C&O's subsidiary Pere Marquette Railway was used by C&O's pro-passenger Chairman, Robert R. Young, as a test bed for his ideas on how to cure the passenger train problem in America. He ordered two diesel-powered 7 car lightweight trains that went into service in mid-1946 on the Detroit-Grand Rapids corridor. Over the next year they reversed the passenger losses on this line and actually built up traffic.

The trains were the first to emerge all-new from the clogged car builders shops after WWII. The new trains were of latest design and the on-board services were superb for a coach operation with hostesses, on-board passenger representatives, tickets delivered on the train, credit cards, no-tipping, etc. Many of these things were later tried on C&O's main line trains, and the equipment showed the way for the huge re-equipping of the name trains on the old C&O in 1950.

Eventually affected by the continued erosion of passenger traffic, the trains experienced a slow decline, but lasted as a shadow of themselves down to Amtrak on May 1, 1971. The story is told in great detail from original documents and illustrated with great photographs, many of them from C&O official files.

Contents:
Ch. 1: Rolling Through Michigan, Getting Ready, Motive Power, Waitresses, Public Relations, Newspaper Trip and Christening, pp. 1-13;
Ch. 2: Regular Trains, 1946-1948, pp. 14-17;
Ch. 3: To Chicago and Trouble, pp. 18-21;
Ch. 4: Decline, 1950-1971, pp. 22-29;
Cars, Motive Power, Rolling Through Michigan, Color Album, Grand Rapids Station, Detroit's Fort Street Union Depot, Amtrak, pp. 30-92.

TLC Publishing, soft cover, 92 pages, 8.5 x 11 x .25 in., b&w and color photographs (16 pages), car diagrams, C&O publicity photographs and ephemera. TLC887
Price: 18.95 USD

Henry Ford: When I Ran the Railroads. A Chronicle of Henry Ford's Operation of The Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad (1920-1929).

A unique history of Henry Ford's railroad enterprises from 1920 to 1929. See how the automotive giant thrust the bankrupt Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad into the forefront of technology and innovation. He integrated it into an important part of the automotive assembly line, changed work rules, threw out tradition and produced a highly efficient transportation system. This is the only non-automotive book devoted to the legacy of Henry Ford.

Contents:
The Early Detroit, Toledo & Ironton, pp. 7-10;
Ford Buys the Railroad, pp. 11-17;
Railroad President Mr. Ford, pp. 18-27;
Transportation Services, pp. 28-38;
The Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad Company, pp. 39-42;
Fordson Shops, pp. 43-72;
Improvements to the Physical Plant, pp. 73-82;
Construction of the Malinta Cut-Off, pp. 83-94;
Government Over regulation and the Competition, pp. 95-99;
Railroad Electrification, pp. 100-120;
Passenger Service, pp. 121-127;
Construction of Flat Rock Yards, pp. 128-144;
Ford Sells the Railroad, pp. 145-146;
1929 Map, Bibliography, Index, pp. 147-152.

Cam-Tech Publishing, hard cover with jacket, 152 pages, 8.5 x 11 x 1 in., 16 maps; 139 b&w photographs. CT047
Price: 29.95 USD

Ships in a non-bending mailer, not an envelope, plus sealed in plastic.

The DeLorme Publishing Atlas and Gazetteer provides a wealth of information for trip planning and back country access. Each volume contains topographic maps with unbeatable detail plus gazetteer information on great places to go and things to do. Detail includes railroads, back roads, dirt roads, elevation contours, remote lakes & streams, boat ramps, public lands for recreation, land use (forests, wetlands, agriculture), trailheads, campgrounds, and hunting and fishing spots.

Gazetteer information includes information on hiking, bicycling, museums and historic sites, campgrounds, scenic drives, unique natural features and state and national parks.

DeLorme Publishing, soft cover, 120 pages, 11 x 15.5 x .25 in., color maps. DLMI
Price: 13.95 USD

From the Ann Arbor Railroad to the Wabash, Michigan railroad disasters from 1900 to 1940 is covered.

Contents:
Disasters by Date;
Disasters by Location;
Disasters by railroad company.

Outer Station Project, soft cover, 146 pages, 8.5 x 11 x .5 in., b&w photographs and track diagrams. OSP103
Price: 29.95 USD

This tour begins in Milwaukee again with a look back at Erie-builts, E7s, and vintage steam. Then join a tour of the remainder of Wisconsin, station-by-station, along with Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Morning Sun Books, hard cover with jacket, 128 pages, 8.5 x 11 x .5 in., all color photographs with captions. MSB1048
Price: 40.95 USD

Remembering the Grand Trunk Western: A Photographic Look at its Last Decades.

This book consists primarily of Grand Trunk Western Railroad images taken by a number of skilled and dedicated photographers who covered the firm's final years (late 1950s to mid-1990s) as an operation semi-independent of parent company Canadian National.

