We Took the Train

In this illustrated collection, H. Roger Grant, one of America's leading railroad historians, brings together a rich assortment of personal accounts of train travel in the United States since the dawn of railroading. The twenty-one accounts included here tell of the excitement, the romance, the difficulties, and sometimes the danger of traveling by train. Together they present a lively picture of the great changes that have taken place since the 1830s. Some describe wild rides on high-speed raceways, while others recount arduous trips on rickety branch lines. Rail travel at its most luxurious is recreated—the elegant Pullman sleeping berths, the fine parlor and observation cars—as are some of the more grim journeys of troops, itinerant workers, and prisoners of war in squalid boxcars. Binding these accounts together is an enduring fascination with the rails.

H. Roger Grant is the Centennial Professor of History at Clemson University. One of America's leading railroad historians, he is author of numerous books on railroad history, including The North Western and The Corn Belt Route.