The Center’s Railroaders: Jack Delano’s Homefront Photography has received the George W. and Constance M. Hilton Book Award for 2015 from the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. The award recognizes outstanding work of “lasting value to the interpretation of North America’s railroading history.” John Gruber edited the book, which was a collaboration with Pablo Delano, Jack Delano’s son, with significant contributions from Jack Holzhueter, Scott Lothes, and Jeremi Suri.
The R&LHS citation calls Railroaders “the first significant biography of everyday railroaders. Taken together, the biographies constitute a history of railroad work in the first half of the 20th century. Some lives and families are shattered by tragedies. But others are enriched by ethnic tradition, educational opportunities, and persistence in demanding jobs that often paid relatively well but required great physical strength and sacrifices of family and marital life.”
