Most of Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains is a raw and inhospitable land, largely the product of recent volcanic activity. Railroad builders constructed a couple mainlines skirting the edges of the region and some branch lines into agricultural communities, but found very little else to attract their interest. Over time, however, a small collection of interesting shortline railroads built or bought rail lines, either in conjunction with the developing timber industry in the Blue, Ochoco, and Wallowa mountains or to connect a few existing communities with the mainline that bypassed the town. This book tells the stories of these small railroads and the roles they played in the development and economies of the region; covered railroads includes the Big Creek & Telocaset; City of Prineville; Condon, Kinzua & Southern; Idaho, Northern & Pacific; Klamath Northern; Oregon & Northwestern; Oregon, California & Eastern; Oregon Eastern Division of the Wyoming/Colorado; Sumpter Valley; Union Railroad of Oregon; Wallowa Union; and others.

Explore the rich history of the legendary railroad that spanned the American Midwest in this beautifully illustrated volume. Beginning operations in the mid-nineteenth century, the Rock Island Line served farms and small-town America for more than 140 years. One of the earliest railroads to build westward from Chicago, it was the first to span the Mississippi, advancing the frontier, bringing settlers into the West, and hauling their crops to market. Rock Island’s celebrated Rocket passenger trains also set a standard for speed and service, with suburban runs as familiar to Windy City commuters as the Loop. For most of its existence, the Rock battled competitors much larger and richer than itself. When it finally succumbed, the result was one of the largest business bankruptcies ever. Today, as its engines and stock travel the busy main lines operated by other carriers, the Rock Island Line lives on in the hearts of those whom it employed and served.

There was a point in American history when every town was connected by a rails. Whether it was a small electric line winding along city streets or a multi-track mainline separating the business district from the residential areas, every community had a hometown railroad that it relied on for commerce, transportation, and identity.Accomplished railroad author Frank Kyper spent many of his formative years in towns and cities like this throughout Vermont and New Hampshire, spending the 1940s through the 1970s moving around the area with his family. His free time was spent exploring local railroads like the Springfield Terminal, Claremont & Concord, Montpelier & Barre, Clarendon & Pittsford, and even the Mount Washington Cog Railroad. His travels and interests in the region also put him in contact with the Rutland and the various branch lines of the Boston & Maine, and placed him front and center for the early formation of Steamtown and the Conway Scenic Railroad. His personal contacts with several railroad officials at the time, including the president of the Rutland, gave him access to information as events unfolded that would drastically alter the landscape of New England railroading.This book is a firsthand account of a historian whose presence-of-mind to record events in real-time has created a virtual time capsule over 172 pages of text. A mix of over 160 color and black and white photos, many taken by Kyper himself, illustrate the stories that are woven together to paint a picture of Vermont and New Hampshire railroading in its classic era. This title is Frank Kyper's seventh book on railroading in the northeast.