History of the Railroad: Annotated Bibliography

Bryant Jr, Keith L. “The North American Railroad: Its Origin, Evolution, and Geography.” A Review. (1996): 843-845.
In his review of the book, The North American Railroad: Its Origin, Evolution, and Geography, the author observes that the book aimed at evaluating the impact of geography and technology on the development of railway systems in the U.S. and Canada. The review acknowledges that neither of the rail systems followed the British systems and models; instead, they emulated railroads in the south. It was geography that determined the location of railroads and their technological evolution. The review notes that the British developed the railroads in their bid to supplement existing trade routes, which were worn out, especially after the Industrial Revolution. Railroads, both in the U.S. and in Canada were developed across unsettled regions before economic development could support the carriers. By 1917, the review observes that North America had vastly developed its rail system beyond any other region in the world.
The review makes an observation that historians have been erring by giving credit to Great Britain in that it served as the basic model for developing railroads elsewhere. Conditions in Britain were found to be conducive for the production of small, low powered, and technologically unsophisticated motive power. Further, Britain had sufficient capital to develop superb infrastructure dotted with high-quality engineering works. In the United States and Canada, things were different. Capital was limited, the terrain was difficult, and traffic was not sufficient. This called for the deployment of cheap methods of achieving the end objective. Locomotives needed to be powerful and as such, technology needed to be improved. This led to the development of advanced locomotives.
Henry, Robert S. “The railroad land grant legend in American history texts.” The Mississippi Valley Historical Review 32, no. 2 (1945): 171-194.
Henry started by observing that in 1850, the United States had a public domain of more than 1.4 billion acres, which were empty unoccupied, unusable, and unsalable. The main reason for this aspect is that it was because there were no reliable means of transport. The government had to make deliberate efforts to open up the areas. The government thus aided in the building of wagon roads and canals. The government then went ahead to arrange the Federal railroad land grants. In the program, Henry records that the U.S. government granted more than 155 million acres to railroads. The article notes that the eventual land utilized for the purposes of the railroad was; however, less than this number since not all planned railroads were developed. The article quoted different sources to mention that the land grant maps had significant errors, which greatly affected the total number of acres under the railroad.
With the land that was set aside for the development of the railway, Henry notes that 18,738 miles of railroad line were built. It represented less than 8% of the total mileage of railroads build in the U.S. The article questions the prudence of spending so many public resources to build only 8% of the railroad. The government made a loan of more than $64 million in bonds to the railroads and collected more than $167 million in repayments. The article presents information from other sources, which doubt the numbers, especially when it came to repayment. The article concludes by appreciating that the U.S. benefited largely because of the railroad but notes that the project was scandalous and information presented to the public, ranging from maps to financial information cannot be verified.
Ganoe, John Tilson. “The history of the Oregon and California Railroad.” The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society 25, no. 3 (1924): 236-283.
Ganoe starts by acknowledging that for a country to survive, it must have social solidarity, which is cemented in position by the communication factor since the better the communication and social interaction, the greater the sense of union. Without communication, the United States would not suffice. In 1846, the article notes that the U.S. had such a communication problem and the problem grew bigger with the addition of California to the U.S. after the 1848 Mexican War. California was 3,000 miles away from the seat of the government, separated by a vast desert and the Rockies, and it was bound to experience political isolation had something not been done. The discovery of gold after the civil war fueled the need for communication and the railroad became an essential necessity.
Oregon, Ganoe notes, had to wait for California to supply the impetus for connecting the railroad. The existence of such plans alone was not enough for Oregon to have its own road. The article explains that major railroad building works took place the decade after the civil war and the Middle West had necessitated this transition. At such a time, England had offered the United States a free market and as such, the market for products was available. Different companies were given grants to build railroads and the Union Pacific and Central Pacific companies moved in to ensure Oregon and California got their share too. The two companies formed the Oregon and California Railroad Company, which was a process started in 1863.
Mills, Randall V. “A History of Transportation in the Pacific Northwest.” Oregon Historical Quarterly 47, no. 3 (1946): 281-312.
