Merging Lines : American Railroads, 1900-1970
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.80 (697 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0875802656 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 505 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-12-17 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"Outstanding" according to Royal Gelder. This book should be on the shelf of anyone interested in how the rail industry weathered the regulatory and managerial storm of the mid 20th century. Author Saunders brings together both the 'rail' side of the picture and the financial and more human side of the players involved. The writing is such that it is literally a page turner. I have read it cover to cov. Mid-Century Consolidation of American Railroads This is an academic history of the evolution of the main corporate identities in the American railroad industry in the last century. It gives good coverage of the consolidation proposals in the wake of WW1 federal administration and of the moves to consolidation in the post WW2 years. It is an essential reference for the serious rail historian rather than the av. Excellent if dry in parts Saunders revises and expands his earlier work on the origins of Conrail. As such it is an interesting and useful overview of the problems of American railroading. He is, in my view, properly hard on management and government's failures. I think his treatment of labor is evenhanded, avoiding the cliches that are rife in railroad studies. A rewarding book for the
As power struggles erupted, the original goals of the mergers were thwarted by consumer frustration, violent labor strikes, and organizational collapse. The fates of both workers and railroad companies were dictated by the rise and fall of business and governmental leaders, including Bill Brosnan, Robert R. Why did American railroads decline from the glory days of the early twentieth century? Why did so many railroad mergers in the 1950s and 1960s, intended as a panacea for the ills of an outdated system, go sour and, in fact, make a bad situation worse? Saunders addresses these and many other issues in this authoritative history of U.S. railroads and their corporate mergers.Beginning with a wide-ranging analysis of the role of railroads in the economic and social fabric of American life, Saunders traces the causes and results of the twentieth century's "merger mania." Mergers, he explains, were expected to save money, to improve service to customers, and to help railroads compete against other modes of tr
Serious students of railroad history will want to add it to their libraries, as will every college and university library."—Railroad History"An invaluable source. The introduction is the cleanest, clearest overview of the American railroad network that this reviewer has ever read."—Choice. "Railroad history at its best."—Trains"A superb source of U.S. railroad history and a must read for anyone with an interest in the railroad merger movement."—The Michigan Railfan"Fascinating. Saunders has done a masterful job of analyzing the merger movement, in all its complexities and complications