Brownie the Boomer ― The Life of Charles P. Brown, an American Railroader

Charles P. Brown—"a boomer railroad man"—offers in this exceptional autobiography an unusually vivid portrayal of everyday life as a trainman for some of the country's greatest rail lines.

An itinerant railroad worker, or "boomer," Brown hopscotched across America between 1900 and 1913 seeking employment wherever opportunities arose. His wanderlust led him into a variety of jobs—including fireman, brakeman, switchman—for such railroads as the Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Wabash, and New York Central until he was disabled at age thirty-four in a railroad accident. In this sometimes tragic, frequently funny, behind-the-scenes account of railroading, Brownie reveals the reality of working conditions for the railroad laborer at the turn of the century as he relates his many adventures and misadventures.

H. Roger Grant, Professor of History at Clemson University, is author of 23 books, most of them on railroad history. His earlier company histories cover the Chicago & North Western, the Chicago Great Western, the Erie Lackawanna, and the Wabash railroads.