Images range from the last years of steam operation to the passenger and freight services conducted by the carrier on both its main and branch lines. Most of these images were taken in various parts of Michigan. There are 102 full-page photographs, 80 in color, reproduced on high quality paper and each with a detailed caption. This book serves as a pictorial supplement to Quastler's earlier book, Grand Trunk Western Railroad: An Illustrated History, now out-of-print.

Contents:
Grand Trunk Western Map, pg. 5;
Index of Locations of Photographs, pg. 6;
Introduction, Acknowledgments, About the Authors, pp. 7-9;
B&W Photographs of Steam, pp. 11-31;
B&W Photographs of diesels, pp. 32-34;
Color Photographs of Steam, Diesels and Locations, pp. 35-112.
R&I Publishing, soft cover, 112 pages, 8.5 x 10 x .5 in., b&w and color photographs. RI839
Price: 29.75 USD

SPV's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America: Great Lakes West USA (Second Edition)

States covered in this volume are Illinois, Wisconsin and upper Michigan.

Includes detail maps of the following locations:
Illinois: Cairo, Champaign, Chicago and surrounding area, Danville, Decatur, East St. Louis and surrounding area, Joliet, La Salle-Peru, Marion, Peoria, Quad Cities, Rockford, Springfield and Streator
Upper Michigan: Escanaba, Hancock and Ishpeming-Marquette
Kentucky: Paducah
Missouri: Hannibal
Wisconsin: Appleton, Beloit, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, Janesville, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Oshkosh and the Twin Ports
75 maps total

This atlas is designed to provide a single source of reference to the North American rail network, past and present in greater detail than has readily available until now. Each sheet is drawn to a constant scale of 8 miles to 1 inch for easy distance comparisons with 2 miles to 1 inch enlargements of complex areas.

All extant rail lines are shown together with stations, junctions, yards, principal bridges and tunnels. Former lines, now abandoned, are also shown. Ownership, current and past, and trackage rights are shown. An index of stations is included.

Steam Powered Video, soft cover, 80 pages, 8.25 x 11.75 x .25 in., printed on heavy enameled paper. SPVAGLW
Price: 22.95 USD

The Detroit, Toledo & Ironton: Henry Ford's Railroad.

The roots of the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad go way back to March of 1849, when the Iron Railroad was chartered to bring coal, iron and limestone into the iron furnaces of the Ohio River town of Ironton, Ohio. This short railroad was the first part of the DT&I to operate, in 1852, but was eclipsed by the narrow gauge Springfield, Jackson and Pomeroy Railroad, which completed a line in 1878 from Springfield to Jackson, Ohio, to haul coal from southern Ohio into the industrial area around Springfield, Ohio. These predecessors of the DT&I continued to grow and in 1905 these lines reorganized as the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railway reaching from Delray Station in Detroit to Ironton Ohio-378 miles.

The DT&I struggled along barely maintaining its identity until it was purchased by the genius at marketing and manufacturing-Henry Ford. Fords fascinating regime on the DT&I is told in detail by the author. Ford did many things to, and with, the DT&I, some beneficial, some naive, but the net effect assured the financial future of the DT&I.

Scott Trostel, much to his credit, has approached the writing of the DT&I story in an unusual manner for modern historians. He has personally talked to practically all former employees of the DT&I management he could locate, and has explored their recollections, thoughts and stories at great length. Using judgment to balance out all of these interviews, some of which were no doubt conflicting, he has ended up with a valuable account of this most unique traffic-oriented railroad.

Contents:
Introduction, Foreword, pp. 10-12;
Springfield, Jackson & Pomeroy Railroad, pp. 13-20;
The Ohio Southern Railroad Company, pp. 21-35;
Life and Times of the Early Railroad Men, pp. 36-42;
The Lima Northern Connection, pp. 43-54;
The Detroit Southern Company, pp. 55-65;
Formation of the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton, pp. 66-78;
Reorganization of the DT&I, pp. 79-84;
Jackson-Wellston Coal Operations, pp. 85-89;
Summit HIll, pp. 90-96;
The Ford Years, pp. 97-154;
The Pennroad Purchase, pp. 155-185;
Transition Years, pp. 186-204;
The Springfield Suburban Railroad, pp. 205-208;
Pictorial Portrayal of Mixed Trains 1 and 2, pp. 209-219;
The Challenging 1960s, pp. 220-240;
The Winds of Reorganization, pp. 241-248;
The Final Years, pp. 249-264;
Locomotive and Equipment Rosters, pp. 265-312.

Cam-Tech Publishing, hard cover with jacket, 312 pages, 8.5 x 11 x 1 in., extensive text supplemented with over 400 b&w photographs; maps and illustrations; rosters. CT023
Price: 50.95 USD