Placerville is featured in a new book offering a retrospective look at bygone railroad lines of the United States. This coffee-table style volume, When the Railroad Leaves Town: American Communities in the Age of Rail Line Abandonment, traces the history surrounding the rise and fall of rail service in cities and towns with notable railroad histories or unusual experiences with the closing of railroads. The book, illustrated with 121 photographs and 61 maps, focuses on communities located on the Western half of the U.S. rail system.

Readers will find a five-page chapter devoted to Placerville that includes a map, several photographs, and a list of readings. "I chose communities with railroad stories that deserved to be shared with readers from across the country," reports Joseph Schwieterman, the author. He adds, "each of these places has been forever changed by the abandonment of the railroad."

Schwieterman, a professor at DePaul University in Chicago, spent more than 10 years on his project, traveling to all 50 states. He made an extended visit to our community and worked with railroad historians to capture the essence of our local history. By focusing on communities rather than particular trains or railroad companies, his book has a different layout than most other railroad books now in print. "It is written so that even people without a strong interest in trains can see the profound impact of rail lines on a town’s character." For each of 58 communities, he includes a photograph of the railroad scene years ago and a photograph showing its abandoned remnants.

The book (368 pages) sells for $24.95 (paperback) and $39.95 (hardback) and is available from the Truman State University Press in Missouri (1-800-916-6802) as well as the El Dorado County Historical Museum in Placerville. A limited number of autographed hardback copies are available from the publisher through the holiday gift-buying season.