Ryan Crawford, James Lewnard and Matthew Freix 208 pages hardcover
Gateway Western – A Regional in Transition documents
the troubled and challenging history of an important segment of
Midwestern railroading. The result of years of research, this book
covers the Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City lines of the former
Illinois Central Gulf (originally Chicago & Alton/Gulf, Mobile &
Ohio) as they were spun off in the late 1980s. The first attempt was
Chicago, Missouri & Western, that quickly ran into financial
difficulty. With these important rail transportation hubs and Amtrak
service between Chicago and St. Louis in jeopardy, a combination of
events brought Santa Fe and others to the table and Gateway Western was
created. Authors Ryan Crawford, James E. Lewnard, and Matthew Freix
share the history of both regionals (Chicago, Missouri & Western and
Gateway Western) in this new book containing more than 200 pages. A
wealth of color photos take the reader across the system, show the
equipment, and tell the story of this interesting chapter in Midwest
railroading. The book includes coverage of Amtrak, Kansas City Southern,
Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, and other roads that were associated with
this regional operation. 
