{"product_id":"the-birth-of-california-narrow-gauge","title":"The Birth of California Narrow Gauge","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis long-awaited study  the magnum opus of a leading railroad historian  describes the conception  construction  and early operation of the first narrow gauge railroads in northern California. It is lavishly illustrated by some 600 photographs and drawings  almost three-quarters of which have never before been published. The topic is approached through an unusual lens: the history of the relatively small but extraordinarily inventive contracting and engineering firm of the brothers Thomas and Martin Carter. The Carters were able to reduce the cost and complexity of light railroad construction to the point where local narrow gauge lines could initially compete with the states notorious railroad monopolies. Pioneering a mobile manufacturing operation that could supply locally funded short lines with rolling stock (which traditionally came from East Coast manufacturers)  the Carter Brothers began with a line to serve Salinas Valley wheat farmers  desperate to achieve an independent means for conveying their crops to the wharf in Monterey. The narrow gauge railroad that resulted was an act of political and economic defiance  but ultimately a hopeless assault on the \"Octopus\"the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads. Rallying around the example set in Monterey  a narrow gauge movement in California flourished in the mid-1870s  with the rapid launching of five more companiesthe North Pacific Coast  the Santa Cruz Railroad  the Santa Cruz \u0026amp; Felton  the Nevada County Narrow Gauge  and the South Pacific Coastall of which drew on the Carter Brothers for manufacturing and engineering. Soon  Thomas and Martin Carter were not only selling railroad supplies and engineering to all six short lines  but had won management positions with the strongest  the South Pacific Coast. Until personal and financial disaster overtook them in 1880  the Carters were at the forefront of not just a new business  but a new technology.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44949616721973,"sku":"ByrdShop_0804735506","price":145.14,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780804735506.jpg?v=1770083852","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-birth-of-california-narrow-gauge","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}