Download or read book Santa Cruz Trains written by Derek R. Whaley and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2015-02-26 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once there was an endless redwood wilderness, populated by only the hardiest of people. Then, the sudden blast of a steam whistle echoed across the canyons and the valleys-the iron horse had arrived in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Driven by the need to transport materials like lumber and lime to the rest of the world, the railroad brought people seeking out new ways of living, from the remote outposts along Bean and Zayante Creeks to the bustling towns of Los Gatos and Santa Cruz. Bridges and tunnels marked the landscape, and each new station, siding and spur signaled activity: businesses, settlements, and vacation spots. Summer resorts in the mountains evolved into sprawling residential communities which formed the backbone of the towns of the San Lorenzo Valley today. Much of the history of the locations along the route has since been forgotten. This is their story. Third Revision (February 2016) Addenda available at http://www.whaleyland.com/downloads/addenda1.3.pdf Exclusive CreateSpace Discount: Enter MU236Q6V into the coupon code field and get this book for $5.00 off! Offer only valid through CreateSpace. Review this book at GoodReads (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25144919)
Download or read book Railroads of Los Gatos written by Edward Kelley and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The picturesque town of Los Gatos stands between the once verdant orchards of the Santa Clara Valley and the forested slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The narrow-gauge South Pacific Coast Railroad arrived in 1878 and, within two years, laid track over the mountains to carry passengers, redwood, and tons of ripe produce. Less than a decade later it was purchased by Southern Pacific, and completely converted to standard gauge by 1909. Invigorating business and industry, the railroad remained a vital part of the economy of Los Gatos for over 80 years. Although the era of commercial rail ended in 1959, Billy Jones and his scaled-down Wildcat Railroad" still offered weekend rides at his ranch to guests, including Walt Disney. The Wildcat still operates in two local parks today."
Download or read book Southern Pacific Bay Area Steam written by Harre W. Demoro and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Birth of California Narrow Gauge written by Bruce A. MacGregor and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 673 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This long-awaited study, the magnum opus of a leading railroad historian, describes the conception, construction, and early operation of the first narrow gauge railroads in northern California. It is lavishly illustrated by some 600 photographs and drawings, almost three-quarters of which have never before been published. The topic is approached through an unusual lens: the history of the relatively small but extraordinarily inventive contracting and engineering firm of the brothers Thomas and Martin Carter. The Carters were able to reduce the cost and complexity of light railroad construction to the point where local narrow gauge lines could initially compete with the state’s notorious railroad monopolies. Pioneering a mobile manufacturing operation that could supply locally funded short lines with rolling stock (which traditionally came from East Coast manufacturers), the Carter Brothers began with a line to serve Salinas Valley wheat farmers, desperate to achieve an independent means for conveying their crops to the wharf in Monterey. The narrow gauge railroad that resulted was an act of political and economic defiance, but ultimately a hopeless assault on the "Octopus"—the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads. Rallying around the example set in Monterey, a narrow gauge movement in California flourished in the mid-1870s, with the rapid launching of five more companies—the North Pacific Coast, the Santa Cruz Railroad, the Santa Cruz & Felton, the Nevada County Narrow Gauge, and the South Pacific Coast—all of which drew on the Carter Brothers for manufacturing and engineering. Soon, Thomas and Martin Carter were not only selling railroad supplies and engineering to all six short lines, but had won management positions with the strongest, the South Pacific Coast. Until personal and financial disaster overtook them in 1880, the Carters were at the forefront of not just a new business, but a new technology.
