By the time it was merged into the Union Pacific in 1995, the Chicago & North Western was one of the nation’s oldest surviving railroads, a testament to the Midwestern stoicism with which it had gone about its business since 1859. C&NW’s story unfolds in this richly illustrated history. The story spans the decades from the 1850s to the 1990s; takes in steam and diesel motive power, freight and passenger operations; and features all the key characters and events that figured in the Chicago & North Western’s rise and eventual demise. It is also accompanied by hundreds of images, historical photographs, route maps, and period print ads.