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Diversity is the prime characteristic of the California Central Coasts many rail operations. Readers will be attracted by the varying scope of Central CoastSanta Cruz, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo Countiesrail 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 Railroads 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 areas rail legacy. Rare historic images blended with contemporary photography chronicle the regions railways from times past to the present.
About the author
Transportation historians Walter Rice, Ph.D., and Emiliano Echeverria, authors of Arcadia's The Key System: San Francisco and the East Shore Empire and San Francisco's Powell Street Cable Cars, tell the story of California Central Coast rail services with nearly 200 vintage photographs. Rice and Echeverria have published jointly over 30 articles and three additional books. Their scholarly knowledge captures the spirit and purpose of historic rail operations and the increasing importance of the contemporary rail, notably the Union Pacific Coast Line.
