This 200-mile line through Pennsylvania’s most challenging mountain terrain was intended to form the heart of a new trunk line from the East Coast to Pittsburgh and the Midwest. Conceived in 1881 by William H. Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, and a group of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia industrialists, the South Pennsylvania Railroad was intended to break the Pennsylvania Railroad’s near-monopoly in the region. The line was within a year of opening when J. P. Morgan brokered a peace treaty that aborted the project and helped bolster his position in the world of finance. The railroad right of way and its tunnels sat idle for 60 years before coming to life in the late 1930s as the original section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Based on original letters, documents, diaries, and newspaper reports, The Railroad That Never Was uncovers the truth behind this mysterious railway.

The Railroad That Never Was: Vanderbilt, Morgan, and the South Pennsylvania Railroad (Railroads Past and Present)

History

Harwood Jr., Herbert H.

Americas

Indiana University Press

From 1901 to 1938 the Lake Shore Electric claimed to be―and was considered by many―"The Greatest Electric Railway in the United States." It followed the shore of Lake Erie, connecting Cleveland and Toledo with a high-speed, limited-stop service and pioneered a form of intermodal transportation three decades before the rest of the industry. To millions of people the bright orange electric cars were an economical and comfortable means of escaping the urban mills and shops or the humdrum of rural life. In summers during the glory years there were never enough cars to handle the crowds. After reaching its peak in the early 1920s, however, the Lake Shore Electric suffered the fate of most of its sister lines: it was now competing with automobiles, trucks, and buses and could not rival them in convenience. The Lake Shore Electric Railway Story tells the story of this fascinating chapter in interurban transportation, including the missed opportunities that might have saved this railway.

The Lake Shore Electric Railway Story (Railroads Past and Present)

Korach, Robert S.

Named one of the "75 People You Should Know" by Trains Magazine, Jim McClellan was a railroading legend and one of the railroad industry’s titans. An iconic and innovative executive, McClellan participated in the creation of both Amtrak and Conrail and worked for the Norfolk Southern, the New York Central, US Railway Association, and the Federal Railroad Administration. My Life with Trains combines a world-class photographer’s love of railroading with the insights of a government and railroad official. The book provides a short historical overview of the changes in the industry, recounts McClellan’s experience at various railroads, and offers personal reflections on a lifetime of working with and chasing trains. Expertly detailed with over 250 stunning color photographs, My Life with Trains covers sixty years as observed by a legendary railroad strategist.

My Life with Trains: Memoir of a Railroader (Railroads Past and Present)

Biographies & Memoirs

McClellan,Jim

Batory, Ron

Professionals & Academics

The Lake Shore Electric "The Greatest Electric Railway in the United States" Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., and Robert S. Korach
A classic look at one of America’s favorite electric railways.
From 1901 to 1938 the Lake Shore Electric claimed to be—and was considered by many—"The Greatest Electric Railway in the United States." It paralleled the shore of Lake Erie, connecting Cleveland and Toledo with a high-speed, limited-stop service and even pioneered a form of intermodal transportation three decades before the rest of the industry. 
To millions of people the bright orange electric cars were an economical and comfortable means of escaping the urban mills and shops, or the humdrum of rural life. In summers during the glory years there were never enough cars to handle the crowds seeking weekend retreats to Lake Erie’s beaches and amusement parks. To thousands of midwestern newlyweds the Lake Shore was one of the more enjoyable passages taken on the long but pleasant trip to Niagara Falls, which included the night boat from Cleveland to Buffalo. 
Reaching its peak in the early 1920s, the Lake Shore Electric suffered the fate of most of its sister lines: unfortunate timing. Created as an alternative to dirty, expensive, and uncomfortable horsedrawn carriages and primitive roads, it was soon competing with automobiles, trucks, and buses on subsidized highways. It could not rival their convenience. The railway’s fixed costs and construction debt made the struggle economically unwinnable.
The Lake Shore Electric tells the entire story of this fascinating chapter in interurban transportation, even including the missed opportunities that might have saved this railway.
Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., has had concurrent careers as a railroad historian, writer, photographer, and working railroader. He spent 30 years in various management positions at C&amp;O and B&amp;O and their successor, CSX. He is author of eleven books on railroad and electric railway history and numerous articles.
Robert S. Korach has had a lifelong fascination with urban rail, and has worked with the Cleveland transit system, PATCO’s Lindenwold (NJ) high-speed line, MBTA, and the Los Angeles transit system. He is past president of the Association of Railway Museums and was elected in 1995 to the American Public Transit Association’s Hall of Fame.