Mills starts off by mentioning that the westward movement was done using ships, wagons, railroads, and automobiles. With each mile of movement, people established routes that compromised between geography and mechanical equipment they had. In the Pacific Northwest, the situation was particularly difficult; the region was set off by its natural boundaries, which comprised the sea and mountains. The article appreciates that Oregon could be approached either from the sea using a painful journey or over the plains and rugged mountains. To access the area, the article notes that the very first steps included opening up major trunk routes. Heavy goods could only be moved using water until the wheel arrived, though it was not easy. To access the inland was difficult and had to be done using the Chicago River. Low waters during summer made steam boating impractical and this led to the development of the railroad, which was not very economical since cargo had to be handled twice – using water and the railroad. The transportation equipment was significantly renovated and improved to cater for the demand.
Fast forward, when the railway began laying track, economic activity picked up. Significant challenges waylaid those who were building the railway, but through hard work, they were able to finish their projects. The companies included Union Pacific. The local conditions and geography weighed in on the development of railroads in the Pacific Northwest. Important in the development of the railway was Ben Holladay who the author recognizes as talented. He was able to organize the railway building and was further supported by a journalist by the name Villard. The railroads in Oregon were then joined to other lines to form the transcontinental connection.
Binder, John J. “The Sherman Antitrust Act and the railroad cartels.” The Journal of Law and Economics 31, no. 2 (1988): 443-468.
Binder opens his article by asserting that it had been 90 years since the railroad cartels ruled in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 in the Trans-Missouri (1897) and the Joint Traffic (1898) decisions. The author proclaims that there has never been an agreement that concerns the effect of such cases on collusion by the railroads. Railroads colluded in the early1840s and 50s to ensure that their share prices were controlled. The practice, though not strictly illegal, led to market distortion. The author claims that Gabriel Kolko and Paul MacAvoy made conclusions that the Supreme Court decisions led to an irreversible breakdown of the railroad cartels. The author claims that other authors felt that the Supreme Court’s decision had a negligible effect. The article evaluates the effectiveness of the enactment and enforcement of the Sherman Act.
The article finds out that the court’s decision did not affect significantly the rates of stock prices. As such, the railroad cartels were not permanently dismantled. To support this claim, the author argues that the railroads responded to the rulings by making overt replacements, public fixing of prices with private rate agreements, and concentrating on markets. The railroads were colluding for both commercial and vested interests. With commercial interests, they were pooling to increase their revenues and to share passengers and cargo to ensure that each of the railroads was operating economically. For vested interests, the railroad companies were colluding to ensure that their share prices were normal and unchanged, and if changed it was in the upward trajectory.
Hadley, Arthur Twining. Railroad transportation: Its history and its laws. GT Putnam’s Sons, 1892.
Hadley aimed to address the questions that arise from the railroad history and management, which apparently had become matters of public concern. The book aimed at two things; first, to present in a clear fashion the various facts of the American railroad business, and two, to compare legislation with reference to the railroad in different countries. The author records that, with regards to the first aim, that the railroad was an important catalyst in the jumpstarting of the American economy. Further, with ownership, the author has dived into the issue of land grants and the formation of railroad companies. The competition and collusion that came with competition railroad companies have been laid bare in the book.
With the legislation of the railroad, the book critically looked at the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, which had the most far-reaching implications in the history of the United States railroad. The law, as described by the author, was aimed at regulating monopolistic behaviors that were common with railroad companies in the United States, especially because the railroad was private industry. In comparison with other countries, the author expressed that Britain, the pioneer of rail transport started with private companies, which were nationalized through a series of legislation. In France, the author observes that rail development was faced with severe legal hurdles since other operators in competing modes of transport were blocking its development, especially in parliament. The government was initially cold about the rail projects making France a laggard.
Launius, Roger D. “The railroads and the space program revisited: Historical analogs and the stimulation of commercial space operations.” Astropolitics 12, no. 2-3 (2014): 167-179.
Launius aimed to explore the history of the railroad with the intention of drawing important lessons that can be applied in the space programs. The article expresses that there has been government involvement in the rail business through grants, investment credits, tax breaks, and other decisions that supported the railroad business. Were the interests in good faith or otherwise? America has since seen the advent of the railroad as an economy driven by enterprise, but the government intervened in the railroad process. The article questions the motive and concludes that the government got itself into the project due to the sake of the public good. The article found that there were instances where government intervention failed miserably, but the authors take that as a learning point for the space program.
