This wonderfully illustrated book celebrates Golden State railroading, offering a colorful look at California’s legendary railroads, the men who built and ran them, and the engineering feats that made them possible, and the legacy those railroads have left in the form of the state’s historic tourist roads and museums, as well as modern railroad operations. In addition to examining historic railroads irrevocably linked with California, most notably the Southern Pacific, Railroads of California features coverage of excursion roads and museums such as Railtown 1897 State Historic Park and the famed California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. Also included is coverage of modern “real” railroad sites and operations such Donner Pass, Feather River Canyon, Tehachapi and Cajon passes, the railroad hub of Barstow, scenic and state-sponsored Amtrak service along the Pacific Coast, and the iconic Los Angeles Union Station. With marvelous modern color photography, historic black-and-white imagery, and a specially commissioned map, the book is a historical, pictorial tour by rail of one of the nation’s top railroading states.
