Examines the history, services, accommodations, and problems of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.

In the late 1860s, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) pushed its first tracks westward from Virginia's Tidewater region across the mountains into what was then the new state of West Virginia. Ultimately its tracks stretched across a half-dozen states and even into Canada. Appalachian coal was the C&O's primary cargo, but its fast freights carried shipments of all kinds, and its crack passenger trains were marvels of their day. In 1963, the C&O merged with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the first of what would become a wave of railroad mergers. Today the old C&O is part of giant CSX Transportation. Images of Rail: The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway gathers 200 photographs that chronicle the C&O story. Here is a fond look back at its mammoth steam locomotives and the diesels that replaced them, its bustling passenger stations, and much more, including the legendary John Henry, who beat that steam drill, and Chessie, the sleeping kitten that was the C&O's much-loved trademark.

A new look at mines, towns, trains, people that were involved in transportation of coal from mine to market on C&O in the period 1945-1960. Chapters include Background; Coal Fields Motive Power; Coal Fields Rolling Stock; C&O Coal Operations; Coal Towns; Mines & Tipples. Most photos are from C&O official files and illustrate every aspect of coal mining and transportation. Maps show branches and their relationship to whole scheme. Ideal for C&O fans, modelers, and those interested in the coal fields of Appalachia. If you have the C&OHS’s 1995 book C&O in the Coal Fields, this book is ALL NEW, and does not repeat the photos or data.

The best-loved company symbol of all time. Introduced in 1933, Chessie appeared on calendars, railroad memorabilia, and in advertisements and was modernized to form the logo for the new Chessie System paint scheme in 1972.

This book fuels the world-wide interest in American locomotives of the late-steam era, when strong performance, high horsepower, and functional beauty were givens. Among roads wealthy enough to afford such engines, Chesapeake & Ohio was in the forefront with its 'Super Power,' and this new book systematically sets forth the development, use, maintenance, and performance of these 'custom made' designs from the introduction in 1930 of the C&O T-1, then the world's most powerful two-cylinder locomotive, through the 'Kanawhas' and 'Greenbriers' of the 1940s, to the L-2 class of 1942 and 1948, the worlds heaviest Hudsons, to the last fifteen of the Allegheny type, which had established the highest drawbar horsepower record of any steam locomotive in the world. The fascinating story of C&O Super Power involves not only the road's own Mechanical Department in Richmond, Virginia, but its close association with Lima Locomotive Works, of Lima, Ohio, and its even closer kinship with the authoritative Advisory Mechanical Committee of Cleveland, Ohio. In giving the reader a fresh and penetrating examination of C&O Super Power, this book brings together over 175 photos, plus reproductions of C&O's own locomotive diagrams and an ICC inspection report for Allegheny no. 1604, preserved today in Baltimore. The photos were carefully selected for quality, relevance to the text, and originality. These action and still photos hopefully will offer images seldom if ever seen before that the viewer will greet with surprise and delight.

Take a photographic journey along the 184-mile Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, from the streets of Georgetown to the railway depot at the canal's western terminus. The C & O Canal sprang from the dreams of George Washington, who wanted to build a transportation link between tidewater Washington, D.C. and the Ohio River. Though commerce on the canal ceased years ago, today it is a place for contemplation and recreation, a unique and precious blend of human and natural history. In more than 100 beautiful photographs, author Gary Anthes offers stunning views of the natural world – including birds, fish, insects, and trees – as he peers into the past at the fading but resolute houses, locks, and aqueducts left behind by the men and women who kept the canal boats flowing one hundred years ago. This book is both a treasured keepsake for tourists and a wonderful resource for history buffs and nature lovers.