Kansas City Southern was one of the first railroads to operate a real non-articulated diesel-powered streamliner when it introduced the Southern Belle in 1940. Over the next 30 years the image and spirit of Streamlined Hospitality defined the railroad.
The KCS and L&A (Louisiana and Arkansas) were created, merged and operated by men with strong ideas and personalities. It was never a conformist, heading south when everyone else was scrambling westward and embracing the concept of long, slow freights when everyone else was focusing on high speed service. The KCS should have been a dead duck by the 1970s, but it made its way to the 21st century as a major independent player in the railroad merger game. Its most colorful era, however, were those 3 fascinating decades illustrated herein.
Even though this is an In Color book, there are a number of B&W steam and diesel photographs in addition to Color images with captions. Also included are maps and timetable reproductions plus more text than commonly seen in Morning Sun titles.
Contents:A Tale of Three Railroads: The KCS, LR&N and L&A, pp. 6-23,KCS Steam Power, pp. 24-27,Dieselizing the KCS, The Southern Belle, New Geeps, pp. 28-77,A New Generation (Diesels), pp. 78-96,The Last Colorful Decade, pp. 97-122,The Future Looks Gray, pp. 123-128.
Hardcover with jacket, 128 pages, standard portrait size, Color images with captions.
