(rshsdepot) Book: When the Railroad Leaves Town

["James Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

Truman State University (Kirksville, MO) is the publisher of a new book, due
in July, that may be of interest to depot fans.  The website provides the
following synopsis...

When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line
Abandonment, Eastern United States
by Joseph P. Schwieterman
Forthcoming 2001

http://www2.truman.edu/tsup/books_info/w/when1.html

Railroads once spread across the American landscape, radiating from towns
like spokes on a wheel. They were the backbone of the municipal economy and
essential to commercial and civic life. In thousands of communities,
however, this remarkable era has ended. With technological innovation, the
changing needs of industry, and rising competition from other modes of
transportation, the nation's railroads have eliminated more than 130,000
miles of routes–over half of their total mileage since 1916.

When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line
Abandonment considers the rise and fall of rail service in 64 eastern U.S.
communities distinguished by their notable railroad histories or unusual
experiences with rail line abandonment. It tells the story of transportation
providers struggling to survive in a changing economy only to surrender to
the relentless forces of the marketplace. In many communities, the
withdrawal of the railroad had unexpected consequences; in others, it
forever altered the rhythm of daily life.

Using an interdisciplinary approach drawing upon the fields of history,
geography, and urban planning, the book illuminates some of the dominant
forces that led to the development of steam and electric railroads as well
as the economic and political factors eventually accelerating their decline.
Illustrated with maps and photographs depicting rail lines at their zenith
as well as their abandoned remnants today, it provides a vivid portrait of
an industrial saga that has touched the lives of millions of Americans.
Prepared with the cooperation of more than 100 town and railroad historians,
this book features places last served by carriers predominantly on the
Atlantic side of an imaginary line that once separated America’s eastern and
western railroad systems.

US communities listed in alphabetical order by state:

AL: Tuskegee
AL: Valley

CT: East Hampton

DE: Smyrna

FL: Boca Grande
FL: Inverness
FL: Key West
FL: Miami Beach
FL: Palm Beach

GA: Fort Oglethorpe
GA: Thalmann

IL: Harrisburg
IL: Warrenville

IN: Crown Point
IN: Dunreith
IN: Greenfield
IN: Liverpool

KY: Morehead

LA: Covington

ME: Ellsworth

MD: Annapolis
MD: Monkton

MA: Lexington
MA: Marblehead

MI: Cheboygan
MI: Reed City
MI: South Haven
MI: Troy

MS: Fayette

MO: Florissant
MO: Kirksville
 NH: Derry
NH: Keene

NJ: Blairstown
NJ: Caldwell
NJ: Marlboro
NJ: Ocean City

NY: Amherst
NY: Gloversville
NY: Roscoe
NY: Saranac Lake

NC: Boone
NC: Franklin

OH: Bradford
OH: Cheviot
OH: Oberlin
OH: Westerville
OH: Xenia

PA: Hellertown
PA: Ligonier
PA: Newtown

RI: Bristol
RI: Coventry ("Washington")

SC: York

TN: Monterey

VT: Springfield

VA: Blacksburg
VA: Herndon
VA: McKenney

WV: Marlinton
WV: Salem

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