TRAINS OF DISCOVERY: Western Railroads and the...

TRAINS OF DISCOVERY: Western Railroads and the National Parks by Alfred Runte (Roberts Rinehart Publishers: $19.95; 116 pp., paperback original). Runte explores the link between rail travel and the growth of the U.S. National Parks system in this handsome history. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the railroads made the first parks available to large numbers of people. Competition for riders led the railroad owners to lobby for the expansion of the parks system, and they commissioned some of the most beautiful commercial art of the century to attract passengers. Although rail travel is considered passe in America, Runte notes that carriers have reinstituted passenger service to some parks, including the Anchorage-Fairbanks line that offers luxury trips to Denali National Park.