From the late 19th century through much of the 20th century, the railroads were the most expansive network of transportation for goods and people.

Even today, rail is the top choice for moving some goods (coal and oil come to mind) around the country.

Beyond moving goods and people, the railroads long provided a steady, decent income for hundreds of thousands of workers (particularly before the diesel electric trains that took over in the 1940s, as those required fewer workers than steam-powered trains).

Many of us can recall one or another of our family who worked on the railroads in the mid-20th century. I can count four of my own family from three generations (that I know of) who worked on railroads.

Luckily for the interested reader, when I combed through 1,600 color photos last week from the Great Depression and World War II, I stumbled across dozens of photos chronicling life on the railroads.

Almost—if not all—were shot by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration as part of its program to document poverty in rural America during the Depression.

Delano is one of a handful of photographers who were hired to travel around the nation taking photos and telling the story of America's lower classes.

This photo set is a bit different, however, as the images are all in full color, showing the era and its people in a strikingly different view than the grey tones most of us are accustomed to.

Scroll through the images to see the many faces and places that helped make up the vast rail networks of the early and middle 20th century.

From: Seattle PI