"It's been said that no industry did more to open the North American frontier than the railroad industry. Indeed, the railroads' infrastructures allowed the crossing and settlement of regions once thought inhospitable, or even unreachable. Nowhere is this central role in taming the North American wilderness more evident than in this collection of 111 system maps published by the railroads themselves from 1838 to today. More than 75 U.S. and Canadian railroads, past and present, are featured-quaint regional branchlines, long-gone granger roads, golden-age classics, current merger behemoths, and more. No corner of the continent goes uncovered as author Bill Yenne complements the maps with a capsule history of each railroad, in the process unraveling the myriad mergers and takeovers that have been the industry's hallmark. Yenne also includes archival photographs of many of the railroads featured, making for a classic reference volume that no serious railfan's library can be without. Book jacket."--BOOK JACKET.

Includes index.

Akron, Canton & Youngstown Alabama, Tennessee & Northern Alaska Railroad Ann Arbor Railroad Atlanta & West Point/Western of Alabama/Georgia Railroad Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Atlantic Coast Line Baltimore & Ohio Bangor & Aroostook BC Rail Boston & Maine Burlington Northern Santa Fe Canadian National Canadian Pacific Central of Georgia Central of New Jersey Charleston & Western Carolina Chicago & Eastern Illinois Chesapeake & Ohio Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Chicago Great Western Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific (The Milwaukee Road) Chicago & North Western Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Clinchfield Conrail CSX Corporation Delaware & Hudson Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Denver & Rio Grande Western Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Erie Railroad Florida East Coast Georgia & Florida Great Northern Gulf, Mobile & Ohio

Illinois Central Kansas City Southern Lehigh & Hudson River Lehigh & New England Lehigh Valley Railroad Louisville & Nashville Maine Central Minneapolis & St. Louis Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Missouri-Kansas-Texas Missouri Pacific Montana Rail Link Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis New York Central New York, Chicago & St. Louis New York, New Haven & Hartford The Original Norfolk Southern Norfolk & Western Today's Norfolk Southern Northern Pacific Pennsylvania Railroad Piedmont & Northern and the Durham & Southern Rutland Santa Fe Southern Pacific St. Louis-San Francisco St. Louis Southwestern Seaboard System Southern Railway Southern Pacific Spokane, Portland & Seattle Tennessee Central Texas & Pacific Union Pacific Virginian Railway Wabash Railway Western Maryland Western Pacific Wheeling & Lake Erie.