Railroads of Rhode Island: Shaping the Ocean State's Railways - Softcover

Heppner, Frank

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1609493338 ISBN 13: 9781609493332

Publisher: The History Press, 2012

Synopsis

Dominated by Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island’s scenic coast is paralleled by the tracks of some of the oldest and now fastest railroads in the United States. With determination and ingenuity, early civil engineers overcame barriers such as the Great Swamp, which stretches from Kingston to Westerly. The state’s key position at the intersection of trade routes and between the major population centers of New England also shaped the placement of its railroads, as well as their dynamic character. Tour the state’s historic railways with longtime railfan and railroad historian Frank Heppner. From the Stonington Line to the Boston and Providence Railroad, speed along the pioneer tracks in Rhode Island.

About this title

About the Author:

Frank Heppner was born to a railroad family. His father was a doctor for the Southern Pacific Railroad in San Francisco, he had his first train ride when he was three and he made his first scratch-built HO railroad car when he was thirteen (he still has it). He’s ridden over 500,000 miles by rail in twenty-three different countries. As a graduate student, he talked his way into cab rides on the Shasta Daylight in California and the Super Chief through Raton Pass. Between train rides, he picked up a PhD in zoology from the University of California at Davis and taught first-year biology to over twenty-five thousand students at the University of Rhode Island. He retired from this “day job” in 2010 after writing more than sixty scientific papers. He was a founding member of the Friends of the Kingston Station and is today its chairman. He is also active in the Rhode Island Association of Railroad Passengers and is a member of the Little Rhody Division of the National Model Railroad Association.

Review:

"Heppner, a founding member of the Friends of the Kingston Station and now its chairman, writes in a folksy, engaging style, chronicling the evolution of railroads in America's smallest state from its embryonic beginnings, when it was envisioned as an alternative to the barge and the stagecoach, to its semi-revival as a mode of transportation today....Enthusiastic, charming and comprehensive, Heppner's book is a good read for anyone who loves the legacy of railroads, Rhode Island history, or the oddities stumbled upon now and then like flattened pennies on a track." --Doug Norris, South County Independent

About this edition

• Publisher: The History Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1609493338
• ISBN 13: 9781609493332
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208