Michigan Railway -- Book Review

Long-time IRM member Norm Krentel has been working for many years on a definitive treatment of his favorite subject, the interurbans of Michigan.  Volume I is now available.

Michigan Railway Company -- The Northern and Southern Divisions

Norman L. Krentel      c. 2024, Michigan State University Press

Michigan in the early 1900's had a large number of interurban lines, some of which were unified under one management, but gaps in the system were never filled, and for various reasons the entire interurban network was swept away relatively early.  As a result, the Michigan interurban lines are generally not as well-known as those in Indiana or Ohio, for instance, which is unfortunate.

Like many interurban networks, the lines of the Michigan Electric had diverse origins.  Some parts of the system began when a city streetcar company started building a side-of-the-road extension to a nearby town.  Other lines were built to extremely high standards, in some cases by electrifying a steam road.  And all of this took place using the typically complex and confusing financial methods of the early twentieth century.  Keeping track of all the reorganizations, renamings, and so on is not easy, but the author has done an admirable job of organizing the information.  In many cases the story of the personality conflicts and skullduggery between competing promoters can be very amusing.  And because he also happens to be an expert in all aspects of interurban technology, there are important technical details one doesn't usually get from corporate histories. 

Volume I covers the development of the Northern Division, from Jackson north to Lansing and Owosso, and the Southern Division, from Jackson west to Kalamazoo.  Grandiose plans to build a trunk line from Detroit to Chicago never came close to completion, of course, and the Northeastern Division was never connected to the rest of the system.

There are lots of excellent photographs and maps included throughout.

The book is well printed and bound, and the photographic reproduction on the whole is excellent.  The remaining two volumes are in preparation.

Disclosure: Since the author has been a friend of mine for 50 years, I may not be completely objective.  And he was nice enough to autograph my copy.  But I'm not getting a cut of the profits! :)

The Shortest Railroad

On Friday I was able to attend a presentation and book signing for a new book about the Illinois Midland, generally considered the shortest railroad in the US at just under two miles long.  This was held at the Lyon Farm near Yorkville, owned by the Kendall County Historical Society, and it has some interesting exhibits.  So before the sun goes down, let's take a quick tour.  There's the CB&Q depot from Plano:

And a wooden Q waycar with wood-beam trucks:

Still pretty complete:

Many historic buildings, more than shown here:

And lots of displays in the meeting hall:

Free Speech, Free Press, Free Homes - sounds good to me!

The book on the Illinois Midland was written by Jeff Kehoe, who is a member of the MRHA and has written several books about Milwaukee Road cabooses.  He gave an excellent talk about the little railroad and its history, which was followed by a 30-minute video of home movies from the fifties showing the railroad in operation.  And I got an autographed copy.

The book is quite good considering the size of the subject matter.  Photographic evidence is limited in both scope and quality, but that can't be helped.  Because the target audience includes people with little or no knowledge of railroads, the book contains quite a bit of information about how full-sized railroads worked, which most of us will find rather obvious.  Being a Milwaukee Road enthusiast, the author naturally chooses his favorite road as the standard, and that's fine.  Pictures of S-2 Northerns under construction are always interesting.  And if you want to know where you could go nowadays to see a real steam locomotive in operation, there's a picture of the 1630.  That might be a good place to visit....

The Illinois Midland has always been a sentimental favorite of mine, so it was a quite pleasant experience.  

New Christmas Book

Long-time IRM member Ray Bellock has recently published a Christmas story book, entitled Amy Loved Weekends, and gave us a chance to preview it.  It's a heartwarming story with a railroad background.

The illustrations are by a student at Crystal Lake High School.   The story itself is rather detailed and suitable for older children and younger teens, I suppose.  You do not have to be a railfan to appreciate the book, and it would make a wonderful present for the holiday season. 

Here's a link to the website where you can order copies.

Books You Should Read: The American Railroad Network, 1861-1890

Editor's Note:  David Wilkins loves to read.  As a result, he reads a lot of railroad-related history and technical books.  As  David goes through his book collection, he decided to write short articles on railroad books he thinks you should read. This is the first installment:

Today, America’s railroads are part of an integrated transportation network that spans not only North America, but also the entire globe.  Today it is commonplace for a container originating in China to be offloaded from a ship in California, travel by rail to St. Louis, and delivered the last mile by a truck. Coal mined in eastern Wyoming routinely travels by rail to power plants in the Midwest, often over several different railroads.  Those who promoted early railroads in the United States could not have even imagined the development of railroads into a cohesive transportation network.

