Two Generations on the Allegheny Portage Railroad by Chris J. Lewie (2001, Paperback, Illustrated)

I thought this was the best book ever written on the early years of railroading in America. Mr. Lewie is a tremedous history writer, and best of all it is all based on his family (the Humphreys) and their involvment on the Allegheny Portage RR in western Pennsylvania during the mid-1800s. This time period was the true start of both the industrial age and transportation age in American history.