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This is a comprehensive, illustrated account of the growth and decline of American narrow gauge railroading. It documents a long-gone era, bringing to life ancient steam locomotives, railroads and rolling stock that have mostly disappeared without trace. The basic facts and information on the subject are heavily illustrated with photographs, drawings and maps, presented in an encyclopedia format.
A full color 120 page hardback photographic album by renowned photographer James Waite of the narrow gauge railway lines of the American continents in the 21st century. The reader is taken on an illustrated journey across North America from New England in the east to the West Coast, and then south through Central America and on into South America; journey's end being in Patagonia, at the southern tip of Argentina. Features many lesser-known lines, as well as the popular Cumbres & Toltec and Durango & Silverton operations.
The narrow gauge railroad arrived in the United States in the late nineteenth century. Based on the Welsh two-foot gauge, the American narrow gauge was expanded by railroad engineers to a three-foot gauge that became the standard track width for narrow gauge railroads in the United States. Maine, however, adopted the two-foot gauge that was developed by George E. Mansfield in Massachusetts. The narrow track width was ideally suited to the mountainous terrain, and the maneuverability of the trains proved highly beneficial to companies and passengers traveling to remote locations. The narrow gauge railroad served Maine for over fifty years until the early 1940s. Maine Narrow Gauge Railroads is a comprehensive pictorial record of the history of the narrow gauge railroad in Maine. From the one-hundred-twelve-mile Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad to the five-mile Kennebec Central, Maine Narrow Gauge Railroads features the toylike miniature trains of Maine as they appeared at different stages in their history. The Bridgton and Harrison Railroad, the Monson Railroad, and the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway lines are documented within, as well as the current restoration projects that are under way.
US Navy rail operations on Oahu began in 1908 with construction railroads used to help build the shipyard. Expansion of Pearl Harbor to include the submarine base and the naval magazine on Kuahua Island required a permanent railroad, which was begun in 1911. This construction provided industrial employment to hundreds of local men in the existing agricultural economy, and the influx of additional manpower from the mainland contributed to an increasingly skilled and diverse population. World War II brought about a dramatic increase in Navy railroad operations in support of the war effort. Success in the Pacific theater of operations depended on the Navy's railroads, equipment, and the Oahu Railway & Land Company (OR&L), which connected all the bases. The OR&L abandoned its main line in December 1947. By the mid-1950s, railroad operations at Pearl Harbor also ceased. Rail operations continued at and between Naval Magazine Lualualei and Ammunition Depot West Loch through the Korean Conflict and Vietnam era, ending in 1972.
Take a nostalgic 100 year Journey through the Rocky Mountains aboard the narrow gauge railways that snaked through them.
Narrow Gauge in the Tropics is the first comprehensive history of railways and tramways in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia) from breaking ground in 1864 to the invasion of the Japanese during World War II. During the mid-19th century under colonial rule, the Dutch East Indies experienced enormous increases in production of sugar, coffee, and other commodities, resulting in a great dilemma: How were these goods to be moved to port when wagons hauled by animals was the only available form of transportation? The solution was to build a railway network through some of the most challenging terrain on the planet. Lavishly illustrated, Narrow Gauge in the Tropics explores technical aspects of the construction of the railways over difficult terrain, the origin of the technicians who made the seemingly impossible happen, and the social impact of the railways on the indigenous population.
Narrow Gauge Railways of Canada is a survey course about one of the most interesting chapters in Canadian railway history. The late Omer Lavallee's original work was published by Railfare Books in 1972, and soon sold out. Long-sought by collectors, historians and railway enthusiasts, his excellent material has now been expanded (over 40 percent) by the author's long-time friend and collaborator, editor Ronald Ritchie. Omer Lavallee's survey indicates the Province of Ontario, Canada, was the birth place - in July 1871 - of the first narrow gauge steam-operated public railway in North America . . . and the Lingan Colliery Tramway in Cape Breton may have been - in 1866 - the first narrow gauge steam-operated railway in the Western Hemisphere. Two dozen different railway systems are covered within the book's twenty-five chapters. There are 192 rare photographs - including a section of 66 full-color photos - interesting sketches, and informative maps of each line to show route details. These are keyed to an overall map, pinpointing the railway's exact location within Canada. Narrow Gauge Railways of Canada contains listings of railway mileage, chronological and geographical facts about each system, and locomotive information. Several other useful features include: time-mileage charts, 50 diagrams, charts and tables, equipment rosters for virtually all the railways, and gradient profiles of three steeply-graded mountain routes. The book includes a specially-commissioned painting by famed railway artist Wentworth Folkins, illustrating Newfoundland Railway's Overland approaching Port-aux-Basque on the last lap of its 547-mile journey from Newfoundland's capital city, St. John's.
Built by James Everell Henry, the East Branch & Lincoln Railroad (EB&L) is considered to be the grandest and largest logging railroad operation ever built in New England. In 1892, the mountain town of Lincoln, New Hampshire, was transformed from a struggling wilderness enclave to a thriving mill town when Henry moved his logging operation from Zealand. He built houses, a company store, sawmills, and a railroad into the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River watershed to harvest virgin spruce. Despite the departure of the last EB&L log train from Lincoln Woods by 1948, the industry's cut-and-run practices forever changed the future of land conservation in the region, prompting legislation like the Weeks Act of 1911 and the Wilderness Act of 1964. Today, nearly every trail in the Pemigewasset Wilderness follows or utilizes portions of the old EB&L Railroad bed.
This book picks up where the previous two Classic American titles left off, focusing on the golden age of American railroading from 1945 to the early 1970s. It extends to the present day where applicable, providing a colorful look at locomotives, passenger and freight operations, development, and, in some cases, demise. Full color.