Linda Carlson PO Box 99642 Seattle, WA 98139 (206) 284-8202 Email Linda

Linda Carlson grew up in Pierce County, not far from once land-locked villages accessible only by rail or by foot. A graduate of Washington State University's journalism program and the Harvard Business School, she started her career as a newspaper editor in Lincoln County and has written and contributed to several books on business. Carlson's popular 2004-06 Inquiring Mind presentation was "Company Towns: Their Importance in the Modern West." She has a special interest in company towns and social histories.

Speeders, Galloping Geese and Doodlebugs: Little Trains that Served the Northwest While researching her most recent book, Company Towns of the Pacific Northwest (University of Washington Press), Linda Carlson became fascinated with how many remote Washington communities were in the first half of the twentieth century and how dependent they were on unusual vehicles for the transportation of people, freight and mail. A chapter of her company-town history is devoted to transportation, which often involved single-car trains. Some of these trains were awkward, one-of-a-kind contraptions built by company mechanics; others were futuristic short-lived designs. The nostalgic presentation about a special part of American rail history covers the economic reasons for these rail buses, doodlebugs and speeders; examples of the short runs they served as late as the 1900's; and how the "Toonerville Trolleys" are remembered by those who rode them. Audience: Adult; can be adapted for students Requirements: podium and microphone (optional: slide projector and screen)