Rock Island Town Fairbury, Nebraska: Western Division

South Platte Press, softcover, 80 pages, 9.5 x 8.5 x.25 in., B&W photographs.

Rock Island Town Fairbury, Nebraska: Western Division by Michael M. Bartels Fairbury, Nebraska was once the headquarters of the Rock Island's Western Division spanning hundreds of miles of territory from the Missouri River to Colorado Rockies.

At its peak the Rock Island employed 600 men and women there. Fairbury had a large combination depot with division offices, a large roundhouse and was a crew-change point on the Rocky Mountain Rocket route between Council Bluffs, Iowa and Phillipsburg, Kansas.

The depot has been restored and is now a museum. The history of the Rock Island in Fairbury is presented with many black-and-white photographs, maps and diagrams.

Contents:

• Acknowledgements, pp. 3–4
• Window on the World, pp. 5–6
• Trails to Rails, pp. 7–16
• The Fairbury Depot, pp. 17–24
• Train Time, pp. 25–32
• Community Ties, pp. 33–42
• Rockets and Rebirth, pp. 43–50
• Diesels and Decline, pp. 51–62
• Death of a Railroad, pp. 63–72
• Landmark Reborn, pp. 73–78
• Bibliography, pp. 79–80
• About the Author, p. 80.