Ames has been referred to as a railroad town; more correctly the railroad established itself at the same moment that Iowa Agricultural College, now Iowa State University, was taking form. While the railroad helped to develop Ames, it was the college that drew people with names like Welch, Beardshear, "Tama Jim" Wilson, Charles F. Curtiss, and their successors. The flourishing academic community also drew families like the Loughrans and the Tildens, who were attracted by the positive town-gown relationship.

In Ames: A Ride Through Town on the "Dinkey," readers will meet some of these people and tour historic Ames, as the narrow-gauge train nicknamed the "Dinkey" weaves its way through the city's history in over 220 vintage photographs. The images in this book, featuring people and landmarks both past and present, include Ames native J. Herman Banning, the first African-American aviator to be licensed in the U.S.; the dramatic 1922 burning and destruction of the Iowa State College Armory; a rare image of the 1895 Iowa State football team, the first to be called the Cyclones; and finally, downtown Ames' growth from dirt streets with wooden sidewalks to a modern college town.