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American Railroads
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Product Description
A fascinating account of the rise, decline, and rebirth of railroads in the United States, John F. Stover's American Railroads traces their history from the first lines that helped eastern seaports capture western markets to today's newly revitalized industry. Stover describes the growth of the railroads' monopoly, with the consequent need for state and federal regulations; relates the vital part played by the railroads during the Civil War and the two World Wars; and charts the railroads' decline due to the advent of air travel and trucking during the 1950s.
In two new chapters, Stover recounts the remarkable recovery of the railroads, along with other pivotal events of the industry's recent history. During the 1960s declining passenger traffic and excessive federal regulation led to the federally-financed creation of Amtrak to revive passenger service and Conrail to provide freight service on bankrupt northeastern railroads. The real savior for the railroads, though, proved to be the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, which brought prosperity to rail freight carriers by substantially deregulating the industry. By 1995, renewed railroad freight traffic had reached nearly twice its former peak in 1944.
Bringing both a seasoned eye and new insights to bear on one of the most American of industries, Stover has produced the definitive history of railroads in the United States.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1134376 in Books
- Published on: 1997-12-22
- Original language: English
- Binding: Paperback
- 324 pages
Editorial Reviews
Ingram
A fascinating account of the rise, decline, and rebirth of railroads in the United States, "American Railroads" traces their history from the first lines that helped Eastern seaports capture Western markets to today's revitalized industry. 24 halftone illustrations. 5 maps. 9 tables.
Customer Reviews
ALL ABOARD!!! (But you might get derailed!)
Stover certainly gives us a lot of facts about the American railroad from its early beginnings to its present-day situation and in a very readable style. But the order that he chooses to present them in seems backwards. Examples: He frequently informs us of the changing track mileage of Class I railroads. Great, only what IS a Class I railroad? He finally explains that in the last chapter! He rightly devotes much of the midsection of the book to the Golden Age from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of World War I. But in Chapter 4 he explains the construction of the lines during that period as if people were jolting through it all on Civil War era rolling stock. What about airbrakes? That innovation he explains in Chapter 6. In Chapter 4 he mentions a railroad having 400 miles of electrified track just after the turn of the century. But he doesn�ft bother explaining ELECTRIFICATION of railroads until Chapter 8. And at the beginning of that chapter that deals with the decline of railroads after World War II, he suddenly jumps us from 1945 to 1965 when 707s were jetting people coast to coast in a few hours and sinking long-distance rail passenger service in their wakes. Hey, what about the immediate postwar years when flimsy props were crashing more people than they were getting to their destinations�G and such modern luxury limiteds sprouting vista-domes as the El Capitan were smoothly and safely whizzing passengers across the continent? Ah, that he explains towards the END of the chapter. These and so many other sidetrackings made me feel Stover was trying to derail me!
Still, if you manage to avoid being derailed by him on the way, by the end of the book Stover�fs explanations do give you a very good overview of the American railroad. But he ONLY explains. Nowhere does he DESCRIBE. So, if you want a fairly comprehensive list of events of this revolutionary innovation in transportation that played such a vital role in shaping modern America, then ALL ABORAD! But if you want to actually FEEL what it was like to ride on one of those bone shakers of the 1840s, to dine in the elegance of a dinning car of the 1890s, to board the first run of the streamlined, diesel-driven Zephyr in 1934, (and which Stover could so easily have given us by adding just a few descriptive paragraphs!�j. . .then alas, you WILL get derailed!
Excellent Rail History
Well written, concise and very informative. One of the best general railroad history books I have ever read. Mr. Stover covers the development of railroads in America from the beginning to present with an objective view.
