Birmingham Rails, The Last Golden Era: from World War II to Amtrak

Cloth with dust jacket, 8.5x11", 280 pp, glossy paper, photos, advertising, ephemera, maps, drawings. "Birmingham Rails is the 1st book devoted exclusively to pictorial coverage of the Birmingham railroad district in the mid-20th century. The authors grew up during the railroads' "last golden era" after World War II, and their collaboration provides a detailed and colorful account of Birmingham railroads over three decades to the coming of Amtrak in the 1970s. > Covers every Class I, shortline and industrial railroad operating in the Birmingham railroad district from the 1940s through the 60s. > More than 400 vivid color and b/w images, many previously unpublished, from the best photographers of the era! > Extensive coverage of the area's industrial roads and shortlines by subject experts Tom Lawson and Ron Mele. >Separate chapter devoted to Birmingham's Terminal Station. > A detailed look at the extensive streetcar lines in their final years, including a colorful map. > Entertaining and informative commentary on railroading in and around Birmingham during the 1950s & '60s. > "Then and now" photos depicting the changes in the Birmingham railroad scene over the past 50 years. > Detailed maps that place you at the scene for a better perspective of featured locations. > Beautifully printed on 80-lb. silk matte, bound in archival cloth covers with a colorful dust jacket. "Marvin Clemons and Lyle Key have done a marvelous job of crafting the ultimate pictorial story of Birmingham rail history. Their efforts take the story from earliest times to the modern era. Of all Southern cities to have had so many railroads and such an extensive network of lines, Birmingham deserves to have a volume of distinction like this one." -- Jim Wrinn, Editor, Trains Magazine