Rails to the North Star: A Minnesota Railroad Atlas

In the 1960s, Richard S. Prosser prepared Rails to the North Star, the first book that traced the routes of Minnesota’s railways. From the first land grants for the construction of railroads in Minnesota in 1857, to the height of the street railways of the 1920s, to the consolidation of railroad companies in the 1960s, the volume captures all facets of Minnesota’s railroad development.

Much has changed since then, but rail lines still traverse Minnesota’s landscape. Featuring a section of redrafted full-color maps, Rails to the North Star is a primary resource on the history of railroads in Minnesota.

• By: Richard S. Prosser (Author), Don L. Hofsommer (Foreword)
• Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press; Reprint edition (January 2, 2008)
• ISBN: 978-0816652679
• Format: Paperback, 296 pages, 8.5 x 0.8 x 11 inches

Richard S. Prosser (1930–2005) was a railroad enthusiast who grew up near the Milwaukee Road in south Minneapolis.

Don L. Hofsommer is professor of history at St. Cloud State University. He is the author of several books, including Minneapolis and the Age of Railways, The Tootin’ Louie, The Hook & Eye, and The Great Northern Railway.