Jim Angel and Ashley Mantooth 128 pages softcover
Steam railroading became an
integral part of the communities in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota
in the late 1800s. The railroad provided hundreds of jobs and the
ability to transport both goods and passengers across the Midwest. The
Chicago & North Western Railway, the Chicago Great Western Railroad,
the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway, the Chicago, Rock Island,
& Pacific Railroad, and the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul &
Pacific Railroad (called the Milwaukee Road by employees) served five
principal gateways, which included Chicago, Illinois; Minneapolis-St.
Paul, Minnesota; Omaha, Nebraska; and Kansas City and St. Louis,
Missouri. Operating steam engines required tremendous manpower, and by
the 1920s, some steam passenger trains were replaced by more efficient
motor cars, fueled by oil-powered engines. Steam engines could no longer
compete with the reduced operating costs, smaller crew requirements,
and time savings provided by diesel, which ultimately led to the fall of
steam in 1955.
