Richard C. Carpenter – författare

A pair of gleaming rails embedded in a farmhouse driveway. A wooded cycling trail that traces an oddly level path through suburban hills. An abandoned high fill that briefly parallels the interstate. Today, little remains of the vast network of passenger and freight railroad lines that once crisscrossed much of eastern and midwestern America. But in 1946, the steam locomotive was king, the automobile was just beginning to emerge from wartime restrictions, passenger trains still made stops in nearly every town, and freight trains carried most of the nation's intercity commerce. In A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946, Richard C. Carpenter provides a unique record of this not-so-distant time, when traveling out of town meant, for most Americans, taking the train. The first volume of this multivolume series covers the mid-Atlantic states and includes detailed maps of every passenger railroad line in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. When completed, the series will provide a comprehensive atlas of the U.S. railroad system at its post-World War II high point-a transportation network that many considered the finest railroad passenger system in the world.Meticulously crafted and rich in detail, these hand-drawn color maps reveal with skilled precision-at a scale of 1 inch to 4 miles (or 1:250,000)-the various main and branch railroad passenger and freight lines that served thousands of American towns. The maps also include such features as long-since-demolished steam locomotive and manual signal tower installations, towns that functioned solely as places where crews changed over, track pans, coaling stations, and other rail-specific sites. Currently, there exists no comprehensive, historic railroad atlas for the U.S. This volume, with its 202 full-scale and detail maps, is sure to remain the standard reference work for years to come, as will the others to follow in the series.

A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946 recalls an era when steam locomotives were still king and passenger trains stopped at nearly every town in America. Railroad companies employed over a million workers, on the trains and along the tracks. Everything moved by rail: travelers, mail, and freight-whether a massive electric generator or a child's bicycle. Richard C. Carpenter's hand-drawn color maps recapture the precise details: the various trunk and ancillary railroad passenger lines that served thousands of towns; long-since demolished steam locomotive and manual signal tower installations; towns that functioned solely as places where crews changed over; track pans; coaling stations; tunnels; bridges and viaducts; and other rail-specific sites. The third and largest volume in this acclaimed series includes 276 maps and drawings and focuses on Indiana, Lower Michigan, and Ohio. These states could be called the crossroads of the national railroad network, where east-west transcontinental lines crossed north-south inter-regional lines.Carpenter depicts the major rail centers of Indianapolis, Gary, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, and Chicago, as well as every town and rail junction from Mackinaw City, Michigan, to Tell City, Indiana.

With his meticulously crafted, hand-drawn maps of America's complex and extensive railroad network, Richard C. Carpenter recaptures a time when steam locomotives were still king and passenger trains stopped at nearly every town. Before railroad mergers forced the abandonment of thousands of miles of line and passengers chose to hop behind the wheel of a car rather than buy a train ticket, the United States, at its post-World War II apex, boasted what many considered the finest passenger railroad system in the world. The fourth volume in this acclaimed series illustrates in stunning detail the rail system in Illinois, Wisconsin, and upper Michigan. Charting not only the exact direction and distance of each rail line, Carpenter also includes with precision the railroad's operational details: both existing and long-since-demolished signal towers, interlockings, passenger stations, major rail yards, repair shops, crew change points, trackage rights and joint operations, and other rarely mapped, rail-specific sites. The book's unique format allows easy cross-referencing with U.S. Geological Survey maps and DeLorme state road atlases.Also highlighted are rivers, lakes, and state and county boundaries, as well as the mileposts for every line. These beautifully rendered maps tell the fascinating story of America's unparalleled railroad network in 1946. Anyone interested in how people and goods moved around the country will find much to learn and appreciate in Richard Carpenter's one-of-a-kind railroad atlases.