Abandoned Railroads of Delmarva

Book excerpt: For over 100 years, the railroads of America were the king of transportation. But more than that, they were truly what drove the Industrial Revolution, and along with that, the growth of the country. Railroads made communities from nothing, grew sleepy crossroad towns into major hubs of commerce, and opened areas of Delmarva to goods they once could only read about in magazines and newspapers. By the 1960s, all of this had changed. Passenger service had fallen off to the point that most railroads had ended this once vital travel method. Trucks now hauled the goods that once filled the boxcars of the railroad. Many old rail lines closed. The rails and stations were abandoned to the state governments. Most were just left in place to rust and rot away. This book resurrects those abandoned rails and railroad companies. Photos of the stations, once the center of their town's growth, are preserved in these pages. Memories of the companies that crisscrossed Delmarva are brought back to life.