Trains and railways: general interest Books

Book SynopsisExhibiting the full range of the Manuscripts and Rare Books Department of the Hispanic Society of America, Treasures from the Hispanic Society Library, which accompanied the eponymous Grolier Club exhibition, relates the history of Spain and the spread of its language and culture to the Americas through manuscripts and printed books. It also tells the story of Archer M. Huntington, the founder of the Hispanic Society, whose passion for books and Spain led him to form one of the most important collections of Spanish and Hispanic books in the world. Featuring medieval charters, holograph royal letters, sailing charts from the Age of Exploration, letters patent of nobility, manuscript Bibles, books of hours, indigenous manuscripts from the Americas, as well as historical, scientific, and literary manuscripts, this lively volume provides a visual guide to the history of Spain and Latin America.Table of ContentsForeword • Szilvia Szmuk -TanenbaumArcher M. Huntington and the Creation of the Library ofThe Hispanic Society of America • John O’NeillMedieval ManuscriptsSpanish and Portuguese IncunabulaSpain of the Three Cultures15th to 17th-Century Cartas Ejecutorias/Letters PatentEjecutorias BindingsEjecutorias IlluminationsHapsburg Spain: Charles V to Philip IVNavigating the GlobeGolden Age LiteratureAmerican Incunabula and Early Imprints16th-Century Mexican Indigenous Manuscripts17th-Century New SpainIndia, China, and the Philippines, 1600–1800From the New Philippines to TexasWorks CitedList of Authors

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Book SynopsisIn this thoroughly researched history, Graydon Meints tells the fascinating story of the railroad’s arrival and development in Michigan. An engaging and accessible text, the book describes the long-awaited and often-troubled advent of the railroad in the state, the building of which shifted from private to public efforts and back again, amid tumultuous social, business, and political developments. The railroad would come to play a role in almost every critical event in Michigan’s history, including the Civil War, the Granger Movement, and the Gilded Age, before beginning to wane following the arrival of the automobile, the Interstate Commerce Commission, World War I, and the Great Depression. A brief growth spurt during World War II was short-lived, and it was followed by the collapse of several major railroads and the formation of Amtrak and Conrail. Looking ahead to the future of the railroad in the Great Lakes region, Meints assesses the strengths and shortcomings of this revolutionary invention. With careful attention to the personal impact of the railroad, Meints recognises in brief biographies the many man and women responsible for the development and operation of Michigan railroads, as well as the triumphs, tragedies, and spaces that shaped their lives and work.

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Book SynopsisGenuinely talented and successful managers in any field - business, government, military, academia - are scarce. John Howard Burdakin was a happy exception to the norm. This engaging biography examines Burdakin’s life in the railroad industry - at Pennsylvania Railroad, Penn Central, and finally at Grand Trunk Corporation - during a tumultuous time in the transportation business and underscores his core principles and how he employed them in the management of people and property. Some contemporary observers may consider Burdakin’s often conservative style as quite out of date, but a more sober assessment reveals that his approach has utility in any time and in any field.An excellent resource for leadership professionals, this study focuses on Burdakin’s career in management, ever stressing his foundational convictions - how he came by them, how he employed those principles as a manager, and how they were understood by those who worked for him or with him. Through teamwork, trust, hard work, honesty, diligence, and integrity, Burdakin would become respected as one of the railroad industry’s brightest guiding lights.

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Book SynopsisJohn H. Burdakin and the Grand Trunk Western Railroad provides a look at the principles and personal values that guided John H. Burdakin through a long, successful career as a top manager at three railroads - the Pennsylvania, the Penn Central, and finally the Grand Trunk Western, where he was president of the regional carrier from 1974 to 1986.The book, written from interviews with Burdakin before his death in 2014, gives real-life examples of how Burdakin’s management principles and personal qualities helped him solve labour- management problems, update railroad technology, protect worker safety, and improve employee morale while managing a four thousand–person workforce. It introduces colorful characters who were involved in American railroads, as well as the serious, life-threatening issues that confronted railroads in the last half of the twentieth century in America.This book will provide insights for managers of any business as well as for those seeking to balance a successful career and a rewarding home life.

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Book SynopsisStreetcars played an especially important role in society around the turn of the twentieth century in Detroit, in part because of the downtown hub-and-spoke design of its main streets. During this period the streetcar was the main mode of transportation for the average citizen, as horse-drawn carriages and automobiles were not found outside of the upper class. Control over streetcar franchises was highly coveted - this control was simultaneous with having power over how and where people were transported throughout the city, making it an incredible political tool.The Thirty-Year War was a battle waged between 1892 and 1922 by the City of Detroit against the politically powerful and deeply entrenched corporations that owned streetcar franchises for control of the city’s streetway system. This compelling history shows how and why the owners of monopoly franchises of great public utilities such as bridges, street railways, electricity, natural gas, and cable television will protect and defend their privilege against public ownership or control, and is an example of how one city successfully fought back.

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Book SynopsisThe Pere Marquette Railroad has not one but two histories - one for the twentieth century and one for the nineteenth. While the twentieth-century record of the Pere Marquette Railroad has been well studied and preserved, the nineteenth century has not been so well served.This volume corrects that oversight by focusing on the nineteenth-century part of the company’s past, including the men who formed and directed these early roads, and the development of the system. The Pere Marquette Railroad was formed in 1900 by a merger of three Michigan railroad companies and lasted forty-seven years, disappearing in June 1947 by merger into the maw of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. Prior to the 1900 merger, the Pere Marquette Railroad’s predecessors made up a motley collection of disconnected and unaffiliated short, local rail lines.After the financial panic of 1893, and with some commonality of ownership, the companies worked together more closely. Before the end of the decade, the three main railroads - the Flint & Pere Marquette; the Detroit, Lansing & Northern; and the Chicago & West Michigan - had decided that the only way to maintain solvency was to merge.Using a plethora of primary sources including railway timetables and maps, this work lends insight into the little-known corporate business history of the Pere Marquette Railroad.

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Book SynopsisMichigan Railway Company: The Northern and Southern Divisions, the first comprehensive history of the Michigan United Railway Company, traces the rise and fall of Michigan's most significant electric railway. This also explores how electric railway history is intertwined with the state of Michigan.

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