American Railroads: Decline and Renaissance in the Twentieth Century

Gallamore, Robert E.|Meyer, John R.

ISBN 10: 0674970799 / ISBN 13: 9780674970793

Published by HARVARD UNIV PR, 2016

About this Item

Overregulated and displaced by barges, trucks, and jet aviation, railroads fell into decline. Their misfortune was measured in lost market share, abandoned track, bankruptcies, and unemployment. Today, rail transportation is reviving. American Railroads .

Seller Inventory # 594877653

Bibliographic Details

• Title: American Railroads: Decline and Renaissance in the Twentieth Century
• Publisher: HARVARD UNIV PR
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674970799
• ISBN 13: 9780674970793
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Once an icon of American industry, railroads fell into a long decline beginning around the turn of the twentieth century. Overburdened with regulation and often displaced by barge traffic on government-maintained waterways, trucking on interstate highways, and jet aviation, railroads measured their misfortune in lost market share, abandoned track, bankruptcies, and unemployment. Today, however, as Robert Gallamore and John Meyer demonstrate, rail transportation is reviving, rescued by new sources of traffic and advanced technology, as well as less onerous bureaucracy.

In 1970, Congress responded to the industry's plight by consolidating most passenger rail service nationwide into Amtrak. But private-sector freight service was left to succeed or fail on its own. The renaissance in freight traffic began in 1980 with the Staggers Rail Act, which allowed railroad companies to contract with customers for services and granted freedom to set most rates based on market supply and demand. Railroads found new business hauling low-sulfur coal and grain long distances in redesigned freight cars, while double-stacked container cars moved a growing volume of both international and domestic goods. Today, trains have smaller crews, operate over better track, and are longer and heavier than ever before.

Near the end of the twentieth century, after several difficult but important mergers, privately owned railroads increased their investments in safe, energy-efficient, environmentally friendly freight transportation. American Railroads tells a riveting story about how this crucial U.S. industry managed to turn itself around.

About the Authors

Robert E. Gallamore is Adjunct Professor in Rail Management at Michigan State University.

John R. Meyer was James W. Harpel Professor of Capital Formation, Emeritus, at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.