Invisible Giants is the Horatio Alger-esque tale of a pair of reclusive Cleveland brothers, Oris Paxton and Mantis James Van Sweringen, who rose from poverty to become two of the most powerful men in America. They controlled the country’s largest railroad system―a network of track reaching from the Atlantic to Salt Lake City and from Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico. On the eve of the Great Depression they were close to controlling the country’s first coast-to-coast rail system―a goal that still eludes us. They created the model upper-class suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio, with its unique rapid transit access. They built Cleveland’s landmark Terminal Tower and its innovative "city within a city" complex. Indisputably, they created modern Cleveland. Yet beyond a small, closely knit circle, the bachelor Van Sweringen brothers were enigmas. Their actions were aggressive, creative, and bold, but their manner was modest, mild, and retiring. Dismissed by many as mere shoestring financial manipulators, they created enduring works, which remain strong today. The Van Sweringen story begins in early-20th-century Cleveland suburban real estate and reaches its zenith in the heady late 1920s, amid the turmoil of national transportation power politics and unprecedented empire-building. As the Great Depression destroyed many of their fellow financiers, the "Vans" survived through imaginative stubbornness―until tragedy ended their careers almost simultaneously. Invisible Giants is the first comprehensive biography of these two remarkable if mysterious men.

Invisible Giants: The Empires of Cleveland's Van Sweringen Brothers (Ohio)

Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., tells the story of one of the most infamous railroad construction projects of the late 19th century. This 200-mile line through Pennsylvania’s most challenging mountain terrain was intended to form the heart of a new trunk line from the East Coast to Pittsburgh and the Midwest. Conceived in 1881 by William H. Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, and a group of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia industrialists, the South Pennsylvania Railroad was intended to break the Pennsylvania Railroad’s near-monopoly in the region. The line was within a year of opening when J. P. Morgan brokered a peace treaty that aborted the project and helped bolster his position in the world of finance. The railroad right of way and its tunnels sat idle for 60 years before coming to life in the late 1930s as the original section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Based on original letters, documents, diaries, and newspaper reports, The Railroad That Never Was uncovers the truth behind this mysterious railway.

Although it was America's first public railroad, chartered in 1827, the Baltimore &amp; Ohio did not enter the lucrative Philadelphia and New York City markets until the 1880s, long after its rivals, notably the Pennsylvania Railroad, had established themselves in the Northeast corridor. In order to compete, B &amp; O executives realized they would need to create a railroad like no other, and in 1890 they launched the Royal Blue Line, offering premier passenger service between Washington, D.C., and New York City. Boasting the company's fastest locomotives (designed specifically for the line and featuring the country's first mainline passenger diesel engine), its most luxurious passenger cars (the first in the nation to be air-conditioned), and dining cars that served exquisite regional cuisine―as well as a motor coach service that took passengers from the line's New Jersey terminus into Manhattan, still fondly remembered by many as the most civilized way to enter the city―the Royal Blue Line was, as advertised, the "Finest Daylight Train Service in the World."
In Royal Blue Line, Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., recounts the 70-year history of the B &amp; O's showcase service, detailing the creation of the "Royal Blue" image, the design of equipment and services appropriate to this image, the B &amp; O's distinctive marketing campaigns, and its stubborn corporate pride in the line, which led to questionable business decisions and, ultimately, financial collapse. Generously illustrated with over 250 evocative photographs, advertisements, menus, timetables, and maps, Royal Blue Line vividly recalls America's most regal railway journey.

Royal Blue Line: The Classic B&O Train between Washington and New York

Johns Hopkins University Press

Herbert H. Harwood here gives us a glorious picture of Baltimore in the heyday of the streetcar, combining the story of lines and equipment with a nostalgic view of Baltimore when so many of her people relied on street railways. From the late 1800s through World War II, streetcars transported Baltimore's population to and from work, play, and just about everything else. Bankers and clerks, factory workers and managers, domestics, schoolchildren, shoppers, all rode side-by-side on the streetcars regardless of economic status, level of education, or ethnic background. In a city where residences and schools were segregated, streetcar passengers sat wherever they could.
In addition to being a truly democratic institution, streetcars considerably influenced Baltimore's physical growth, enabling families to live farther than ever before from workplaces and thus encouraging early suburbs. Despite rising competition from the private automobile, streetcars remained the mainstay of Baltimore's public transportation system until after World War II, when gas rationing ended and family cars multiplied.
Environmentally friendly and for the most part comfortable and reliable, streetcars also had their peculiar charm. Today some people in Baltimore miss them.

Baltimore Streetcars: The Postwar Years

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Harwood Jr., Herbert H.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Harwood Jr., Herbert H.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Harwood Jr., Herbert H.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Railroad That Never Was: Vanderbilt, Morgan, and the South Pennsylvania Railroad (Railroads Past and Present)

The Lake Shore Electric Railway Story (Railroads Past and Present)

My Life with Trains: Memoir of a Railroader (Railroads Past and Present)

The Lake Shore Electric Railway Story (Railroads Past and Present)

Invisible Giants: The Empires of Cleveland's Van Sweringen Brothers (Ohio)

The Railroad That Never Was: Vanderbilt, Morgan, and the South Pennsylvania Railroad (Railroads Past and Present)

Royal Blue Line: The Classic B&O Train between Washington and New York

Baltimore Streetcars: The Postwar Years