Covering legendary and obscure intercity passenger trains in a dozen Southeastern states, this book details the golden age of train travel. The story begins with the inception of steam locomotives in 1830 in Charleston, South Carolina, continuing through the mid-1930s changeover to diesel and the debut of Amtrak in 1971 to the present. Throughout, the book explores the technological achievements, the romance and the economic impact of traveling on the tracks. Other topics include contemporary museums and excursion trains; the development of commuter rails, monorails, light rails, and other intracity transit trains; the social impact of train travel; and historical rail terminals and facilities. The book is supplemented with more than 160 images and 10 appendices.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments     

Introduction: A Sentimental Journey     


I. The Manufacture of Transportation

1. Making Tracks: Cumbersome Methodology Gets the Shaft     

2. Belle Époque: The Golden Age of Train Travel     


II. Dixie Legends

3. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad: Riders of the Purple Stage     

4. Central of Georgia Railway: Horses of a Different Color     

5. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway: The Cat's Meow     

6. Florida East Coast Railway: The Eighth Wonder of the World     

7. Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad: Great Things Made of Little Things     

8. Illinois Central Railroad: First in Line to Land a Grant     

9. Louisville & Nashville Railroad: A Tale of Two Cities Dispossessed     

10. Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway: Short Route from the Great Lakes to Florida     

11. Norfolk & Western Railway: The Last Steam Road in America     

12. St. Louis-San Francisco Railway: Unfilled Destiny     

13. Seaboard Air Line Railroad: The Train of Tomorrow     

14. Southern Railway: Crescent Rolls     


III. The Human Dimension

15. Segregation and Prejudice: Jim Crow, Colored Coaches and "Ladies' Cars"     

16. Amenities and Appointments: Club Car, Parlor Car, Dining Car, Pullman     

17. Portals to the World: Early Waiting Rooms     


IV. Present and Future

18. Passengers Wanted: Railroads in Decline and the Advent of Amtrak     

19. On the Fast Track: The Anticipation of High Speed Rail     

20. Progressive Southern Municipalities: Urban and Intercity Mass Transit     


Appendices

A: Glossary     

B: Additional Passenger Lines     

C: Amtrak     

D: Museums and Exhibitions (by State)     

E: Terminals (by State)     

F: Dixie Rail Chronology           

G: Powerful Railway Personalities     

H: Dixie Lines     

I: Streetcars, Commuter Lines and Monorails (by State)     

J: Advertising and Passenger Information     

Chapter Notes     

Bibliography     

Index