Southern Railroad Man: Conductor N. J. Bell's Recollections of the Civil War Era

by James A Ward (Editor)

Overview

Nimrod J. Bell worked as a conductor for several southern railroads in their formative period, from 1857 to 1894. After his career was cut short by an accident, he wrote his memoirs detailing his first glimpses of some of the earliest trains in the South and his thirty-eight years as a conductor. Published in Atlanta in 1896, his book offers a firsthand account of working conditions on the railroads, operational procedures, wartime railroading, and passenger travel during Reconstruction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780875801841
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	04/01/1994
Series:	Railroads in America Series
Pages:	219
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.88(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

Read an Excerpt

"I was in town that evening when the engine whistled; it looked like everybody in town ran for life, especially men and boys, to the spot where the engine would stop, myself with the rest. I saw horses and mules running in every direction, but never once thought of the one I had ridden to town, until I went to the rack where I had hitched it and found it gone." —Bell remembers the first engine in Marietta, Georgia

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction by James A. Ward
1. My First Recollection of Railroad Talk
2. On Western and Atlantic Railroad, 1846-1862
3. East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad, 1862–1863
4. A Trip Back to Georgia, 1863
5. Through South and North Carolina, 1864–1865
6. After General Lee Surrendered, 1865–1868
7. Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad, 1868–1871
8. Operating the Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad
9. South and North Railroad of Alabama, 1871–1872
10. Back on the Alabama and Chattanooga Road, 1872–1876
11. East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad, 1876–1895
12. Railroads and Employees
13. Passenger Trains and Conductors
14. Old Stories and Other Things Connected with Railroads
15. Right and Wrong Notes
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Those interested in a view of railroading practiced more than a century ago... will find much of interest here."—National Railway Bulletin

"A rich picture of southern travel, tradition, and culture of a century ago."—Lexington Quarterly

"An invaluable record of changing operational procedures, the development of technology and, above all, the conditions of work of railway staff in the formative years, the Civil War era from 1861 to 1865 and the boom and slump years of the post-war period."—Journal of Transport History

From the Publisher

Reprint of a rare, privately printed work titled Railroad Recollections for over Thirty-eight Years, 1896. Bell relates his experiences from 1857 to 1895 including carrying troops and supplies during the Civil War. The flow of narrative is abrupt with minimal detail or supporting explanation. Nevertheless an important source on early railroading. Edited by James A. Ward (history, U. of Tennessee, Chattanooga). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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