Definitive history of the Nickel Plate road. This beautifully done book contains the complete background of the railway, from the years of domination by the Vanderbilts to its growth under the Van Sweringen brothers through to its merger with the Norfolk & Western in 1964. The book also covers the railroads the Nickel Plate absorbed along the way, such as the Clover Leaf, the Lake Erie & Western, and the Wheeling & Lake Erie, each of which also had a rich and interesting history. Illustrated throughout with over 525 black and white photos, 67 pages of illustrated locomotive rosters, 17 chapter maps, gradient profiles, and passenger car and caboose rosters. 482 pages.