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Rails to the North Star

A Minnesota Railroad Atlas

2007
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Author:

Richard S. Prosser
Foreword by Don L. Hofsommer

Rails to the North Star

The sought-after standard reference on Minnesota railroad history

From the first railroads in Minnesota, to the height of the street railways of the 1920s, to the consolidation of railroad companies in the 1960s, Rails to the North Star captures all facets of Minnesota’s railroad development. Featuring a section of redrafted full-color maps, this volume is a primary resource on the history of railroads in Minnesota.

Rails to the North Star is a must-read for railroad enthusiasts, students of Minnesota and regional history, and everyone else interested in the state’s rich transportation past. This previously out-of-print book is made even more valuable by the illuminating foreword by Don L. Hofsommer, himself an eminent scholar of Minnesota and American railroads.

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H. Roger Grant

In the 1960s, Richard S. Prosser prepared Rails to the North Star, the first book that traced the routes of Minnesota’s railways. From the first land grants for the construction of railroads in Minnesota in 1857, to the height of the street railways of the 1920s, to the consolidation of railroad companies in the 1960s, the volume captures all facets of Minnesota’s railroad development.

Much has changed since then, but rail lines still traverse Minnesota’s landscape. Featuring a section of redrafted full-color maps, Rails to the North Star is a primary resource on the history of railroads in Minnesota.

Rails to the North Star

Richard S. Prosser (1930–2005) attributed his interest in railroads to having grown up near the Milwaukee Road in south Minneapolis. He moved with his family to Berkeley, California, in the 1940s. In addition to his avid interest in railroad history, he was an accomplished musician and performed with several community ensembles and orchestras in the San Francisco Bay area.

Rails to the North Star

Rails to the North Star is a must-read for railroad enthusiasts, students of Minnesota and regional history, and everyone else interested in the state’s rich transportation past. This previously out-of-print book is made even more valuable by the illuminating foreword by Don L. Hofsommer, himself an eminent scholar of Minnesota and American railroads.

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H. Roger Grant

Compiled to celebrate a centennial of Minnesota railroad history, the volume met its goals admirably when it first appeared and remains useful today. Midwestern railroad buffs seeking a brief history of and reference book on Minnesota railroads will want to take a look at Prosser’s contribution.

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The Annals of Iowa

This book should be considered mandatory for the shelf of anyone interested in Minnesota railroad history.

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