Twilight Rails: The Final Era of Railroad Building in the Midwest

Abstract

By H. Roger GrantMinneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2010. xiv + 296 pp. Maps, notes, bibliography, and index. $39.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8166-6562-4.Reviewed by Kimberly K. Porter, kimberly.porter@und.edu, Department of History, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202While reading H. Roger Grant's Twilight Rails: The Final Era of Railroad Building in the Midwest, I found myself not only deeply engaged in the words of this Kathryn and Calhoun Lemon Professor of History at Clemson (South Carolina) University, but also referring to the plentiful pictures to better understand the form of rail lines, motive power, cars and communities to which he pointed. What was most surprising to me as I read, however, was the frequency with which the children's story of "The Little Engine that Could" kept drifting into my mind. More on that particular subject will follow.Grant, perhaps the foremost scholar of historic railroads working today, has written extensively on the transformative impact of the steel steed over the course of his career. Readers may (and should) be familiar with some of his previous works, particularly Erie Lackawanna: The Death of an American Railroad, 19381992 (1996), "Follow the Flag": A History of the Wabash Railroad Company (2004), and The North Western: A History of the Chicago & North Western Railway System (1996). Hence, his bona fides for tackling of "the final era of railroad building in the Midwest" are substantial.While some may find points to quibble with regarding the definitions of "the Midwest" or the "final era," they would be stretching their own credentials in order to make the obligatory illustration of a "critical" review. Rather, the discerning reader will find much to praise in Grant's judicious rendering of eight late entries on the rural railroad scene: the Akron, Canton & Youngstown Railroad (Ohio), the Detroit, Bay City & Western Railroad and Port Huron & Detroit Railroad (Michigan), the Electric Short Line Railway and Minnesota Western Railroad, the Ettrick and Northern Railroad (Wisconsin), the Creston, Winterset and Des Moines Railroad (Iowa), the Illinois, Iowa & Minnesota Railway and the Chicago, Milwaukee & Gary Railroad, the St. Joseph Valley Railway (Indiana), and the Missouri, Arkansas & Gulf Railway.Each of the railways under consideration came into existence rather late in the road-building era, and each was heralded by their builders and their boomers as a symbol of a prosperous and bright future for their communities. And while one might most naturally think of the transportation of human cargo, for the vast majority of the lines (and their fans), the ultimate goal was the economical transport of products, both into and out of a community. For example, southern Iowans dreamed of easy access to markets with their corn, wheat, and beef; Ohioans saw the railroad as a way to less expensively market their quarried goods and clay products; and residents of the Ozarks totaled aloud the prosperity bound to follow when their lumber could more easily reach market. Moreover, in each case, the builders of the railroads (and their boosters) entranced investors with images of consumer goods delivered more closely to their homes and businesses and at remarkably reduced rates. In the vast majority of cases, despite the initial run to purchase tickets to ride the newest, and most probably the only, railroad in town, the cartage of passengers fell far below that of products on the list of importance to communities. …