Don Hofsommer 160 pages hardcover
Fearing the rapacious power of Chicago_s railroad system in the mid-1800s, Iowa Central Railway supporters fought for a north-south route across the state that would link Minneapolis and St. Paul with St. Louis. Such a route would put the needs of Iowa's citizens first and provide transportation for the state's agricultural and industrial trade. This book examines how this unremarkable, "plain vanilla" railway was an example of the life cycle of the American railroad industry. Born in ambition but never rising far above its obscure origins, the Iowa Central eventually fell to outside competition from railroads based in greater metropolitan areas and was made part of the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway in 1912.