The article found out that private financing was supplemented with government loans, property and patent rights were granted to firms that participated in the programs, and lastly, there were broadly construed revenues that were generated from transportation and other fees.
Bordewich, Fergus M. Bound for Canaan: The underground railroad and the war for the soul of America. New York: Amistad, 2005.
Fergus Bordewich reviews the operations of the Underground Railroad that happened during the abolishment of the slave trade in the United States. The review provides a powerful lens on the growing division between the North and South America that resulted in the Civil War. Using biographical illustrations on the Bound for Canaan, the author describes a series of unpremeditated escape routes, which later developed to secretive transportation network along the Ohio River and Mason-Dixon Line. Increased organization and military levels between 1800 and 1860 were characterized by transportation of southern fugitives’ northwards. The term “Underground Railroad” was termed problematic as it had implications of capital-intensive investment and corporate hierarchy. Factors such as flexibility, individual initiatives of slaves and impenetrability determined the fugitive transportation using the railroad. Geographical features posed a challenge in Underground Railroad. Bordewich’s narration presents vivid ambitions in the combination of opportunity, a nation of moral fervor, and bravery that individuals and the nation found alternatives to racism and slavery. The soul of America at that time could not be redeemed using the Underground Railroad; however, it managed liberating over 100,000 people from slavery. Sectional crises caused by antislavery politics threatens the context of the author’s core subject of study. The exodus of slaves creates out a natural drama, but the book provides a series of successful plans, as well as, episodes of personal tragedy and physical conflict.
Olson, Sherry H., and Sherry H. Olson. The depletion myth: a history of railroad use of timber. Harvard University Press, 1971.
Sherry starts by examining the railroads’ use of timber as a fundamental amendment in the demand and supply of natural resources. Railroads were heavy consumers of timber, thus, played an important role in the timber market. The author describes the railroad industry as an essential tracing tool in the evolution of forestry consciousness in the United States, down to the present days. Railroads were defined as “the wooden road” as the plain lines built in 1879s and 1880s. The consumptive pattern was mostly used of timber in the American economy before the occurrence of World War 1. Elements such as accounts, technology, and business organization that are important to the economy can be easily and fully documented courtesy of the railroads’ economy influence. During the 1900s, the author illustrates the railroads’ consumption of the nation’s timber harvest as one-fifth. Despite the railroads consuming large quantities of steel and iron, forest product industries played a major influence. Timber famine in America in the 1900s resulted in an economic crisis as railroads played a big role in transportation. Sherry describes the relationship between the railroad men and foresters, which provided new insights in relating goals of private industry and public policy causing problematic measures in the management of resources. The markets of the railroad were initially diverse and local in their business and technical structure, but later grew to a national network making timber markets become integrated into a complex system. As the growth of railway timber supply was rapid, prices played an important role in interpreting economic supply factors. The use of steel and iron in constructing lines, which marked changes in railroad transportation led to wood being used for other purposes such as constructing guardrails, bridges, and as fuel.
Vickerman, Roger. “High-speed rail in Europe: experience and issues for future development.” The annals of regional science31, no. 1 (1997): 21-38.
Vickerman starts by acknowledging the development of high-speed rail, as the primary focus of recent European Union transport infrastructure policy. A meeting held in December 1994 by the Essen European Council meeting led to a decision to extend and accept the views on prioritizing Trans-European network project tabled by Christopherson Committee. This project involves the enactment of the high-speed rail. A critical review on the role assigned to high-speed rail towards the overall development is done by the author. This includes an evaluation of approaches on the project. The network is essential in linking a series of national plans with the improvements in the high-speed rail during the 1980s. Railway network faced critics on its limited capacity, thus, new investment was urgently needed to come up with the most cost-effective solution. This led to the development of TGV Sud-Est and first French line. Increasing speed of the slow sections of the rail network could fully exploit the rail technology. This was the main reason behind the NBS Hannover-Wurzburg and Mannheim-Stuttgart (German projects). Accessing more remote regions led to the development of the rail network in Europe contributing to notable cases such as the construction of the First Spanish AVE line, Madrid Sevilla. Constructing the high-speed rail provided significant basic international links, which generalized the concept behind the European network.
