Railroads of Southeast Iowa: Photographs from the Lemberger Collection

Though early settlement in Iowa followed the rivers, it was the advent of the railroads, starting in the late 1850s, which opened up the remainderof the state for development -- bringing goods to residents and sending their crops and products out to the world. Railroads formed the backbone of middle America, with dozens of trains -- freight and passenger -- reaching out to nearly every small town in the region. This collection of photographs from the 1800s to the present day celebrates the railroads and railroaders of southeast Iowa.

Photographer and archivist Michael W. Lemberger began collecting images at the age of eight when he discovered a cache of glass negatives in his great-aunt's attic. In the next 60 years he has amassed more than a million images, including his own photographs and those of other professional and dedicated amateur photographers. The Lemberger Collection (www.mlemberger.com) has been called the largest and best-documented privately-owned photography collection in the world.