Download or read book Yesterday s Train written by Terry Pindell and published by Henry Holt and Company. This book was released on 2014-09-23 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 1988, Terry Pindell has been exploring North America, seeking integration of past and present, history and headlines. The result has been three highly acclaimed book spinning a beautiful web of culture, people, travel, and sociology. Now, in his fourth quest for the soul of the continent, Pindell brings us his fullest history and most expansive cultural portrait yet. Yesterday's Train starts from a twisted tree at the shore near Veracruz--where according to local legend Cortes first chained his ships in 1519--a place where the earth itself seems in protest. From there, Pindell and collaborator Lourdes Ramirez Mallis travel to the stunning extremes of Mexico's landscape while casting back through its past. From ancient Toltec myth and Aztec ritual to the recent crisis in Chiapas and the halls of Mexico City power, they explore the strange contradictions of Mexico's character. Journeying mostly by train, Pindell and Ramirez Mallis discover a country in conflict with the Western symbolism of their chosen mode of travel. That is Mexico's story today--a clash between the old Mexico and the new one its leaders and much of the rest of the world hope to create. In Yesterday's Train, Terry Pindell brings us an odyssey through the most troubled part of the continent, witnessing for a year the roots of Meixco's current civil upheaval. And as always, he accomplishes more than a journey, traveling straight to the restive heart of a land and its people.
Download or read book Rails of California s Central Coast written by Walter Rice and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Diversity is the prime characteristic of the California Central Coast's many rail operations. Readers will be attracted by the varying scope of Central Coast--Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo Counties--rail systems. They range from local horsecar services and the narrow-gauge electrified plant railroad that served the Santa Cruz Cement Company at Davenport to the Southern Pacific Railroad's Coast Line and its engineering marvel Cuesta Grade, highlighted by the world-famous horseshoe curve. Local streetcar systems and long-ceased regional railroads are part of the area's rail legacy. Rare historic images blended with contemporary photography chronicle the region's railways from times past to the present.
Download or read book Santa Cruz California written by Sheila O'Hare and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2002-10-01 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Located on Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz's mild climate and natural resources have drawn entrepreneurs and visionaries, as well as tourists, since its earliest days. Over time, Santa Cruz city and county became home to a classic seaside amusement park, luxury hotels and beachside mansions, cottage cities and revival camps. Captains of industry, inventors, movie stars, and mountain men all made their homes here. Captured in over 200 photographs is a visual history of this notable California city. Santa Cruz County was created in 1850 as one of the new State of California's original counties. Santa Cruz received its city charter in 1876 and developed quickly. The photographic history presented here highlights the shift from pioneer Santa Cruz to its numerous pre-tourism industries, up to the tourist trade of the 20th century. It features many rarely seen images of the boardwalk and beach, early silent-movie making, the therapeutic baths and sanitariums, earthquakes and floods, and the early era of tourism.
Download or read book An Anthropology of the Machine written by Michael Fisch and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2018-06-19 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An astute account of [Tokyo’s] commuter train network . . . and an intellectually stimulating invitation to rethink the interaction between humans and machines.” —Japan Forum With its infamously packed cars and disciplined commuters, Tokyo’s commuter train network is one of the most complex technical infrastructures on Earth. In An Anthropology of the Machine, Michael Fisch provides a nuanced perspective on how Tokyo’s commuter train network embodies the lived realities of technology in our modern world. Drawing on his fine-grained knowledge of transportation, work, and everyday life in Tokyo, Fisch shows how fitting into a system that operates on the extreme edge of sustainability can take a physical and emotional toll on a community while also creating a collective way of life—one with unique limitations and possibilities. An Anthropology of the Machine is a creative ethnographic study of the culture, history, and experience of commuting in Tokyo. At the same time, it is a theoretically ambitious attempt to think through our very relationship with technology and our possible ecological futures. Fisch provides an unblinking glimpse into what it might be like to inhabit a future in which more and more of our infrastructure—and the planet itself—will have to operate beyond capacity to accommodate our ever-growing population. “Not a ‘rage against the machine’ but an urge to find new ways of coexisting with technology.” —Contemporary Japan “An extraordinary study.” —Ethnos “A fascinating in-depth account of the innovations, inventions, sacrifices, and creativity required to ensure Tokyo’s millions of commuters keep rolling. It also provides much food for thought as our transportation systems become increasingly reliant on automated technology.” —Pacific Affairs
Download or read book Steinbeck Country Narrow Gauge written by Horace W. Fabing and published by Pruett Publishing Company. This book was released on 1985 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Railroad Voices written by Linda Niemann and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Photographs and memoirs interplay to place the reader inside the exciting, changing, and dangerous world of railroad life in America. This collaboration by two of the first women to work as railroad brakemen presents an evocative and honest portrayal of a world few people have access to. Visit http://www.sup.org/railroad.html for a virtual exhibition.
