Pictorial review of the Union Pacific's Stromsburg branch line in Nebraska. Illustrated with black and white photos from both the steam and the diesel eras showing the locomotives, trains, stations, countryside and personnel. 52 pages.

Union Pacific's Stromsburg Branch: Pictorial Review of a Rural Nebraska Rail Line

History

James J. Reisdorff

Forrest H. Bahm

Americas

South Platte Press

Detailed history of the entire life of the Kearney &amp; Black Hills, what was once an important UP branch line across the fertile Platte River Valley to the ranch country of the Sandhills. Delves into the construction, extension schemes, passenger and freight operations, rolling stock of a typical branch line providing a vital link between many small towns until its eventual abandonment. The book also provides fascinating information on the varied motive power, from steam powered doodlebugs to powerful diesels. In addition, the KB&amp;H was the first UP route to see McKeen motor car in regular schedule service. Illustrated throughout with black and white photos. With list and description of each station. 416 pages with index.

Kearney & Black Hills: A Historic Line of the Union Pacific Railroad

Softcover, 8.5x11. "The Union Pacific Railroad "Big Boys" are often credited as having been the largest steam locomotives in the world. Although these 25 steam giants last operated in 1959, their contribution to transportation history has not been forgotten. There are now eight Big Boys preserved at various museums and parks across the United States. This book, with text and more than 70 illustrations, describes the post-steam era story of Big Boy. It looks at not only what has become of the eight surviving locomotives, but also how human interest in these huge machines manifests itself in both the railroad hobby and popular culture. It also examines the question that has often been asked by railroad buffs everywhere: Will a Big Boy ever return to the rails?"

The Big Legacy of the Union Pacific Big Boy: Why Railfans Still Love the "World's Largest" Steam Locomotive

8.5x11, paperback. "Between 1896 and 1932, Iowa native Joseph S. Connolly staged 73 head-on train wrecks before large thrill-seeking audiences at state fairs and other public events nationwide. Connolly, known as "Head-On Joe," boasted that he deliberately destroyed 146 old steam locomotives during these collisions and never had anyone injured in the process. This book looks at both the career of this professional engine wrecker and the techniques used in staging a train wreck for public entertainment. Dramatic head-on locomotive collisions staged by other promoters are also detailed using 40 rare illustrations and informative text. It's a look at a largely forgotten but still fascinating part of railroad history."

The Man Who Wrecked 146 Locomotives The Story of "Head-On Joe" Connolly

South Platte Press Bruggennjoh

Softcover, 10x8 horizontal format, 168 pages, b/w photos throughout. 2012. "For well over 100 years, there was a close and usually mutually beneficial relationship between the City of Parsons, Kansas, and what became the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad Company (M-K-T or "the Katy"). Parsons, located on rolling prairie land near the southeast corner of Kansas, depended largely on the Katy for its basic employment, those jobs which brought money into the community. In fact, during the first half of that period it was almost a textbook example of a railroad town. "Covering the years 1865 to 2012, the authors relate the fascinating story of how Parsons was the site of the Katy's main locomotive repair shop until its merger with the Union Pacific in 1988. The book includes 115 b&w photos and illustrations. "Railroad historian I.E. Quastler has previously authored a number of Midwest railroad history topics, including Rock Island Line In Focus. "Co-author James Reisdorff has authored or co-authored books such as The Man Who Wrecked 146 Locomotives and Union Pacific Centennial Locomotive: How 13 of the World's Largest Diesels Were Preserved."

The Town That Loved KATY: Parsons, Kansas, and the M-K-T Railroad

I. E. Quastler

Railroad Stations in Nebraska an Era of Use and Reuse

Michael M. Bartels

Taylor Publishing

Truly heartwarming story of how the citizens of North Platte, Nebraska and the surrounding communities operated a canteen to feed World War II service men and women on troop trains that stopped there during the war. Up to 23 trains a day rolled through town, requiring business-like coordination and about 55,000 volunteers over the years. By the time the canteen closed in April, 1946, millions of meals, magazines and, most importantly, morale building hospitality had been handed out. Illustrated with black and white photos. 36 pages.

North Platte Canteen

Softcover, 11x8.5" horizontal format, 80 pages, 80 b/w illustrations. 2014. "'Big Boy', the world's largest steam locomotive, is in the news as Union Pacific Railroad plans to restore one of these behemoths to operative condition. "In anticipation of the event, this book covers the engine class between 1941 and 1959, when Big Boys were in regular service in Utah and Wyoming. Coverage is mainly given to those eight Big Boys now preserved at museums and municipalities across the U.S. "This pictorial examines how Big Boys were extensively documented by both professional and amateur railroad photographers who came to the Wasatch Mountains and Sherman Hill to see big UP steam before it was too late. The book shows some of the best action photography taken of Big Boy as provided from the collection of UP rail historian James L. Ehernberger. Also included is information about the photographers, critiques of their images and a descriptive year-by-year time line of Big Boy operations."

Union Pacific Big Boys In Action: Photos from the James L. Ehernberger Collection

History and reminiscences about the North Platte Canteen which offered hospitality to servicemen and women travelling on the Union Pacific Railroad during World War II lavishly illustrated with photographs.

North Platte Canteen : An Account of Heartland Hospitality Along the Union Pacific Railroad

Hero of the Rails: A story of courage along the A-B-C line of the Union Pacific Railroad

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Books by James J. Reisdorff