On Railways Far Away

William D. Middleton

Publication Year: 2012

In this lavishly illustrated memoir, William D. Middleton invites readers to climb aboard and share with him 60 years of railroad tourism around the globe. Middleton's award-winning photography has recorded events such as the final days of American Civil War locomotives in Morocco and the start up of the world's first high-speed railway in Japan. He has photographed such great civil works as Scotland's Firth of Forth Bridge and the splendid railway station at Haydarpasa on the Asian side of the Bosporus, while closer to home he has been recognized for his significant contribution to the photographic interpretation of North America's railroading history. On Railways Far Away presents over 200 of Middleton's favorite photographs and the personal stories behind the images. It is a book that will delight both armchair travelers and those for whom the railroads still hold romance.

Published by: Indiana University Press

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My fascination with railways goes as far back as my memory, but it was not until the navy sent me off on my first assignment to Morocco more than 50 years ago that I began my interest in what were often called “overseas railroads,” or, as I prefer, “railways...

Acknowledgments

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pp. xvii-

I would like to acknowledge the help of Stan Kistler and Fred Schneider over the years for their excellent work in printing my photographs. I would also like to acknowledge the friendship and...

1 WESTERN EUROPEAN TRAINS

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pp. 3-68

The United Kingdom was the birthplace of the railroad and brought to it such things as the world’s predominance of British standard gauge, the early technology and development of the steam locomotive, the basic formation of trains made up of locomotives...

2 FAR NORTHERN RAILWAYS

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pp. 69-118

The northern countries of Europe all operate railways that present unusually difficult challenges, both in the scope of their original construction and in their daily operation. Building the tunnels and aligning the tracks needed to conquer the formidable...

3 ON THE NORTH EDGE OF AFRICA

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pp. 119-134

Morocco and its Chemins de Fer du Maroc, or Railways of Morocco (CFM), turned out to have a surprisingly modern railroad early in 1951. A substantial part of the railroad – the busiest part of its line – had already been converted to electric...

4 ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST FROM BERLIN TO BAGHDAD

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pp. 135-156

There may have been a rail-shipway somewhere more fascinating than that of Istanbul’s Bosporus, but I have never heard of it. These rail-shipway intersections, where the rail crossing is too great for building a bridge or tunnel link, almost always create a conjunction...

5 TRAINS OF THE FAR EAST

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pp. 157-230

Railways were very much an invention of the western world, with the United Kingdom, the United States, and European countries heading the development of the technology for more than a century. When steam engines came to the Far East, they were very much...

6 METER GAUGE IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

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pp. 231-252

As railway systems developed there were a variety of choices to make. Standard gauge (4-feet 81/2-inches) became the most widespread choice, with Europe and North America meeting the need for almost all of the two continents. But in many other areas...

7 A GLIMPSE OF AUSTRALIA

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pp. 253-260

The Sydney Harbour Bridge. One can say with little fear of contradiction that the magnificent Sydney Harbour Bridge ranks among the best works of Australia’s railway infrastructure. Indeed, it stands among a very short list of the world’s greatest railway structures. Construction...

8 RAILWAY PEOPLE

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pp. 261-286