Death Rode the Rails: American Railroad Accidents and Safety, 1828–1965 - Softcover

Aldrich, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801894026 ISBN 13: 9780801894022

Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009

Synopsis

For most of the 19th and much of the 20th centuries, railroads dominated American transportation. They transformed life and captured the imagination. Yet by 1907 railroads had also become the largest cause of violent death in the country, that year claiming the lives of nearly twelve thousand passengers, workers, and others. In Death Rode the Rails Mark Aldrich explores the evolution of railroad safety in the United States by examining a variety of incidents: spectacular train wrecks, smaller accidents in shops and yards that devastated the lives of workers and their families, and the deaths of thousands of women and children killed while walking on or crossing the street-grade tracks.

The evolution of railroad safety, Aldrich argues, involved the interplay of market forces, science and technology, and legal and public pressures. He considers the railroad as a system in its entirety: operational realities, technical constraints, economic history, internal politics, and labor management. Aldrich shows that economics initially encouraged American carriers to build and operate cheap and dangerous lines. Only over time did the trade-off between safety and output―shaped by labor markets and public policy―motivate carriers to develop technological improvements that enhanced both productivity and safety.

A fascinating account of one of America's most important industries and its dangers, Death Rode the Rails will appeal to scholars of economics and the history of transportation, technology, labor, regulation, safety, and business, as well as to railroad enthusiasts.

About this title

About the Author

Mark Aldrich is the Marilyn Carlson Nelson Professor Emeritus of Economics at Smith College and the author of Death Rode the Rails: American Railroad Accidents and Safety, 1829–1965;Back on Track: American Railroad Accidents and Safety, 1965–2015; and Safety First: Technology, Labor, and Business in the Building of American Work Safety, 1870–1939.

From the Back Cover

For most of the nineteenth and much of the twentieth centuries, railroads dominated American transportation. They transformed life and captured the imagination. Yet by 1907 railroads had also become the largest cause of violent death in the country, that year claiming the lives of nearly twelve thousand passengers, workers, and others. In Death Rode the Rails Mark Aldrich explores the evolution of railroad safety in the United States by examining a variety of incidents: spectacular train wrecks, smaller accidents in shops and yards that devastated the lives of workers and their families, and the deaths of thousands of women and children killed while walking on or crossing the street-grade tracks.

A fascinating account of one of America's most important industries and its dangers, Death Rode the Rails will appeal to scholars of economics and the history of transportation, technology, labor, regulation, safety, and business, as well as to railroad enthusiasts.

"A masterful study of the complex evolution of railroad safety."―American Historical Review

"Students of rail safety, and today's Class I railroad managers, need to read this volume."―Trains

"Aldrich has created a masterpiece. His research is extensive, drawing on a rich variety of obscure yet relevant sources."―Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

"One of the first large-scale scholarly studies of railroad safety in America . . . I recommend this book without qualifications."―Railroad History

"A thought-provoking and well-grounded contribution to the history of American economic development."―Journal of American History

"Pioneering . . . A central message of Aldrich's book is that 'little accidents' played a crucial though until now largely hidden role in the gradual evolution of a risk society."―Technology and Culture

"A work of merit . . . essential reading for historians of transport safety, business, and technology."―Journal of Transport History

"Impressive and thoroughly researched . . . Demonstrates how railroad safety evolved from the intersection of market pressures, technology, and public sentiment."―Journal of Southern History

From the Inside Flap

For most of the nineteenth and much of the twentieth centuries, railroads dominated American transportation. They transformed life and captured the imagination. Yet by 1907 railroads had also become the largest cause of violent death in the country, that year claiming the lives of nearly twelve thousand passengers, workers, and others. In Death Rode the Rails Mark Aldrich explores the evolution of railroad safety in the United States by examining a variety of incidents: spectacular train wrecks, smaller accidents in shops and yards that devastated the lives of workers and their families, and the deaths of thousands of women and children killed while walking on or crossing the street-grade tracks.

A fascinating account of one of America's most important industries and its dangers, Death Rode the Rails will appeal to scholars of economics and the history of transportation, technology, labor, regulation, safety, and business, as well as to railroad enthusiasts.

A masterful study of the complex evolution of railroad safety.--American Historical Review

Students of rail safety, and today's Class I railroad managers, need to read this volume.--Trains

Aldrich has created a masterpiece. His research is extensive, drawing on a rich variety of obscure yet relevant sources.--Register of the Kentucky Historical Society

One of the first large-scale scholarly studies of railroad safety in America . . . I recommend this book without qualifications.--Railroad History

A thought-provoking and well-grounded contribution to the history of American economic development.--Journal of American History

Pioneering . . . A central message of Aldrich's book is that 'little accidents' played a crucial though until now largely hidden role in the gradual evolution of a risk society.--Technology and Culture

A work of merit . . . essential reading for historians of transport safety, business, and technology.--Journal of Transport History

Impressive and thoroughly researched . . . Demonstrates how railroad safety evolved from the intersection of market pressures, technology, and public sentiment.--Journal of Southern History

--James W. Ely, Jr. "American Historical Review"

Edition details

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801894026
• ISBN 13: 9780801894022
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480