Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Preface vii
4. Railroad Companies and Abbreviations xi
5. 1 The Enduring American Railroads 1
6. 2 The Ills of Government Regulation of Rail Rates and Services 20
7. 3 The Policy Dilemma of Competition and Consolidation 42
8. 4 The Impact of Rival Freight Modes on Railroads 72
9. 5 The Decline of Railway Passenger Service, 1900–1970 100
10. 6 Merger s at Midcentury and the Penn Central Debacle 130
11. 7 Two Railroad Reform and Revitalization Acts and the Northeast Rail Crisis in the 1970s 159
12. 8 The Brief, Mainly Happy Life of Conrail, 1976–1999 191
13. 9 The Making of the Staggers Rail Act, and Experience under Deregulation 218
14. 10 How Railroads Got Their Final Sizes and Shapes 257
15. 11 The Enduring Problem of Rail Passenger Service in the Amtrak Era 312
16. 12 Advancing Technology for American Railroads 343
17. 13 Decline and Renaissance of American Railroads in the Twentieth Century – Pulling into the Terminal 396
18. Afterword: Future Policies for US Railroads 426
19. Notes 437
20. Acknowledgments 497
21. Index 499