Steam and cinders : the advent of railroads in Wisconsin, 1831-1861

Acknowledgments Part One: Beginnings Chapter 1 -- A Proposal Chapter 2 -- Lead Railroads Come to Western Michigan Territory Chapter 3 -- Railroads and the Creation of Wisconsin Territory Chapter 4 -- The Territorial Years Part Two: The First Railroad Chapter 5 -- Establishing a Company Chapter 6 -- Milwaukee to Waukesha: Picking the Route Chapter 7 -- Construction Begins Chapter 8 -- Rails and Locomotives Chapter 9 -- A Railroad is Born Chapter 10 -- Growing Pains Chapter 11 -- Wisconsin's Only Railroad Part Three: New Growth Chapter 12 -- In the Rock River Valley. Chapter 13 -- The New ContendersChapter 14 -- The Scramble for New Routes Chapter 15 -- Complete to Madison Part Four: The Great Building Boom Chapter 16 -- Western Goals and Eastern Connections Chapter 17 -- An Explosion of Railroads Chapter 18 -- The Struggle for Land Grants Chapter 19 -- Reaching the Mississippi Part Five: Hard Times and Recovery Chapter 20 -- A Peculiar Hardship Chapter 21 -- Reorganization Chapter 22 -- New Beginnings Epilogue Afterword Notes Subject Index People and Place Name Index. From the railroad lines that traverse open prairie to the wrought iron rails embedded in their wooden ties, railroads have been written into the landscapeand shared historyof Wisconsin. Yet few of us have thought about how they developed in the towns and cities we call home. Based on the author's extensive research into the early history of Wisconsin's rails, Steam & Cinders chronicles the boom and bust of the first railroads in the state, from the charters of the 1830s to the farm mortgages of the 1850s and consolidation of the railroads on the eve of the Civil War. Featuring more than 75 period photographs, historic maps, and drawings, Steam & Cinders preserves the legacy of early Wisconsin railroading for railroad buffs and armchair historians alike. Based on the author's extensive research into the early history of Wisconsin's rails, Steam and Cinders chronicles the boom and bust of the first railroads in the state, from the charters of the 1830s to the farm mortgages of the 1850s and consolidation of the railroads on the eve of the Civil War. Featuring more than 75 period photographs, historic maps, and drawings, Steam and Cinders preserves the legacy of early Wisconsin railroading for railroad buffs and armchair historians alike.