Book excerpt: "Within a few decades of their arrival in North America, the railways had transformed the continent. Spreading out from their foothold on the eastern seaboard they crossed the Mississippi, linked the Atlantic and the Pacific and opened up the west to an eager tide of settlers. Towns and cities grew up in their wake, industry thrived on the raw materials they carried; they became a great industry in themselves, employing hundreds of thousands of men and making fortunes for some; they were the basis for the wealth and power of modern America. More recent years have seen a sad decline, with many famous lines facing bankruptcy, but through reorganization and government intervention they are adapting to a changing world." --From inside of book jacket