Steam Freight and Passenger Trains--NC&StL Ry.Steam Locomotive Diagrams

A fascinating railroad stretching from Memphis to Atlanta, the NC&St.L has a history beginning in 1840, and stretching through the Civil War to a merger with its parent line in 1957. The photos, diagrams, and maps presented in this book will help you understand the development and operation of the line as a key link between Memphis and the Appalachians. The railroad used Mikados, Pacifics, and Mountain types, as well as the first 4-8-4s in the South. Leading the way were the bullet-nosed, semi-streamlined J3 class 4-8-4s known as the "Yellow Jackets". Also featured in the book are model railroads that use the NC&St.L as a prototype. Written in an easily readable style, this book will interest all fans of railroading in the South.

Covering legendary and obscure intercity passenger trains in a dozen Southeastern states, this book details the golden age of train travel. The story begins with the inception of steam locomotives in 1830 in Charleston, South Carolina, continuing through the mid-1930s changeover to diesel and the debut of Amtrak in 1971 to the present. Throughout, the book explores the technological achievements, the romance and the economic impact of traveling on the tracks. Other topics include contemporary museums and excursion trains; the development of commuter rails, monorails, light rails, and other intracity transit trains; the social impact of train travel; and historical rail terminals and facilities. The book is supplemented with more than 160 images and 10 appendices.

Before the start of the Civil War, Georgia had ten railroads, five of which figured significantly in General William T. Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and March to the Sea. The number of rail lines in the state ballooned after the war. Many were founded by individual entrepreneurs like Henry Plant and Thomas Clyde, while the biggest railroad of them all (Southern Railway) was created out of whole cloth by New York financier J.P. Morgan. At the close of the nineteenth century, consolidation was already in process, and by the end of the next century, only three significant railroads remained in Georgia. Author and historian Robert C. Jones examines Georgia's rail history over the past two centuries and today.