IRON HORSES
America’s Race to Bring the Railroads West
Back Bay Books, Little, Brown and Company, 2014, 574 pages
Originally published in hardcover as Rival Rails by Random House, 2010
Paperback (11/18/2014); Audio and E-book formats
Winner of the 2010 Colorado Book Award in History
In this richly detailed and sprightly narrative, Walter Borneman paints a compelling portrait of one of the great chapters in Amerian history. Jon Meacham
The completion of the first transcontinental railroad marked the start of a greater challenge to construct a more direct line through the Southwest, connecting Chicago to Los Angeles. Dozens of rival railroad companies competed for control of this region, where trains could avoid the deep snow and steep gradients that plagued more northern routes.
As railroad barons fought in boardrooms and brokered political deals, workers toiled to build bridges, tunnels, cuts, and fills. They faced dangerous conditions, from the labor itself to runaway trains.
Borneman depicts the battles over control of the Southwest’s transportation corridors and brings this momentous period in American history to life.
Cañon Diablo, circa 1885, History Colorado
• “Borneman’s book is an enjoyable read for railroad buffs, Old West aficionados, serious-minded historians, and anyone who finds romance in the sound of a train whistle in the night.” — BookPage
Walt’s lecture, “America’s Mainline: The Fight for the Southwest Transcontinential,” 35th Whitehall Lecture Series at the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, Palm Beach, February 9, 2020.
