Paul Smedley 432 pages hardcover
This book tells the story of how Collis and Henry Huntington built
their railroading empire into Southern California between the 1870’s and
the Great Merger of 1911. In so doing, it is a capitalist’s history of
all of Southern California which includes the numerous railroad
companies and individuals who tried to stop the Huntington’s progress to
forward their own plans and schemes. Thus was the birth of the Pacific
Electric Railway and how it grew into the largest and most successful
electric railway in the world; with 1,100 miles of track in four
counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino.
Author Paul Smedley spent 35 years doing primary research so as to
not rehash any old stories and has meticulously connected the dots as to
how things unfolded in the press and how public opinion played an
occasional role. Enhancing the pages are reproductions of photos, news
clippings and maps to insure the story be told in the best way possible.
More than 100 rare or rarely seen images, numerous maps, and lithographic images of the people told about in the text.
