A former Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway CEO tells the behind-the-scenes story of the transformation and resurgence of America’s ailing railroads. When Robert D. Krebs joined the ranks of Southern Pacific Railroad in 1966, the industry had been in decline for decades, and the future of trains was in peril. Despite these obstacles, Krebs fell in love with the rugged, competitive business of railroads and was determined to overcome its resistance to change and put rail transportation back on track. By the age of forty, Krebs was president of the Southern Pacific Railroad and had also served as chief executive of both the Santa Fe Railway and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway companies. Riding the Rails: Inside the Business of America’s Railroads details Krebs’s rise to a position of influence in the recovery of America’s railroads—and offers a unique insider’s view into the boardrooms where executives and businessmen reimagined transportation in the United States.

Chicago's South Shore Line is a photographic essay of the last interurban electric railroad operating in the United States. Completed as the Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend Railway (CLS&SBR) connecting South Bend, Indiana, with Pullman, Illinois, in 1909, the line went into receivership in 1925. It reorganized as the Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad (CSS&SBR) which rebuilt the railroad and provided direct passenger service from South Bend to downtown Chicago. The Great Depression forced the railroad into bankruptcy in 1933 but reorganized in 1938 and handled record ridership during World War II. After the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad acquired the railroad in 1970, the electric freight service was dieselized. Soaring passenger deficits resulted in the formation of the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICDT). Beginning in 1984, the Venango River Corporation operated the line until it went bankrupt in 1988. The Anacostia & Pacific Company began operating the freight service in 1990, and NICDT handles passenger service. Chicago's South Shore Line documents the history of this railway that has survived obstacles to maintain passenger service over its original route.

For more than four decades, the Atlanta Northern Railway transported passengers between Atlanta and Marietta. The Atlanta Northern, owned by a precursor of Georgia Power, provided an invaluable transportation link for workers employed by industries along the line. Little remains of the former Atlanta-to-Marietta line, its right-of- way obliterated by modern development and its history largely forgotten. Todd DeFeo is the author of several railroad history books, including the first-ever complete histories of the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville and the Indiana, Alabama & Texas; and Western & Atlantic railroads.

A supplemental textbook for middle and high school students, Hoosiers and the American Story provides intimate views of individuals and places in Indiana set within themes from American history. During the frontier days when Americans battled with and exiled native peoples from the East, Indiana was on the leading edge of America’s westward expansion. As waves of immigrants swept across the Appalachians and eastern waterways, Indiana became established as both a crossroads and as a vital part of Middle America. Indiana’s stories illuminate the history of American agriculture, wars, industrialization, ethnic conflicts, technological improvements, political battles, transportation networks, economic shifts, social welfare initiatives, and more. In so doing, they elucidate large national issues so that students can relate personally to the ideas and events that comprise American history. At the same time, the stories shed light on what it means to be a Hoosier, today and in the past.