Synopses & Reviews
Frank P. Donovan, a master of railroad history, was the first writer to provide a complete exploration of the major steam railroads that served Iowa. This collection of Donovan's essays, originally published during the 1950s and 1960s in the State Historical Society of Iowa's Palimpsest, describes the history of Hawkeye rails during the preceding three decades. Editor H. Roger Grant also includes details of Donovan's life, his research and activities in writing the essays, and his overall contributions to Hawkeye state railroad history.
What began as a study of the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway stretched into more than a dozen contributions on Hawkeye state railroad topics. By 1969 Donovan had examined Iowa's Little Three: Chicago Great Western, Illinois Central, and Minneapolis & St. Paul as well as the state's Big Four: Chicago & North Western; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific; and Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific. In addition to these seven core carriers, Donovan covered the state's less prominent railroads: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Great Northern; and Union Pacific and Wabash. Moreover, he contributed an issue on Iowa's principal interurbans, most of which survived into the 1950s as electric-powered freight-only short lines. In uniting Donovan's articles into a single volume, Iowa Railroads provides the most complete history of Iowa's rail heritage.
Review
Don L. Hofsommer and H. Roger Grant have assembled a remarkable photo album, one that illustrates and complements the Iowa railroad story with more than 400 photographs and drawings of extraordinary diversity. These splendidly chosen photographs should set a new high standard for similar railroad histories.
Review
"With more than 400 black-and-white photographs, a solid inventory of depots and locations, and new information that is sure to impress even the most well-versed railfan, this detailed history of the state's railroads... will be an essential reference for railroad fans, model railroad builders, and historians alike." --NMRA Magazine, December 2010 Indiana University Press Indiana University Press Indiana University Press
Synopsis
At one point in time, no place in Iowa was more than a few miles from an active line of rail track. In this splendid companion volume to Steel Trails of Hawkeyeland (IUP, 2005), H. Roger Grant and Don L. Hofsommer explore the pivotal role that railroads played in the urban development of the state as well as the symbiotic relationship Iowa and its rails shared. With more than 400 black-and-white photographs, a solid inventory of depots and locations, and new information that is sure to impress even the most well-versed railfan, this detailed history of the state's railroads--including the Chicago and North Western, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, and the Iowa Northern--will be an essential reference for railroad fans and historians, artists, and model railroad builders.
Synopsis
A rich photographic record of Iowa's railroad history
About the Author
H. Roger Grant is Kathryn and Calhoun Lemon Professor of History at Clemson University. He is author of 25 books, including Visionary Railroader (IUP, 2008). Grant has written company histories of the Chicago and North Western, the Chicago Great Western, the Erie Lackawanna, the Georgia and Florida, and the Wabash railroads. He lives in Central, South Carolina.
Don L. Hofsommer is Professor of History at St. Cloud State University and president of the Lexington Group. He is author of Katy Northwest (IUP, 1999) and Steel Trails of Hawkeyeland (IUP, 2005). A native of Iowa, he now resides in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Age of Steam
Chapter 2: Under the Wire
Chapter 3: Down at the Depot
Chapter 4: Shipping by Rail
Chapter 5: Working on the Railroad
Chapter 6: Diesel Revolution
Chapter 7: In Recent Times