Levinson, David M. “Accessibility impacts of high-speed rail.” (2012).
Levinson assesses the network architecture of high-speed rail as a hub and spoke pattern connecting a hub city such as Tokyo to secondary cities using a tree-like structure. These networks have crossing links at a lower speed, cost of construction, and lower frequency. The article describes that these systems are designed nationally hence putting the largest city as the central location of the lines. The hub and spoke architecture determines the network effects at hub cities and tracks usage, which facilitates frequency of services to multiple destinations. This architecture has spatial impacts of complexity in the formation of the lines, thus, large cities acting as hubs are favored, thus, threatening the position of marginal cities. External factors influence the economic benefits of the high-speed rail either positively or negatively. High investment in the high-speed rail infrastructure cannot be justified as economic benefits are uncertain. A study carried out by Levinson on the cost of HSR in California showed that vibration costs and the noise along the rail line are significant despite the advanced noise moderating technologies. In the U.S., high-speed rail is termed as a long-term organization that is compared with cars and air transportation at a period of 10-30 years.
Fogel, Robert William. Railroads and American economic growth: essays in econometric history. Vol. 296. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1964.
In the publication of Railroads and American economic growth, Robert Fogel proofs the rot in the railway roads and, thus, has optimism that the future could be a straight and well-paved highway. The Keynesian fiscal policy implemented by President Roosevelt demonstrated that despite historical slavery, it was profitable by implication. Elimination of slavery was, therefore, not costly or unnecessary enterprise. With the publication on railroads, application of econometrics and economic theory determines the overall economic history of America. Fogel’s work showed that the railroad industry was the most important than any other industry. In the process of operationalizing his argument, he uses the criterion of “leading industry”, which is the first criteria of W.W. Rostow. Using this criterion, the impact of railroads is analyzed based on “the percentage distribution change in output among various industries.” Then, using the best available data a study is done on the commodity output. The findings were that the percentage distribution was minimal as rails used iron, which accounted for 17%, coal less than 5%, and for lumber 5%. In manufacturing, railroads accounted for less than 3% of change discrediting its leading nature. The articles define inter-regional distribution where shipping of commodities from primary markets in West America to secondary markets of South America. These shipments were facilitated by the presence of railroads. Fogel describes this as a significant innovation in the agricultural sector and production.
Dingler, Mark, Yung-Cheng Lai, and Christopher Barkan. “Impact of train type heterogeneity on single-track railway capacity.” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2117 (2009): 41-49.
The authors review the rapid growth in traffic demand of the North American railroads and define the need to expand capacity. The understanding of how traffic interacts with the affected capacity is essential for efficient planning. This demand in the North American freight roads has led to capacity constraints, thus, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has to put measures on either adding the number of trains or the capacity of the existing. According to the review, since deregulation in 1980, increased profitability has led to extensive investments in the expansion of railroad infrastructure. The interaction of different train types acts as a key factor directly affecting the rail capacity. Great delays are caused by the heterogeneity of train types. An investigated study by the authors indicates factors and effects of this traffic type in North America and European networks. To control the rail traffic, a Rail Traffic Controller (RTC) is designed to accurately simulate both passenger operations and freight over a railroad network. Traffic inputs and infrastructure available are used to resolve train conflicts. RTC is widely used and acceptable in the North American railroad industry. Certain attributes are used to idealize different scenarios of interest in the North American railroad. According to the authors, these include signal spacing, aspect signaling. Distance between control points and signaled sidings.
