New Book: Silver Rails: The Railroads of Leadville, Colorado

Posted by Chris James on Jul 17, 2015; 1:30am
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/New-Book-Silver-Rails-The-Railroads-of-Leadville-Colorado-tp2862.html

As many of you may have already heard, there's a new book out there, Silver Rails: The Railroads of Leadville, Colorado by Christopher James. That happens to be me. I checked with Darel to make sure it was OK to toot my own whistle here and he gave me the OK. The book is the culmination of a seven-year project that began - oddly enough - in the book isle of Caboose Hobbies in 2008. As a fan (and former resident) of Leadville, I couldn't find a book about Leadville's railroads. The die was cast. Seven years later, having met with many wonderful photographic image collectors, researched many a file and old newspaper clipping and poured through every railroad history book that I could find that included Leadville (many of which I already owned), Silver Rails is now ready for you.

This hardcover, 288 page, four-color book tells the history of four Colorado railroads—the Denver & Rio Grande, the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe and the Royal Gorge War with the D&RG for a route to Leadville, the Colorado Midland and the Denver South Park & Pacific and its various offspring as they battled mountains, weather, finances, murder and each other to reach the wealth that was pouring out of the Leadville mines in the late 19th century. It follows these lines as they built, succeeded, ultimately failed and disappeared from the upper Arkansas Valley. It also tells the story of the Leadville Colorado & Southern—the $10 Railroad—that still carries passengers over a right-of-way built in 1884.

It isn't a complete story of every railroad; that's available elsewhere. This is the story of these railroads and their relationship with Leadville. It’s also the story of people; the wealthy railroad barons who risked their fortunes, the (underpaid) foreign laborers, the railroaders who worked days at a stretch with no rest, and the visionaries who saw a future in Leadville when few others did and the town that has passed through 150 years of boom-and-bust-and-boom-again economy that sought gold, silver, zinc, copper, molybdenum and tourists, always with the help of the railroads.

With over 400 photos and maps—many in full color and many never published before—Silver Rails fills a niche on your bookshelf that has only been filled by books that are long out of print. It's not a book of detailed plans or corporate structure; it's a book of history, the stories of the railroads, the railroaders, the townspeople, the town they helped build and the mines they served between 1880 and today. For modelers, it's a book with a lot of photos that just might push you (again) toward the work bench.

If you would like to download a free preview chapter (.pdf) for your pre-purchase consideration, point your browser to http://www.silverrailsleadville.com. And - surprise! - you can also order your copy from that site as well.

Retail price is $59.95 plus $6 shipping. I think you will enjoy the book and I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Chris James
Sandia Park, NM