Ten railroad stories - some of Spearman's best - originally published in 1901. Frank Hamilton Spearman (1859-1937) was a prolific writer of heroic fiction, and particularly railroad fiction. He is also the author of The Strategy of Great Railroads.

CONTENTS The Vanderbilt Lines The Pennsylvania System The Harriman Lines The Hill Lines The Fight for Pittsburg The Gould Lines The Rock Island System The Atchison The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul The Chicago and Northwestern The Rebuilding of an American Railroad The First Transcontinental Railroad The Early Day in Railroading

There were two Whispering Smiths, one the fictional railroad detective in Frank Hamilton Spearman's novel, and the other a historic westerner whose real name was James L. Smith. The fictional character was the hero in this best-selling novel of 1906, and the book's popularity made it the prototype for Western fiction. Spearman became fascinated by railroad lore through his contacts with the Union Pacific while a Nebraska banker. He had previously authored several stories with railroad plots and by 1904 had his "Strategy of Great Railroads" adopted as a textbook at Yale University. Determined...