Don L. Hofsommer is one of the nation’s foremost railroad historians, widely known and respected among scholars and enthusiasts, and there is no question about the contribution The Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway makes to railroad and regional history.

The Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway is an excellent book. I can point to many illustrated histories in my personal library, but I don’t know of any one book that compiles a more evocative collection of images of life as defined by the railroads—from station interiors to snow plows at work.

This book is first rate in all respects and adds new dimension to the M&StL story.

It is a wonderful memory album whose images capture the history and the spirit of a struggling little railroad that fought hard, but lost.

Rich in illustrations, this is not just a chronicle of a railroad but also a story and a record of a way of life in the rural upper Midwest.

Will appeal to multiple audiences. For some, this photographic essay will provide the means for taking a virtual journey, back to an era when American railroads—passengers and freight—dominated transportation. . . . For others, the illustrations will provide a visual record of the onset and maturation of American industrialization, of which railroads were a key component.

The book is a treasure for anyone — you don’t have to be a fan of the M&StL — who relishes good photographs and the drama and atmosphere of midwestern railroading.