Peter Lewty 202 pages softcover
The excitement of the 19th-century frontier comes alive in this
history of early-day railroading in the Pacific Northwest. Combining
narrative with fascinating photographs and maps, the author successfully
conveys a sense of the enormous time, money, and hard work required to
build the first Pacific Northwest rail lines.
To the Columbia Gateway covers the origins of the Northern
Pacific Railroad and the Oregon Railway and Navigation companies, the
rise and fall of Henry Villard’s first empire, and the completion of the
transcontinental tracks that converged on the Columbia Gateway in the
late 19th century.
Tales of personal sacrifice and hardship, for both laborers and
railroad entrepreneurs, echo through Lewty’s account of this formative
era in Pacific Northwest history.
