Written by retired BNSF conductor Ralph W. Linroth, author of A History of the CB&Q Illinois Pea Vine and A History of the CB&Q Quincy Branch, this new book covers the western portion of the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad from Galesburg to Peoria and the Buda to Rushville branch line. It covers all of the stations along the way including several such as Kramm and Pottstown that only existed for a few years. The chapter on the Buda Branch highlights the coal mine operations which peaked during the 1940’s and 50’s. Another chapter describes all of the CB&Q’s connections with the other lines operating into Peoria area including the M&St.L. TP&W, the Rock Island, Peoria and Pekin Union, and the C&NW. The yard industries are described in detail using information from switchmen that worked at Peoria Yard. The last chapter describes how the freight business was been handled from late 1970’s to the present day. The 296–page hardbound book featuring archive quality gloss paper, is 8-1/2” x 11” portrait format and contains over 400+ color and black and white photographs, 69 maps and 100 timetables, post cards and train orders. The retail price is $65.00 plus $8.00 domestic USPS Media Mail postage. Priority Mail shipping is $15.00 including insurance. International orders ship at actual postage by USPS Global Priority. Please email for an international shipping quote off list. International orders ship at actual postage by USPS Global Priority. I prefer to ship by USPS Global Priority Insured. This service allows insurance to be purchased by the buyer. All International shipments must be insured. Please email for an international shipping quote. Payment by PayPal, money orders and check are acceptable forms of payment. Please email me including your full name, phone number and complete shipping address when ordering by PayPal and I will send you an invoice. If paying by check I have the right to delay shipment until the payment clears my bank. Usually this is not a problem. If paying by check please send to: R.W. Linroth Publishing 1111 Jefferson Galesburg, IL 61401 Customer Feedback Worth the wait J.S. ...your book is awesome. Thank you for the effort you put into such an extraordinary work. L.P. Got the book. Great job, Thanks. J.M. Thanks for putting together an awesome book on the Peoria Branch. I grew up in Galesburg (GHS "66) but learned huge amounts about the Q from your books. I remember seeing a half dozen coupled switchers going to Galesburg and then back east a few days later, probably after their inspections. Never realized how much coal came out of the region and how much went to Peoria from Wyoming. Again, thanks for great books. R.F. I’ve just had some time to glance through it but it really looks fascinating—looking forward to go through it in more detail. You certainly answered one of my questions...were there coal mines in that are? Yes! Thanks for everything. R.J. Just received the book. Had a quick look and you have done a great job with this book. Looking forward to reading it. G.K. Got the book a couple days ago and have read it twice! Great book, thanks very much. I went to work for the RI a switchman in Peoria in 1970 for 6 months, so find it very informative. I especially appreciated your personal experience comments. The Buda line was very informative. I grew up in Galva and was always curious about that line. Great job! R.M. I could hardly put your book on the CB&Q Peoria Branch down after I opened it. It’s an excellent history, and I was pleasantly surprised to find the short sketches of other railroads entering Peoria. Your wide selection of photos and maps also added much to the overall content. Thanks for the considerable work you did to bring this volume out. You’ve covered a lot of ground. T.H. A Congrats on another great job! I am working my way thru and enjoying each page. B.C. Excellent book! really enjoy it. Lots of good photos. and good quality throughout the book. P.D. Your Peoria book arrived in the morning mail...Beautiful book, a keepsake. Will be enjoying it page-by-page for some time to come. The Peoria book is superb. It's the best quality book you've published to date! THANKS! L.Z. Having just finished reading 'Bud' Linroth's nearly 300 page "History of the CB&Q Peoria Branch", I found this to be the most difficult book review I've ever written. After looking at the Table of Contents a second time, I realized why: it's actually 3 books & 3 booklets in one volume. It also varies from a colorful pictorial, to a corporate history text and then a "Granger Country- like" illustrated commentary with a focus on coal mining plus a history of the aptly named "Fulton County Narrow Gauge" (FCNG) thrown in. Indeed, there is something for every Burlington railroad history appetite from 1851 to 2021, a span of 170 years. Best of all, while Mr. Linroth was not an experienced author, he 'lived' the book for the past half century by working on the line from the last year of CB&Q ownership thru BNSF. The three "books" encompass the Q's Peoria and Buda/Rushville branches & Peoria yard ops. The "booklet's" are the many Peoria connections, post-BN ops and the old FCNG. Thus my recommendation is to begin with which ever "book/booklet" you prefer one evening and later choose another section. The writing & composition vary so you will have a variety of reader experiences. You might also keep BB#35 handy - John Mitchell's opus: The Burlington in the Coal Fields. The Q/BN served as many as 15 mines in the Peoria area alone thru 1984. (thus the many open hoppers the Q owned!) Overall I counted better than 220 b/w photos ranging from beautiful duotones to snapshots, over 165 illustrations (b/w & color) ranging from timetables, train orders and Sanborn maps to old postcards and over 180 color photos. These again range from professional grade to snapshots but the net result is a "you are there" effect. Note: about 37 photos whether b/w or color, are depots - something we all enjoy along with motive power. I spent considerable time in the 1970's in Peoria albeit with C&NW and found that outside Chicago & Kansas City, no other place had the variety of railroads or traffic ranging from "Cat" bulldozers to Hiram Walker whiskey. The book shares this as you also see locos from 9 other roads that either served Peoria or were private coal mine power. The importance of Peoria is further witnessed by the M&StL’s slogan: The Peoria Gateway and NYC’s ownership of the Peoria & Eastern. Another unique feature given the author's immersion as a brakeman, are his shared perceptions of operating "May Alley", analysis of a terrible fatal head-on that claimed four lives (the book is dedicated to their memory) and the mundane aspects of being a railroader. For the modelers there are unique views of a loaded "well" car, a small train of cement mixers , a MoW bunk correctly located at the back of a freight consist, a steam piledriver in use in 1910, a center cab and gas-electrics, a handcar shed with handcar & the Q's famous two-unit track inspection car. (Not to mention circuses!) Photo quality varies due to original sources but the best names are also represented with full page bleeds of motive power. For the purely historian audience there is the 11 pages of FCNG history with many photos from 3' to standard gauge. All in all, it makes a very good addition to any railfan or modeler's library. If really into the coal industry, branch lines and/or big city operations, this book is a must! AND a postscript: among the 1,100 books in my personal railroad library, this book has something truly unique. For virtually every town featured, MP by MP, there are actual CB&Q card tickets illustrated on their respective pages! Even obscure hamlets like Ipava - neat! Thanks “Bud”. G.E. mailto:wcman8@gmail.com?subject=Quincy%20Book%20Inquiryshapeimage_2_link_0

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