Rails Across Dixie

Covering legendary and obscure intercity passenger trains in a dozen Southeastern states, this book details the golden age of train travel. The story begins with the inception of steam locomotives in 1830 in Charleston, South Carolina, continuing through the mid–1930s changeover to diesel and the debut of Amtrak in 1971 to the present. Throughout, the book explores the technological achievements, the romance and the economic impact of traveling on the tracks. Other topics include contemporary museums and excursion trains; the development of commuter rails, monorails, light rails, and other intracity transit trains; the social impact of train travel; and historical rail terminals and facilities. The book is supplemented with more than 160 images and 10 appendices.

Jim Cox, a leading radio historian, is an award-winning author of numerous books on the subject. A retired college professor, he lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Jim Cox
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 476
Bibliographic Info: 161 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2016 [2011]
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6601-3
eISBN: 978-0-7864-6175-2
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      ix

Introduction: A Sentimental Journey      1

I. The Manufacture of Transportation

1. Making Tracks: Cumbersome Methodology Gets the Shaft      9

2. Belle Époque: The Golden Age of Train Travel      15

II. Dixie Legends

3. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad: Riders of the Purple Stage      27

4. Central of Georgia Railway: Horses of a Different Color      52

5. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway: The Cat’s Meow      72

6. Florida East Coast Railway: The Eighth Wonder of the World      83

7. Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Railroad: Great Things Made of Little Things      101

8. Illinois Central Railroad: First in Line to Land a Grant      111

9. Louisville & Nashville Railroad: A Tale of Two Cities Dispossessed      122

10. Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway: Short Route from the Great Lakes to Florida      144

11. Norfolk & Western Railway: The Last Steam Road in America      153

12. St. Louis–San Francisco Railway: Unfilled Destiny      161

13. Seaboard Air Line Railroad: The Train of Tomorrow      168

14. Southern Railway: Crescent Rolls      194

III. The Human Dimension

15. Segregation and Prejudice: Jim Crow, Colored Coaches and “Ladies’ Cars”      213

16. Amenities and Appointments: Club Car, Parlor Car, Dining Car, Pullman      222

17. Portals to the World: Early Waiting Rooms      233

IV. Present and Future

18. Passengers Wanted: Railroads in Decline and the Advent of Amtrak      241

19. On the Fast Track: The Anticipation of High Speed Rail      257

20. Progressive Southern Municipalities: Urban and Intercity Mass Transit      263

Appendices

A: Glossary      273

B: Additional Passenger Lines      278

C: Amtrak      286

D: Museums and Exhibitions (by State)      289

E: Terminals (by State)      309

F: Dixie Rail Chronology            371

G: Powerful Railway Personalities      376

H: Dixie Lines      381

I: Streetcars, Commuter Lines and Monorails (by State)      412

J: Advertising and Passenger Information      420

Chapter Notes      441

Bibliography      455

Index      457