The Indiana Rail Road Company is an extraordinary success story among the scores of independent short line and regional railroads spawned in the wake of railroad deregulation. Christopher Rund chronicles the development of the company from its origins as part of America's first land grant railroad, the Illinois Central, through the political and financial juggling required by entrepreneur Tom Hoback to purchase the line when it fell into disrepair. The company was reborn as a robust, profitable carrier and has become a new model for the American regional railroad.

The Indiana Rail Road Company is unique among chronicles of these small railroads. It draws together a historical perspective, as well as a detailed narrative of the business aspects of rehabilitating the rail line and transforming it into a profitable enterprise. The book also touches on a variety of subtopics, significantly the application of new technologies to manage costs and improve productivity. The Indiana Rail Road Company pioneered the most significant of these in the United States.