadelphia Railroads features many unseen images and rare photographs documenting the leaders of Philadelphia's transportation world.

Twenty years after Cheyenne was founded by Union Pacific, the city had outgrown its three-room board-and-batten depot and began to lobby for a new, grander building that better represented the lustrous community.

Union Pacific agreed, and in 1886, construction began on the lavish three-story passenger depot and headquarters for the division.The Cheyenne Union Pacific Depot, designated a national historic landmark in 2006, endures proudly as a symbol of the Magic City and the lasting partnership between the city and the railroad that build it.It continues to serve as Cheyenne’s gathering place, a center of activism, and an enduring symbol of the city itself.While the state capitol just down the street stands as a symbol for the state of Wyoming, the Union Pacific Depot belongs to Cheyenne alone.

When the Strasburg Rail Road was chartered in 1832, no one anticipated the myriad of obstacles the short line would encounter. This book chronicles the unlikely success of America's oldest continuously operating railroad.

What began as an afterthought in the early 19th century eventually became one of America's premier steam train excursions and the most visited heritage railroad in the continental United States. By 1957, the declining condition of its rails and the lack of freight and passenger service seemed to mark the end of the railroad, but it was given new life in 1958, and not even the wildest imagination foresaw the remarkable transformation and development this Methuselah of railroads would undergo. Explore how and why Strasburg's four-and-a-half-mile line survived, and discover the story behind its ascension to prominence as an iconic, internationally known, small-town steam railroad.

Headquartered in Chicago, the Illinois Central Railroad was known as the Main Line of Mid-America.

This was a major railroad cutting through the middle section of the United States with two major routes.The Main Line, which ran south out of Chicago toward New Orleans, and the Western Lines, which ran west toward Iowa. The Illinois Central Railroad had eight major freight yards in Chicago, which in 1937 handled nearly two million freight cars. It was also well known for its passenger service and operated some of the finest passenger trains: the Green Diamond, the all-Pullman Panama Limited, and the City of New Orleans. Chicago and the Illinois Central Railroad covers the railroad's operations within the city of Chicago, plus the outlying suburbs, from the late 1800s to 1960. It explores, through vintage photographs, the passenger and freight trains, suburban trains, locomotives, shops and repair facilities, and people that made the railroad function.

Maine Narrow Gauge Railroads is a comprehensive pictorial record of the history of the narrow gauge railroad in Maine. From the one-hundred-twelve-mile Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad to the five-mile Kennebec Central, Maine Narrow Gauge Railroads features the toylike miniature trains of Maine as they appeared at different stages in their history. The Bridgton and Harrison Railroad, the Monson Railroad, and the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway lines are documented within, as well as the current restoration projects that are under way.

Reading Trains and Trolleys documents the impact of railroad and trolley networks on Reading and adjoining communities.

Rail transportation has been part of daily life in Reading since the 1830s. Reading Trains and Trolleys portrays the good old days of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway (reorganized as the Reading Company in 1923), the Schuylkill Valley Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Mount Penn Gravity Railroad, the Neversink Mountain Railroad, the Reading City Passenger Railway, and the Reading Traction Company. The Reading Railroad gained widespread recognition as a property for sale on the Monopoly board, but the history of trains and trolleys in Reading goes well beyond that iconography. Reading Trains and Trolleys documents the impact of railroad and trolley networks on Reading and adjoining communities, including photographs of the interior of the locomotive shop and the carbarn at Tenth and Exeter Streets, views of the Walnut Street yard before and after the Outer Station was constructed, and views from the Swinging Bridge, which spanned the yard by the Outer Station. The Historical Society of Berks County's collection of rail photographs includes many never-before-published images of diverse scenes in and around Reading.

The Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, better known as the Lackawanna Railroad, was organized in 1851 and thrived on the anthracite coal traffic originating from the area surrounding Scranton, Pennsylvania.

The company came to operate a network of track between Hoboken, New Jersey, and Buffalo, New York, before becoming part of the Erie Lackawanna Railway in 1960. During the first decade of the 1900s, the railroad underwent a substantial modernization and improvement project, which was documented extensively by company-hired photographers. A century later, these images provide a fascinating insight into the everyday workings of a railroad and its interaction with the communities along its route. Nearly all of the railroad territory covered by this book remains in operation today.

Discover the contribution and history of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad through pictures from the earliest days of building and development.

The Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire Railroad laid track from Alexandria through Fairfax County and into Loudoun County towards the coalfields of West Virginia. In 1900, the Southern Railway, which had taken over the line, extended the railroad into Bluemont on the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Washington & Old Dominion Railway leased the Southern Railway's line in 1912, went into receivership in 1932, and was reorganized into the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad in 1935. The employees excavated the roadbed by hand, built stations and electric locomotives, reconfigured passenger cars, replaced diesel motors, and rebuilt bridges. Eventually, public roads and a lack of shipping and receiving industries forced the railroad into abandonment. Through old photographs, Washington & Old Dominion Railroad explores the efforts that went into building, operating, and maintaining the railroad whose right-of-way has now become the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority's Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park.

Constructed as the Easton and Amboy Railroad, opened by 1875, the Lehigh Valley Railroad was instrumental in developing commerce and communities of central New Jersey.

Thout it no longer runs, it was originally built to haul unending trains of black diamonds from Pennsylvania to Perth Amboy, the Lehigh Valley Railroad became so much more than a conduit for shipping coal. In building across the state, it became instrumental in not only hauling produce to New York City markets but also for providing service to companies like Johns-Manville and Lionel Trains. From Phillipsburg to Jersey City and all points in between, the Lehigh Valley Railroad hauled freight and passengers, while at the same time contributing to the social fabric of the area. The Lehigh Valley Railroad across New Jersey paints a picture of a railroad that provided over 100 years of quality service to the Garden State.

The Pennsylvania Railroad's Horseshoe Curve is known worldwide as an engineering wonder.

This landmark, located just west of Altoona, opened to traffic on February 15, 1854, and it enabled the Pennsylvania railroad line to climb the Allegheny Mountains and the eastern continental divide. The Horseshoe Curve's construction impacted railroad design and development for mountainous terrain everywhere, enabling access to coal and other raw materials essential for the industrial age. J. Edgar Thomson, chief engineer of the Pennsylvania Railroad, is widely recognized for his engineering and design of the Horseshoe Curve, a concept never utilized previously. Today the curve is still in use and sees approximately 70 trains daily. Through vintage photographs, Horseshoe Curve chronicles how this marvel remains one of the vital transportation arteries linking the east and west coasts of the United States.

Since the opening of the first permanent railway in 1833, hundreds of railroad companies have operated in North Carolina.

Rail transportation, faster and more efficient than other methods of the era, opened new markets for the products of North Carolina's farms, factories, and mines. Over the years, North Carolina rail companies have ranged in size from well-engineered giants like the Southern Railway to temporary logging railroads like the Hemlock. Cross ties and rails were laid across almost every conceivable terrain: tidal marshes, sand hills, rolling piedmont, and mountain grades. Vulnerable to the turbulent and unregulated economies of the day, few railroad companies escaped reorganizations and receiverships during their corporate lives, often leaving tangled and contradictory histories in their passing.

Early postcards and photographs reveal the begininngs of rail travel in Ohio, and the rail depots and buildings that served the passengers and their goods.

The first rail lines in northeast Ohio opened for business in July 1850, and by the 1890s, northeast Ohio was laced with railroad tracks. Cleveland was the hub of railroad activity, and important rail-served lake ports developed at Ashtabula, Conneaut, Fairport Harbor, Huron, and Lorain. Akron became a center of southerly east–west lines. Over 310 passenger and combination depots were established at various points along the railroads to serve the needs of passengers traveling throughout northeast Ohio. Depots were the focal point of communities—news arrived over their telegraphs, traveling salesmen gathered on the trackside platforms, depot staff maneuvered four-wheel wagons loaded with baggage, parcels, and milk cans, locals gathered to meet, greet, and send off family and friends. The depot was a veritable beehive of activity at train time. Railroad Depots of Northeast Ohio offers a glimpse into these golden years of train travel through the use of early postcards and photographs of selected depots and related structures.

Sunnyside Yard was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad as part of its massive New York Extension, the centerpiece of which was Pennsylvania Station in the heart of Manhattan.

Opened in 1910, it is still the world's largest railroad passenger car storage yard. At the height of its operation in the 1930s, there were 79 tracks, with a capacity for 1,100 cars. Hell Gate Bridge was a joint venture of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New Haven Railroad to construct a direct rail route for trains between New York City and the New England states. The main span is 1,017 feet between the towers, and it rises more than 300 feet from the East River to the top of the towers.