"Keith L. Bryant Jr. and Fred W. Frailey present a comprehensive history of the financing, construction, growth, and management of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway"--

This lavish book invites readers aboard the glamorous renovated cars of the GrandLuxe railway train. In 1989, the American-European Express, a stylish train created in emulation of Europe's Orient Express, commenced operation between Washington and Chicago. Forced to close down two years later, it was reborn in 1994 as the American Orient Express. The AOE, as this luxury streamliner was often known, matured under the tutelage of various owners until 2006, when under new ownership it acquired a new name, the GrandLuxe Express.Trackside, the train gleamed as a classic American streamliner. Aboard, travelers enjoy old-fashioned, wood-paneled elegance that harkens back to the 1920s and Europe's posh Wagons-Lits sleepers and restaurant cars.

If you want an interesting look at railroading plus the social, financial, and political times over 130 years of America, consider this well-researched and documented book.—Stan Moore, Denver Posse of Westerners Cyrus K. Holliday envisioned a railroad that would run from Kansas to the Pacific, increasing the commerce and prosperity of the nation. With farsighted investors and shrewd management, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway grew from Holliday’s idea into a model of the modern, rapid, and efficient railroad. There were many growing pains early on, including rustlers, thieves, and desperadoes as well as the nineteenth century’s economic and climatic hardships. The railroad eventually extended from Chicago to San Francisco, with substantial holdings in oil fields, timber land, uranium mines, pipelines, and real estate. This is the first comprehensive history of the iconic Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, from its birth in 1859 to its termination in 1996. This volume discusses the construction and operation of the railway, the strategies of its leaders, the evolution of its locomotive fleet, and its famed passenger service with partner Fred Harvey. The vast changes within the nation’s railway system led to a merger with the Burlington Northern and the creation of the BNSF Railway. An iconic railroad, the Santa Fe at its peak operated thirteen thousand miles of routes and served the southwestern region of the nation with the corporate slogan “Santa Fe All the Way.” This new edition covers almost twenty-five more years of history, including the merger of the Santa Fe and Burlington Northern railroads and new material on labor, minorities, and women on the carrier along with new and updated maps and photographs.