Usselman, Steven W. Regulating Railroad Innovation: Business, Technology, and Politics in America, 1840-1920. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Usselman starts by evaluating the attempt of Americans on seizing control of the technological innovation of the railroad. The use of iron rail and steam power, used in Europe in the 1900s, presented opportunities and challenges to the Americans as it posed a new technology in their history. The railroad presented potential economic and social affair restructuring. With an abundance of land in the United States, the establishment of travel and trade patterns in a large commerce orbit would mark an expanding nation. Components of the railroad such as rails, locomotives, and physical infrastructures such as train stations and bridges are indicated to have been perpetually refined. These innovative efforts tended to bulk up the railroad system as locomotives and rails increased rapidly. In the process to decongest the system, increasing the size of locomotives elevated multiple complex technical problems in matters including braking, suspension, and heat transfer. This led to mechanics redesigning parts and using new materials such as alloy, steel, and chemical lubricants. Innovation designs of the wheel design and track maintenance procedures emerged in railroads. Railroad services diversified as there was a series of various railroad technologies. Later on, the American railroads adopted novel technologies such as electric traction and electric signals. Labor market evolved as a result of railroads, which was aided by effective political movements, mobilized strikes, and labor unions. According to the review, the innovation of railroads in America was continuous and was marked by rapid changes.
Gallamore, Robert E. “Regulation and Innovation: Lessons from the American Railroad Industry.” Essays in transportation economics and policy: A handbook in honor of John R. Meyer(2011): 493.
Gallamore reviews the railroad system in an expanding country (America) with improved transportation of passengers and cargo, but by 1976, the powerful railroad industry had joined other manufacturing industries to the decline of “smokestack America” marking economic distress across the northeastern region of the country. In 1916, peak mileage of railroad was 254,000 and declined to 199,000 route miles in 1975. As a result of World War II, the railroad shares of the American intercity surface freight market dropped from 65% to 35%. Railroad companies suffered losses of hundreds of million dollars as passenger trains that supported intercity travel and profits were no more. Penn Central, the nation’s largest railroad, was declared bankrupt in 1970. This was accompanied by other railroads in Northern America following the same route of bankruptcy. The fall of Penn Central led to the establishment of a successor Consolidated Rail Corp that cost taxpayers some $8 billion over a decade. According to the review, the successor took over the northeastern properties and federal planning. A campaign was conducted by the Department of Transportation to loosen regulations on railroads set by states. The review indicates Staggers Rail Act of 1980 as a success gained by the campaigns. After the deregulation, the railway industry renaissance was achieved and marked a guide in the nation’s economic history. Thoughts on creating better physical plants and workforces escalated in this industry. Doing so, the article indicates that new ways of stimulating employee’s output per hour and cutting operation costs were found.

Bibliography
Binder, John J. “The Sherman Antitrust Act and the railroad cartels.” The Journal of Law and Economics 31, no. 2 (1988): 443-468.
Bordewich, Fergus M. Bound for Canaan: The underground railroad and the war for the soul of America. New York: Amistad, 2005.
Bryant Jr, Keith L. “The North American Railroad: Its Origin, Evolution, and Geography.” A Review. (1996): 843-845.
Dingler, Mark, Yung-Cheng Lai, and Christopher Barkan. “Impact of train type heterogeneity on single-track railway capacity.” Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2117 (2009): 41-49.
Fogel, Robert William. Railroads and American economic growth: essays in econometric history. Vol. 296. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1964.
Ganoe, John Tilson. “The history of the Oregon and California Railroad.” The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society 25, no. 3 (1924): 236-283.
Gallamore, Robert E. “Regulation and Innovation: Lessons from the American Railroad Industry.” Essays in transportation economics and policy: A handbook in honor of John R. Meyer(2011): 493.
Henry, Robert S. “The railroad land grant legend in American history texts.” The Mississippi Valley Historical Review 32, no. 2 (1945): 171-194.
Hadley, Arthur Twining. Railroad transportation: Its history and its laws. GT Putnam’s Sons, 1892.
Launius, Roger D. “The railroads and the space program revisited: Historical analogues and the stimulation of commercial space operations.” Astropolitics 12, no. 2-3 (2014): 167-179.
Levinson, David M. “Accessibility impacts of high speed rail.” (2012).
Mills, Randall V. “A History of Transportation in the Pacific Northwest.” Oregon Historical Quarterly 47, no. 3 (1946): 281-312.
Olson, Sherry H., and Sherry H. Olson. The depletion myth: a history of railroad use of timber. Harvard University Press, 1971.
Usselman, Steven W. Regulating Railroad Innovation: Business, Technology, and Politics in America, 1840-1920. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Vickerman, Roger. “High-speed rail in Europe: experience and issues for future development.” The annals of regional science31, no. 1 (1997): 21-38.