George Rogers Taylor and Irene D. Neu chronicle these early years of American railway construction and evolution into a network with their classic book The American Railroad Network, 1861-1890.  This book, first published in 1956 is available once again, thanks to University of Illinois Press. Taylor and Neu demonstrate how new transportation technology often finds itself at odds with existing forms of transportation as well as political and business interests.   In particular, railroads often became engaged in political battles to prevent now-routine practices such as interchange of freight cars.  

Early American railroads were often conceived to compliment existing forms of transportation, or for one city to promote trade with the surrounding region.  They were not conceived as a broad network of connecting lines, facilitating national and international commerce.  As railroad construction progressed

throughout the 19^th century, railroads often did not connect, even when they served the same city.  Railroad freight traveling through cities like Erie, Pennsylvania had to be unloaded, transported across town by wagon, and reloaded for the continuation of the trip.  Complicating the matter, railroads were often built to different track gauges.  Railroads were not conceived as a network, but simply a means to enhance already-existing transportation infrastructure.

Rogers and Neu also examine how the necessity of the Civil War was the harbinger needed to begin the process of developing the North into cohesive railroad network.  Standardization of track gauge did not happen until 1886 in the South.  The study ends in 1890 when America finally had a connected, integrated railroad network, able to achieve the promise of efficient transportation the technology offered.  The book is informative and well written, accompanied by maps and illustrations to enhance the text.  While some may consider this book and its scholarship to be dated, it is an essential read for anyone interested in American Railroad history.    

New Feature: Classics in Railroad Reading - The Nickel Plate Story

Rehor, John A., The Nickel Plate Story. Milwaukee, Wis: Kalmbach Books, 1965.

A few nights ago, my friend and fellow railroad enthusiast Tony Pellegrino was over at my apartment. We began to discuss the “classic” railroad books. Most of the books we discussed were originally published from about 1960 to 1980, with a few exceptions. A majority of the books were originally published by Kalmbach, though Howell-North, Golden West, and Interurban Press books came up. We also discussed the “annuals” such as CERA Bulletins, some of the Interurban Press books, ERHS Bulletins, and Colorado Rail Annuals. There have been a lot of great railroad books published in the last 50 or so years. The goal of this feature is to cover, and review for the younger generation, some of the “classic” railroad books. I personally have been building a railroad library for about the past 15 years (much to the detriment of my savings account and wallet). It is my goal that these mini-reviews provide a guide for those wishing to build up their own railroad libraries, so that you may include the “classics.”

Our first installment is a real classic: John A. Rehor’s The Nickel Plate Story. Kalmbach first published this book in 1965, and it went through several printings. My own personal copy is a late 1980s reprint. The book is a real monster, 484 pages, 527 black and white photos, 15 illustrations, and a dust jacket that contains a painting by Gil Reid of NKP 765.

The book is a well-written corporate history of the New York, Chicago, & St. Louis Railroad, known as “The Nickel Plate Road.” Chapters also cover some of the railroad’s predecessor companies, such as the Lake Erie and Western, the Clover Leaf Route, and the Wheeling and Lake Erie. The book was originally published just after the Norfolk & Western acquired the Nickel Plate in 1964, so the coverage is thorough. The back of the book contains a very good locomotive roster of NKP steam, including disposition information.

Besides the technical, Rehor was a great writer. The text is engaging and interesting, or at least as interesting as a railroad corporate history can be. The research appears to be superb as well. The book covers how the railroad, originally somewhat ill conceived as the third route between New York and Chicago became a fast freight forwarder, and strong competition for the New York Central and Erie railroads. An early embrace of Super Power 2-8-4s from Alco and Lima helped the railroad compete and carve out a niche by promising fast delivery of freight from the western railroads to the east. Unlike its competitors, the NKP was a single track railroad with passing sidings, which still managed to give its larger competitors a run for their money.

There are a lot of used copies of this book out there. While you can try those internet sources, I always see a copy or two in the IRM used book store for purchase. Get your copy today!

Our next mini-review will be of Frederick Westing's Apex of the Atlantics