The Electric Way Across the Mountains

Second Edition

by Richard Steinheimer

Through the rugged Western mountains of Montana, Idaho and Washington, the Milwaukee Road electrification powered heavy-duty railroading in a challenging environment. Richard Steinheimer¹s classic interpretive photographs and stories have no peer as an account of what the men and machines of this operation were like. This famous book now is back in print in a second edition.

For nearly 60 years, the orange and black locomotives of the Milwaukee Road¹s western electrified lines wheeled tonnage freights and deluxe passenger trains up and over the tortuous grades of the Bitterroot and Cascade mountain ranges. From its inception, this pioneer mainline railroad electrification project proved to the world that heavy service utilization of long-distance electric railway technology was one possible vision of railroading¹s bright future.

Within the pages of this acclaimed volume, America¹s most celebrated railroad photographer, Richard Steinheimer, directed his talents to the immensely popular subject of the Milwaukee Road electrification. After years of preparation and visits to the region, Steinheimer provided the reader with a visual and written record of the the life and times of this venture in electric traction.

The result was an outstanding volume of railroad atmosphere and history, out of print within a few years of its 1980 publication. Now the book returns in a new edition, with 20 additional Steinheimer photographs, including 12 in color, along with other material to enrich this fine book.

This volume remains the richest account of the human side of the Milwaukee Road and its notable electrification. This book is a signal event for fans of the Milwaukee Road, of mainline electrification, and of the everyday life of railroaders. Often acclaimed as Steinheimer's masterpiece, it is a book that no railroad enthusiast should be without.

Rail artist Larry Fisher has created for the book the painting shown here, depicting the change between steam and Bipolar electric power at Othello, Washington, the eastern end of the Cascade electrification.

For more on the photographic accomplishments of Richard Steinheimer, we have a brief biography.

Also available: the Table of Contents of the book.

Particulars: The Electric Way Across the Mountains, by Richard Steinheimer
Price: $65 Size: 192 pages, 8.5" x 11"; 321 photos; maps and drawings, timetables, bibliography, index
ISBN: 1-930013-13-2 Publication date: November 1, 2005
Distribution: Western Star Distributors, Lompoc, CA; or direct from publisher.