North American Railroad Family Trees: An Infographic History of the Industry's Mergers and Evolution

by Brian Solomon

Overview

The history of railroading in North America is as much a story of boardroom intrigue as it is a story of the brute force that stamped thousands of miles of train track across a rugged continent. Today’s nine U.S. and Canadian Class I railroads are the result of well over a century of convoluted bankruptcies, mergers, acquisitions, and expansions. North American Railroad Family Trees marks the first time in book form that this major aspect of railroad history has been presented in a clear, graphic format, helping the railfan make sense of the many smaller train lines that shaped North American rail as it is today. In these pages, renowned rail author Brian Solomon takes a visual and chronological approach, presenting 50 “family trees” in the style of human lineages. The story begins with the railroads of the “Golden Age” (1890–1930), continuing through the second wave of consolidations between the World Wars, the merger mania of the 1950s through the 1970s, the creation of major passenger networks, and the megamergers of the last three decades that have left railroading close to its current incarnation. Solomon even offers a selection of maps tracing the evolution of the North American rail system and diagrams proposing what-if scenarios for the industry’s future. Including chapter-by-chapter narrative overviews of key eras, along with a selection of rare photography and period advertising to lend historical context, North American Railroad Family Trees provides an unprecedented retrospective of the continent’s iconic rail network.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610589109
Publisher:	Voyageur Press
Publication date:	10/20/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	221 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Brian Solomon is one of today's most accomplished railway historians. He has authored more than thirty books about railroads and locomotive power, and his writing and photography have been featured in the world's top rail publications, including Trains, Railway Age, Passenger Train Journal, and RailNews. He divides his time between Massachusetts and Ireland.

Brian Solomon is one of today's most accomplished railway historians. He has authored more than thirty books about railroads and locomotive power, and his writing and photography have been featured in the world's top rail publications, including Trains, Railway Age, Passenger Train Journal, and RailNews. He divides his time between Massachusetts and Ireland.

Editorial Reviews

"Railroad names such as Nickel Plate, New York Central, and Sante Fe live on in railroading lore long after the demise of their namesake companies. Prolific railroad historian Solomon (Classic Locomotives: Steam and Diesel Power in 700 Photographs) tasks himself with bringing clarity to the bankruptcies, mergers, and acquisitions that over the last 150 years consolidated hundreds of American railroads into the handful of megasystems surviving today. His primary tool is a set of charts consisting of parallel, converging, and sometimes diverging color-coded lines showing the changing relationships among sets of railroads over time. Solomon concedes that the charts, which he supplements with time lines and route maps, are simplifications of events. His text is necessarily quite concise and serves mainly to place the charts in historical context. A sprinkling of colorful period maps and other illustrations with detailed captions provide additional interest. He concludes with a speculative chapter on possible future mergers or breakups.Verdict Lay readers will enjoy thumbing through the illustrations and should find the overall work an adequate introduction. Savvy railroad enthusiasts would probably only use it as a quick reference." — Library Journal

From the Publisher