American Narrow Gauge Railroads - Hardcover

Hilton, George

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0804717311 ISBN 13: 9780804717311

Publisher: Stanford University Press, 1990

Synopsis

This is the first comprehensive, extensively illustrated account of the growth and decline of American narrow gauge railroading, a singular and still not fully understood episode in the history of American transportation.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Only a handful of books in the field of railroad history have become the standard reference work in a particular area. . . . To those select volumes should be added American Narrow Gauge Railroads. . . . This is an excellent work, and the author and publisher both deserve accolades.” Railroad History

Every so often, a book is published that deserves to be called a landmark. . . . American Narrow Gauge Railroads is probably the first of such caliber for the 90s.” Railfan and Railroad

From Library Journal:

The "narrow gauge fever" that swept U.S. railroads in the 1870s and 1880s was based on economic error. The expected capital savings were not realized in prac tice and the cost of reloading freight at junctions with the standard gauge net work was excessive. By 1900 most of the lines had either been converted to stan dard gauge or abandoned. Today usually thought of as limited to mountain country (the Colorado network was the largest and longest-lived), narrow gauges once ran in 44 states: in 1885 it was possible to travel from Ohio to Texas by narrow gauge. UCLA economist Hilton's superb study documents the rise and fall of the industry in authoritative detail. Part 1 sur veys the economics and technology of the movement as a whole, and Part 2 offers individual histories of 350 companies. Highly recommended for informed lay persons and specialists.
-Paul B. Cors, Univ. of Wyoming Lib., Laramie
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0804717311
• ISBN 13: 9780804717311
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 600