Craig Sanders is president of the Akron Railroad Club and has published four other railroad history books. A resident of University Heights, Sanders teaches journalism and public relations at Cleveland State University. Members of the Akron Railroad Club contributed many of the more than 200 images appearing in this book.
Title: Book takes readers on train trip back in Canton area's
railroad history
Author: Gary Brown
Publisher: Canton Rep
Date: 11/8/09 The first interurban railroad in Canton was fueled by
oats, not oil. "When 19th-century Canton residents talked about the
horsepower of the Canton Street Railway, which began service on
December 18, 1884, they did not mean the motors propelling the
cars," writes Craig Sanders in his book "Canton Area Railroads,"
which was released earlier this year by Arcadia Publishing.
"Canton's streetcar system began with horse-drawn cars traveling
four routes radiating from Public Square. A fifth route began on
June 13, 1885." The city streetcar system was electrified in 1890,
Sanders notes in his book, which is part of Arcadia's "Images of
Rail" series. The Stark Electric Railroad company was formed in
1902, and the Northern Ohio Traction and Light Co. began Canton
-Akron service that same year. Pictures in Sander's book document
the cars and crews that provided interurban service to passengers
throughout Stark and surrounding counties. But, as important as
local interurban railroad routes were to the transportation of area
residents during their daily lives, the history of interurbans
takes up only the first chapter of this pictorial history of the
area's railroads. Appropriately, the rest of the text is devoted to
images that reflect the more lengthy transition railroads in and
around Stark County have made through the decades, from the
Pennsylvania Rail Road to Amtrak. "Written in cooperation with the
Akron Railroad Club, this book chronicles the history and
development of the railroads that served Stark, Wayne, Holmes,
Carroll, and Tuscarawas counties," said the publisher. "It shows
how rail operations changed as the steel industry declined and
railroad consolidations led to traffic shifts and route
abandonment. Among the railroads that served this region were the
Pennsylvania, Baltimore and Ohio, New York Central, and Wheeling
and Lake Erie." Sanders, a resident of University Heights, is
president of Akron Railroad club and the author of four other
railroad history books. He chose to preserve pictorial evidence of
the service once provided in Canton and nearby communities by
railroads because of clearly declining influence of rail
transportation in the area. "The idea for this book came to me
during a 2007 Labor Day weekend visit to Alliance to photograph
trains of the Norfolk Southern Corporation, which now owns the
tracks through town once used by the Pennsylvania Railroad,"
Sanders explains in the book's "Acknowledgments." "Alliance is one
of the few places in Stark County that still sees a high volume of
rail traffic," he continues. "Although no town of any size in Stark
County has lost rail service, far few trains today rumble through
Canton or Massillon." The author notes that his own avid interest
in railroads began on a trip he took on a New York Central train to
St. Louis with his mother and sister to visit his grandparents at
Christmas. But his recollections are not the only influence on the
selection of photographs to be included in the book, notes the
publisher. Members of the Akron Railroad Club contributed many of
the more than 200 images appearing in the volume. Images include
the train stations, rail yards, and switching areas throughout the
counties covered in the book, Shown also are specific rolling stock
that came through a multitude of Canton area communities. Photos of
modern railroad equipment is mixed with pictures of old and now
nostalgic railroad locomotives and cars. "The Canton region has a
rich railroad history and still features a variety of railroad
operations," explains the author, who teaches journalism and public
relations at Cleveland State University. "This book examines how
railroads developed in the Canton region and how they got to where
they are today."
Ask a Question About this Product More... |