When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment: Eastern United States, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Joseph P. Schwieterman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Unknown (2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0943549981
• ISBN-13: 978-0943549989
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,846,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "A Wonderful Book--A Fascinating Read", December 26, 2001

By 

Michael S. Winicki (Olean, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment (Hardcover)

The first time I cracked open the cover and read a few lines, I knew this book was a winner.

While there are literally thousands of books out there showing fantastic photos of trains present and past. And many railroads have had their histories chronicled, this book focuses on the towns the railroads touched. This angle is unique, refreshing and most of all mesmerizing.

The author obviously spent a great deal of time researching the topic. The background information he supplies is immense, this was NOT a topic that was superficially researched. The various photos showing abandon railroad grades and shots of once busy steel-rails covered over in asphalt are especially telling.

And while the folks looking for photos of coal-drags over tall mountains may be disappointed, anyone that wants to understand how the railroads REALLY affected towns across the eastern United States, then you need this book.

A good book that combines railroading with American history. It will cause the reader to think twice as they pass that abandon railroad grade or drive by that run-down station.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A work of impressive and seminal scholarship, May 12, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment: Eastern United States, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

The two volume history, "When The Railroad leaves Town: American Communities In The Age Of Rail Line Abandonment" by Joseph P. Schwieterman (Associate Professor of Public Services management an Director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at De Paul University) is the history what happened in towns and villages across America when the nation's railroad systems began collectively eliminating more than 120,000 miles of routes (about half of their total mileage) beginning in 1916 and continuing down to the present day. Volume 1 covers the 'Eastern United States", with volume 2 covering the 'Western United States'. A work of impressive and seminal scholarship, Professor Schwieterman's informed and informative text is enhanced with the inclusion of maps and illustrations. "When The Railroad leaves Town: Volumes 1 & 2" is especially recommended for academic library American History, Social Issues, American Transportation Studies, and Urban-Planning reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully written, for any serious railfan either in the West OR East, January 23, 2007

By 

M. Kawamura (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment: Eastern United States, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

This is a collection of individual vignettes of the end of rail service to a group of Eastern US cities. The towns range from very small hamlets to medium to large metropolises, from rural to urban. In every case Mr Schwieterman outlines how the local railroad came to be, how it prospered for a time but eventually went away, and what happened when it left with emphasis on the surrounding citizens and infrastructure. These vignettes have a air of sadness and poignancy about them, as they describe in some cases how the community around the railroad more or less died as a result of the closing of rail service. This is a book like other reviewers have said, that can be put down and picked up from time to time without losing any continuity due to its unique layout. I have had this book for some time now, and feel compelled to review it now that I am awaiting the authors newest book about rail abandonments in the Western US. This is one of the best books I have ever read on railroads, but in my opinion just about anyone with a interest in modern US history and how cities in the Eastern US came to be would enjoy it equally as I do. Very well done.