The Railfan Chronicles, Railroads of Michigan's Upper Peninsula 1975 to 2013

The Railfan Chronicles is a series of books about different railroads during the last quarter of the 20th Century. This was a period of great change in the railroad industry, with mergers of large railroads and creation of regional and short line railroads to operate unwanted lines of the Class 1 railroads. These books cover this period in photographs taken by the author. The railroads of Michigan's Upper Peninsula were traditionally "western" ones versus the "eastern" ones in the Lower Peninsula. Soo Line, The Milwuakee Road and Chicago & North Western Railroad operated in the "UP" along with shortlines Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad and Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad. The isolated and often hostile environment of the UP made the railroads up there work hard to earn their keep and survive. This book chronicles the UP railroads during the years from 1975, when things were still pretty much as they had been for years, to 2013 when most everything had changed since 1975. The evolution of the UP's railroads during this period are shown in both color and black and white photographs.