A01=John F. Stover
american
amtrak
Author_John F. Stover
business
Category=KNG
Category=NHTB
Category=TBX
Category=WGF
consolidation
corruption
discrimination
economy
eq_bestseller
eq_business-finance-law
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_tech-engineering
expansion
freight carriers
governing
government
historical
history
industrialization
industry
legislation
markets
mergers
monopoly
prosperity
railroads
rails
regulation
regulations
trains
transcontinental
transportation
uniformity
united states of america
usa
wars
westward
Product details
- ISBN 9780226776583
- Weight: 340g
- Dimensions: 13 x 20mm
- Publication Date: 22 Dec 1997
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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Few scenes capture the American experience so eloquently as that of a lonely train chugging across the vastness of the Great Plains, or snaking through tortuous high mountain passes. Although this vision was eclipsed for a time by the rise of air travel and trucking, American railroads have enjoyed a rebirth in recent years as profitable freight carriers. An account of the rise, decline, and rebirth of railroads in the United States, this survey traces their history from the first lines that helped eastern seaports capture western markets to the modern newly-revitalized industry. John 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. The author 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 saviour for the railroads, however, 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.
