Details the history of railroad closings and their impact on the railroad traffic running from the industrial North and East to the agricultural South and West.

Despite the huge amount of interest in railroads, this is the first complete description and history of the railroads of Indiana from the first line, completed in 1838, up to the present. Simons and Parker follow Indiana's railroads through five distinct eras - 1830 to 1860, 1860 to 1900, 1900 to 1930, 1930 to 1960, and 1960 to 1996. The broad themes of Indiana railroad history are sketched within the framework of these periods. In addition, there is a brief synopsis of each railroad system, tracing its corporate and physical growth and evolution. A third section is devoted to commonalities among the various railroads, focusing on services, facilities, personalities, and accidents.

The Indiana Rail Road Company is a story of extraordinary success among the scores of independent short line and regional railroads spawned in the wake of railroad deregulation. Christopher Rund chronicles the development of the company from its origins as part of America's first land grant railroad, the Illinois Central, through the political and financial juggling required by entrepreneur Tom Hoback to purchase the line when it fell into disrepair. Reborn as a robust, profitable carrier, the INRD has become a model for the new American regional railroad. This revised edition, with a new foreword by acclaimed author Fred Frailey and four new chapters, brings readers up to date on Tom Hoback's amazing railroad adventure.