Download or read book The Tragedy of Martina Castro written by Ronald G Powell and published by . This book was released on 2020-10-25 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A child of New Spain, Martina Castro became a leading figure in the tiny pueblo of Branciforte during California's two decades as a Mexican colony. But her wealth, fame and influence quickly turned to destitution, infamy and irrelevance once California became a U.S. territory in 1848. By the time of her death, her three husbands were long dead and all eight of her surviving children had turned against her in a protracted struggle over her land, title, and legacy. Close relatives such as Rafael Castro and Thomas Fallon exploited her naivete for profit, while opportunists such as Frederick A. Hihn and Louis Depeaux took advantage of her hospitality. Even backcountry settlers like Mountain Charlie McKiernan, Brad Morrell and Lyman Burrell were swept into the battles over Martina's massive land grants: Rancho Soquel and its ill-defined Augmentation. Hers was a struggle over the rights of a Californio in annexed territory, of Mexican law in an American legal system, of the status of a woman in a man's world. This is the story of Martina Castro and how her tribulations shaped the course of history in Santa Cruz County.
Download or read book California Central Coast Railways written by Rick Hamman and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Encyclopedia of Western Railroad History The mountain states written by Donald B. Robertson and published by Caxton Press. This book was released on 1986 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book On the Rails written by Linda Niemann and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first woman to go railroading on the Southern Pacific recounts her journey--the people who work on the trains, the craft of the railroader, the Western landscape that inspired her--providing an elegy to a dying trade.
Download or read book The Old Patagonian Express written by Paul Theroux and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2014-11-18 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The acclaimed travel writer journeys by train across the Americas from Boston to Patagonia in this international bestselling travel memoir. Starting with a rush-hour subway ride to South Station in Boston to catch the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, Paul Theroux takes a grand railway adventure first across the United States and then south through Mexico, Central America, and across the Andes until he winds up on the meandering Old Patagonian Express steam engine. His epic commute finally comes to a halt in a desolate land of cracked hills and thorn bushes that reaches toward Antarctica. Along the way, Theroux demonstrates how train travel can reveal “"the social miseries and scenic splendors” of a continent. And through his perceptive prose we learn that what matters most are the people he meets along the way, including the monologuing Mr. Thornberry in Costa Rica, the bogus priest of Cali, and the blind Jorge Luis Borges, who delights in having Theroux read Robert Louis Stevenson to him.
Download or read book Old Sacramento and Downtown written by and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The discovery of gold launched a rush of humanity to California's Sierra foothills and many of those miners and minerals flowed into a settlement that grew where the American and Sacramento Rivers meet. Today downtown and Old Sacramento, a 28-acre state historic district, are thriving, graced by such treasures as the restored State Capitol Building, the art deco Tower Bridge, and scores of historic structures and attractions like the Leland Stanford Mansion and the California State Railroad Museum.
Download or read book The San Lorenzo Valley written by Lisa Robinson and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2012 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The headwaters of the San Lorenzo River are just 15 miles from the city of San Jose and just 15 miles from the city of Santa Cruz, both thriving towns during the Mission period. Even so, a steep canyon, an almost impenetrable forest, and formidable grizzly bears ensured that these headwaters remained unexploited by Westerners until the 1880s. Once the rich natural resources such as vast forests of redwood lumber, lime deposits, and tan oaks were discovered, this virgin landscape was pillaged and plundered. A few enlightened individuals understood that the clear-cutting techniques of the lumber companies would soon result in the total loss of this natural wonder. Their endeavors resulted in the founding of California's first state park at Big Basin, saving this precious resource for future generations.
