Description
Book SynopsisIf you want an interesting look at railroading plus the social, financial, and political times over 130 years of America, consider this well-researched and documented book.—Stan Moore, Denver Posse of Westerners
Cyrus K. Holliday envisioned a railroad that would run from Kansas to the Pacific, increasing the commerce and prosperity of the nation. With farsighted investors and shrewd management, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway grew from Holliday’s idea into a model of the modern, rapid, and efficient railroad. There were many growing pains early on, including rustlers, thieves, and desperadoes as well as the nineteenth century’s economic and climatic hardships. The railroad eventually extended from Chicago to San Francisco, with substantial holdings in oil fields, timber land, uranium mines, pipelines, and real estate.
This is the first comprehensive history of the iconic Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, from its birth in 185
Trade Review
"The totality of Bryant and Frailey's work impresses upon the reader just how much solid leadership and exceptional vision are required in the creation and management of a giant undertaking like the ATSF. Cyrus Holliday would be proud of where his vision ultimately led and the important impact it has had on the development of the United States."—Mark Janzen, Nebraska History
"If you want an interesting look at railroading plus the social, financial, and political times over 130 years of America, consider this well-researched and documented book."—Stan Moore, Denver Posse of Westerners
"Keith L. Bryant Jr. and Fred W. Frailey's History of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway is a well-researched and thorough account of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) that is beautifully written and accessible to readers."—Benjamin J. Bax, Chronicles of Oklahoma
“Readers will enjoy this comprehensive history of the Santa Fe, one covering more than 125 years. This wonderfully detailed book allows readers to gain a real feeling for this railroad and fills an enormous void in the literature of railroad company histories.”—H. Roger Grant, Kathryn and Calhoun Lemon Professor of History at Clemson University
“This is the best-documented book-length history of the Santa Fe Railway. Keith Bryant is a longtime historian of American railroading, and his collaborator, Fred Frailey, is widely regarded as one of the foremost observers of the modern industry. The history is presented chronologically and is well organized. It is accessible for a popular audience, even as it exhibits high standards of scholarship.”—Peter A. Hansen, longtime editor of Railroad History and correspondent for Trains magazine
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Preface to the First Edition
Preface to the New Edition
1. Colonel Holliday’s Vision
2. Texas Cows and Colorado Mountain Passes
3. Russian Wheat Farmers and Boston Capitalists
4. Fred Harvey and His Girls
5. Headlong Expansion
6. The Captains of Industry Reorganize
7. Expansion—Conservative and Controlled
8. From Teakettles to Mallets
9. Federalization and Normalcy
10. Depression, War, and Technological Change
11. The Coming of the Diesel
12. The Chiefs and Chico
13. Decade of Uncertainty
14. The Southern Pacific Fiasco
15. Transformation
16. The Making of BNSF Railway
Notes
Bibliographic Essay
Index
