American Railroads (The Chicago History of American Civilization)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.44 (991 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0226776581 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 324 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-01-02 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
"Disappointing" according to Amazon Customer. Extremely condensed text with fine print. One long story divided into 10 chapters but no subdivisions or footnotes. No explanations or diagrams for terms such as "watered stock", air brakes, steam injection, rail design, etc., (couplers were discussed). Never mentioned "Chinese walls" which were vital to getting over the Sierra Nevada. Ignored UP route from Los Angeles harbor to Salt Lake City built in 1900 which is so valuable for distribution of Asian containers. Asian shipments to west coast largely ignored. Labor and ICC always to blame for RR losses. Does not understand that after protecting shipp. Kenneth E. Wright said ALL ABOARD!!! (But you might get derailed!). Stover certainly gives us a lot of facts about the American railroad from its early beginnings to its present-day situation and in a very readable style. But the order that he chooses to present them in seems backwards. Examples: He frequently informs us of the changing track mileage of Class I railroads. Great, only what IS a Class I railroad? He finally explains that in the last chapter! He rightly devotes much of the midsection of the book to the Golden Age from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of World War I. But in Chapter ALL ABOARD!!! (But you might get derailed!) Kenneth E. Wright Stover certainly gives us a lot of facts about the American railroad from its early beginnings to its present-day situation and in a very readable style. But the order that he chooses to present them in seems backwards. Examples: He frequently informs us of the changing track mileage of Class I railroads. Great, only what IS a Class I railroad? He finally explains that in the last chapter! He rightly devotes much of the midsection of the book to the Golden Age from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of World War I. But in Chapter 4 he explains the construction of the lines during that period as . he explains the construction of the lines during that period as . "A good introduction" according to J. Barringer. Railroads have had a truly massive effect on the United States, and this in turn makes it very difficult to write an introduction which is simultaneously concise enough and detailed enough. All things considered, John Stover has done a fairly good job. At barely 260 pages (not including end notes), one gets the impression he could have spent another forty or fifty pages on various other matters, such as technical innovations in the different types of locomotives; the effects that railroads had on micro-regional economies (the Atlanta area, St. Louis area, and so on) rather than merely on New England, t
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. 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. Although this vision was eclipsed for a time by the rise of air travel and trucking, railroads have enjoyed a rebirth in recent years as profitable freight carriers.A fascinating account o