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

James J. Reisdorff

South Platte Press

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

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

:Railroads have a unique impact on the places we live. They stir commerce and profoundly impact business, but most importantly, railroads shape communities. The management of the Chicago, Burlington &amp; Quincy Railroad (CB&amp;Q), popularly known as the "Burlington Route," was acutely aware of the impact that their railroad had on the region it served. In 1948, the CB&amp;Q commissioned professional photojournalists Russell Lee and Esther Bubley to document the influence of the Burlington Route on the communities it traversed. "This title is a study of 'Granger Country: A Pictorial Social History of the Burlington Railroad', a company-sponsored publication from 1949 that originally included a small portion of the hundreds of images produced by Lee and Bubley for the CB&amp;Q. This new book from The Garbely Publishing Company features some of their best black and white photography from that project. The entire Granger Country collection now resides at the Newberry Library in Chicago, which has graciously allowed authors Reisdorff and Bartels to take readers on a journey around the post-World War II Burlington system by telling the stories behind the images. "The Lee and Bubley photographs illustrate the people, places and machines that were intrinsic to the CB&amp;Q of the 1940s. They show an era when steam power still chuffed across the Plains, when "train time" was still the epoch of any community's day. See how new Zephyr streamliners and diesel-electric locomotives were then securing their foothold on the Burlington Route, and take a ride Everywhere West through Granger Country."

Burlington Route In Focus: Granger Country Photography of Russell Lee & Esther Bubley

History

Americas

The Garbely Publishing Company

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

The Pioneer Zephyr Silver Streak Across Nebraska

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