Although fleets of these high speed trains crisscrossed the country by the 1940s, their success was short-lived. The dramatic story of the streamliners is one of remarkable achievements and opportunities lost.
Rail Serve
www.railserve.com/Tourist/North_America/
Rail Serve hosts an extensive list of links to other Web resources on railroads.
Burlington Route Historical Society
www.burlingtonroute.com
Located in La Grange, Illinois, the Burlington Route Historical Society is devoted to preserving the legacy of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad.
The Flying Yankee
www.flyingyankee.com
This site is devoted to the history and renovation of the New England streamliner, the Flying Yankee.
The Transcontinental Railroad as the Internet of 1869 (need login)
www.nytimes.com/books/99/12/12/reviews/991212.12utleyt.html
A 1999 New York Times review of Empire Express: Building the First Transcontinental Railroad by David Haward Bain, this article offers a wealth of information about 19th-century railroad history. There is also a link to an excerpt from the book.
The Pioneer Zephyr
www.msichicago.org/exhibit/zephyr/index.html
The Museum and Science and Industry gives visitors a chance to learn about the Burlington's first streamliner inside and out.
Stainless Steel Appeal: All Things Bright and Beautiful
www.stainlessappeal.com
Maintained by the British organization Stainless Steel Appeal, this site provides a host of features on the substance that is often taken for granted in daily life. A highlight of the site is a timeline of the history of stainless steel, from 1913 to the present.
Union Pacific: The Official Union Pacific Railroad Website
www.up.com
Thorough and informative, this site details the history of the Union Pacific, from its beginnings to the current day. Of particular interest is "Facts, Figures & History," which contains an extensive collection of photographs taken throughout the UP's history. For fun, visit "It's Just Railroad Talk," and learn the lexicon of the men and women who work the rails.
Barnes-Svarney, Patricia, editorial director. The New York Public Library Science Desk Reference. New York: Macmillan, 1995.
Douglas, George. All Aboard!: The Railroad in American Life. New York: Paragon House, 1992.
Goddard, Stephen B. Getting There: The Epic Struggle Between Road and Rail in the American Century. New York: Basic Books, 1994.
Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.
Kisor, Henry. Zephyr: Tracking a Dream Across America. New York: Times Books, 1994.
Klein, Maury. Unfinished Business: The Railroad in American Life. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1994.
-----. Union Pacific: The Rebirth, 1894-1969. New York: Doubleday, 1989. Leslie, Stuart. Boss Kettering. New York: Columbia University Press, 1983.
Meikle, Jeffrey L. Twentieth Century Limited: Industrial Design in America, 1925-1939. American Civilization, edited by Allen F. Davis. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1979.
Miller, Marilyn, and Faux, Marian, eds. The New York Public Library American History Desk Reference. New York: Macmillan, 1997.
Overton, Richard C. Burlington Route: A History of the Burlington Lines. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1965.
Reutter, Mark. "The Lost Promise of the American Railroads." American Railroads (Winter 1994): 10-35.
Stover, John F. American Railroads. The Chicago History of American Civilization, edited by Daniel J. Boorstein. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961.
Engineered by William Barclay Parsons, the 21-mile, four-track route of the New York City Subway was the largest public works project in history.
Begun during the Civil War, the transcontinental railroad employed 20,000 men, mostly immigrants, who built the iron road with their bare hands.
Major Walter Reed's discovery in 1900 that mosquitoes spread yellow fever halted an outbreak and led to the disease's eventual eradication.
While the U.N. debated strategies for control of atomic energy, the U.S. Navy was preparing for nuclear tests on Bikini Island.
The contradictory history of a dam that became a statement of American power and prestige.
Native Alaskans, oil company representatives, environmentalists, politicians, and others tell the story of the 800-mile pipeline.
A brilliant scientist, Oppenheimer was tasked with the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
The internationally famous carnival of delights in New York was the birthplace of the hot dog and the roller coaster.
