Cyrus K.
Holliday envisioned a railroad that would run from Kansas to the
Pacific, increasing the commerce and prosperity of the nation. With
farsighted investors and shrewd management, the Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe Railway grew from Holliday's idea into a model of the modern,
rapid, and efficient railroad. There were many growing pains early on,
including rustlers, thieves, and desperadoes as well as the nineteenth
century's economic and climatic hardships. The railroad eventually
extended from Chicago to San Francisco, with substantial holdings in oil
fields, timber land, uranium mines, pipelines, and real estate.
This is the first comprehensive history of the iconic Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, from its birth in 1859 to its termination
in 1996. This volume discusses the construction and operation of the
railway, the strategies of its leaders, the evolution of its locomotive
fleet, and its famed passenger service with partner Fred Harvey. The
vast changes within the nation's railway system led to a merger with the
Burlington Northern and the creation of the BNSF Railway.
An iconic railroad, the Santa Fe at its peak operated thirteen
thousand miles of routes and served the southwestern region of the
nation with the corporate slogan "Santa Fe All the Way." This new
edition covers almost twenty-five more years of history, including the
merger of the Santa Fe and Burlington Northern railroads and new
material on labor, minorities, and women on the carrier along with new
and updated maps and photographs.
