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Steam railroading became an integral part of the communities in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota in the late 1800s. The railroad provided hundreds of jobs and the ability to transport both goods and passengers across the Midwest. The Chicago & North Western Railway, the Chicago Great Western Railroad, the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway, the Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific Railroad, and the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (called the Milwaukee Road by employees) served five principal gateways, which included Chicago, Illinois; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; Omaha, Nebraska; and Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri. Operating steam engines required tremendous manpower, and by the 1920s, some steam passenger trains were replaced by more efficient motor cars, fueled by oil-powered engines. Steam engines could no longer compete with the reduced operating costs, smaller crew requirements, and time savings provided by diesel, which ultimately led to the fall of steam in 1955.
About the author
Jim Angel was born during the Great Depression and grew up in Mason City, Iowa. His passion for steam engines was developed by watching trains come and go with his father, Seymour Angel, who was a telegrapher on the Chicago & North Western Railway. Angel worked as a fireman on the Milwaukee Road and Chicago & North Western. As steam work became sparse, he decided to graduate college and go to work for the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. His granddaughter and coauthor, Ashley Mantooth, is a graduate of Park University in Parkville, Missouri.
