This image is the cover for the book Iowa's Railroads, Railroads Past and Present

Iowa's Railroads, Railroads Past and Present

A definitive history of the railroads of Iowa, featuring over four hundred black-and-white photographs.

At one point in time, no place in Iowa was more than a few miles from an active line of rail track. In this splendid companion volume to Steel Trails of Hawkeyeland (IUP, 2005), H. Roger Grant and Don L. Hofsommer explore the pivotal role that railroads played in the urban development of the state as well as the symbiotic relationship Iowa and its rails shared. With more than four hundred black-and-white photographs, a solid inventory of depots and locations, and new information that is sure to impress even the most well-versed railfan, this detailed history of the state’s railroads—including the Chicago & North Western, Cedar Rapids & Iowa City, and the Iowa Northern—will be an essential reference for railroad fans and historians, artists, and model railroad builders.

“Iowa’s Railroads is a solid visual introduction to the railroad history of the state.” —Industrial Archeology

“With more than 400 black and white photographs, an inventory of depots and locations, and new information that will please railroad fans, [Iowa’s Railroads] will be an essential reference for historians, fans, and model railroad builders.” —Abstracts of Public Administration, Development, and Environment,2010

“This excellent volume is sure to appeal to anyone with an interest in Midwest railway history.” —The Michigan Railfan, March-April 2010

“Grant and Hofsommer, both native Iowans and respected railroad historians, have mined a wide variety of public and private photo collections, and the result is a visual feast of Iowa’s railroad experience.” —The Annals of Iowa, 69, Number 2

H. Roger Grant, Don L. Hofsommer

H. Roger Grant is Kathryn and Calhoun Lemon Professor of History at Clemson University. He is author of 25 books, including Visionary Railroader (IUP, 2008). Grant has written company histories of the Chicago & North Western, the Chicago Great Western, the Erie Lackawanna, the Georgia & Florida, and the Wabash railroads. He lives in Central, South Carolina.

Don L. Hofsommer is Professor of History at St. Cloud State University and president of the Lexington Group. He is author of Katy Northwest (IUP, 1999) and Steel Trails of Hawkeyeland (IUP, 2005). A native of Iowa, he now resides in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Indiana University Press