Alabama Railroads is the first extensive history of the
state's railway system, from the chartering of the Tuscumbia Railway Company
in January 1830, to the maturity of the system in the latter half of the
20th century, when Amtrak assumed control of the nation's passenger service.

Railroads built Alabama. Without them the state's vast
natural resources could not have been developed. Scores of Alabama towns,
including the city of Birmingham, owe their existence to the railroads.
Moreover, Alabama legislators were instrumental in securing passage of
momentous...