Sunset Cluster: A Shortline Railroad Saga
()
About this ebook
Discover the Sunset Cluster—railroads that were doomed to fail?
The first two decades of the 20th century were the twilight of the Railroad Age. Major routes had long been established, and local service became the focus of new construction. Beginning in 1907, a cluster of five shortline railroads were established in otherwise unconnected parts of Iowa. They, however, would short lived.
The five Iowa 'sunset cluster' railroads might appear to deserve eternal obscurity, being at best minor footnotes to American railroad history. After all, their total mileage barely exceeded 100 miles. Their average life span, moreover, covered about five years, and the Des Moines & Red Oak Railway (DM&RO) never turned a wheel. Yet, these Iowa shortlines had an immediate positive impact to their service area, but disappointingly they became victims of modal competition and the Good Roads Movement.
Using contemporary newspapers, government reports, and other little-known sources, renowned railway historian H. Roger Grant offers a fascinating look at these shortline railroads. Sunset Cluster explores the almost desperate desire by communities to benefit from steel rails before the regional railroad map finally imploded and the challenges faced by latter-day shortline builders.
Read more from H. Roger Grant
After Promontory: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Transcontinental Railroading Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Railroads and the American People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Iowa's Railroads: An Album Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Mighty Fine Road: A History of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Mighty Fine Road: A History of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Rail Road: Dreams of Linking North and South Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJohn W. Barriger III: Railroad Legend Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJohn W. Barriger III: Railroad Legend Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings"Follow the Flag": A History of the Wabash Railroad Company Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElectric Interurbans and the American People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Railroaders without Borders: A History of the Railroad Development Corporation Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Station Agent and the American Railroad Experience Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Sunset Cluster
Related ebooks
Lost Trolleys of Queens and Long Island Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Story of the Cambrian A Biography of a Railway Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA History of Georgia Railroads Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMister Moffat's Opus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Railway Conquest of the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLost Lines: The Cheddar Valley Line Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Story of the Rome, Watertown, and Ogdensburg Railroad Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Last Three Miles: Politics, Murder, and the Construction of America's First Superhighway Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOcean Shore Railroad Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRockford & Interurban Railway Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRed Gold Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMaine's Covered Bridges Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRail Depots of Eastern North Carolina Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Blue Dragons Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRailroads, Art, and American Life: An Artist's Memoir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRailroads and Trains 2023 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCovered Bridges of Alabama Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShort Line To Paradise: The Story Of The Yosemite Valley Railroad Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSaving the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Golden Spike: How a Photograph Celebrated the Transcontinental Railroad Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Good Shepherd Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Highball,: Railway Movies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlorida Railroads Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Delaware and Hudson Canal and the Gravity Railroad Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmtrak in the Heartland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRailroad 1869 Along the Historic Union Pacific in Utah to Promontory Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America's Deadliest Avalanche Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Railroad Builders: A Chronicle of the Welding of the States Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lehigh Valley Railroad across New Jersey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Technology & Engineering For You
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Right Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Night to Remember: The Sinking of the Titanic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Disappear and Live Off the Grid: A CIA Insider's Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 48 Laws of Power in Practice: The 3 Most Powerful Laws & The 4 Indispensable Power Principles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Broken Money: Why Our Financial System is Failing Us and How We Can Make it Better Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/580/20 Principle: The Secret to Working Less and Making More Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Big Book of Hacks: 264 Amazing DIY Tech Projects Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big Book of Maker Skills: Tools & Techniques for Building Great Tech Projects Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Systems Thinker: Essential Thinking Skills For Solving Problems, Managing Chaos, Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selfie: How We Became So Self-Obsessed and What It's Doing to Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The ChatGPT Millionaire Handbook: Make Money Online With the Power of AI Technology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fast Track to Your Technician Class Ham Radio License: For Exams July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2026 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Death in Mud Lick: A Coal Country Fight against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The CIA Lockpicking Manual Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary of Nicolas Cole's The Art and Business of Online Writing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No Nonsense Technician Class License Study Guide: for Tests Given Between July 2018 and June 2022 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Logic Pro X For Dummies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for Sunset Cluster
0 ratings0 reviews