Those interested in the the CCC&I Railroad ("the Big Four") and its early history will be happy to learn of yesterday's publication by the Kent State University Press of A. Andrew Olson's Forging the "Bee Line" Railroad, 1848 - 1889: the Rise and Fall of Hoosier Partisans and Cleveland Clique, the link to which I attach here for more information and a brief synopsis:
http://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/2015/forging-the-bee-line-railroad-1848-1889/
The railroad between Ohio's three largest and most important cities not only has a fascinating history and a busy present, it's always being considered for future use as a passenger train corridor. It's role in Indiana history is also significant.
The "Big Four" was a vital and prized part of the later New York Central System, and its builders were, or became, some the Midwest's most prominent citizens. The pre-Civil War history of America's railroads is, I think, an often overlooked part of our hobby, but it pays great dividends to those who study it.
Electroliner 1935I presume that this is the predecessor to the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, & St Louis Railway (CCC&StL)?
Yes. The merger came in 1889. That's probably why the book stops discussing the "Bee Line" as of that year.
Sign me up! - Long overdue book (the myopia over NYC is finally over? - Tired of finding only the history ( rehashed) of the east half and only focused on the shiny toys)
Looking for this for a long time.
If the book is well enough received, maybe he can take a crack next at CCC & StL between 1889 and 1922.
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