Description
Book SynopsisOverregulated 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 tells a riveting story about how this iconic industry managed to turn itself around.
Trade ReviewDetailed, sophisticated, occasionally technical, and provocative, [Gallamore and Meyer’s] book provides a superb and often fascinating analysis of the economics, technological change, and the impact of public policy on an iconic American industry… Gallamore and Meyer have thrown down the gauntlet to policymakers. The burden may well now be on them to demonstrate, through a careful analysis of costs and benefits, that regulation of passenger and/or freight railroads is in the public interest. -- Glenn C. Altschuler * Philadelphia Inquirer *
A comprehensive account…
American Railroads is a readable history with a focus on freight rail. -- Daniel Machalaba * Wall Street Journal *
This book is a readable and provocative economic and business history of American railroads over the twentieth century. It draws together the themes of infrastructure development, regulation, stagnation and financial crisis, deregulation, and finally revitalization. It is a fascinating and instructive tale, very well told. -- Porter K. Wheeler, Transportation Policy Consultant, and former Manager of P3 Projects, Maryland Transportation Authority
A remarkable book and an exceptional resource for a variety of constituencies in the transportation field. -- Joseph M. Sussman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
