Customer Reviews

Getting There: The Epic Struggle Between Road and Rail in the American Century

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Of all of the books that I have read pertaining to railroad history, "Getting There" is head and shoulders above all the rest. The author provides a well written and generally balanced account of the competition between rail and highway transportation in the United States from about the 1920's forward.

By 1920, the powerful presence of the robber barons of the late 19th century had disappeared, and the railroads were in a state of disarray and disintegration as a result of the heavy demands being placed upon the system, and the benign dictatorship of the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) who took over and ran the railroads during WWI.

In addition, the railroads were required to operate under onerous and restrictive rules and regulations imposed by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) as a result of the excesses of the 19th century. And the railroads had little support from the public because of these past sins.

Into this scenario arose highway competition, by and large developed with public funds. And without controls such as imposed on the railroads. In contrast trucks and busses were allowed to operate unfettered. So a trucking company could operate freely between two given points and change rates and service at will. While a railroad operating between those same two points would have to go through the cumbersome ICC process.

Author Goddard provides a concise and well documented picture of this competition between rail and highway, a competition which continues to this day.

I highly recommed this book to anyone who is interested in a serious look at our overall transportation system. But a word of advice: Check the condition of your pacemaker first. This book is not recommended for someone with high blood pressure. I guarantee that you will come away absolutely furious at the foibles of our national transportation policy.

A well-written readable, and mostly objective picture of how highways, through massive government investment through the construction of the interstate highway system, steadily became the dominant mode of transportation in the US. The author concludes that, with deregulation and improvements to Amtrak, railroads do have a promising future despite the historic imbalance.

The author knows a lot about railroads- about their history, their operation, and their economics. And it is this knowledge which makes this book a good (and informative) read.

But, it is not at all balanced- rather, it is all too obvious that the author really likes railroads and really doesn't much care for motor transport.

And, therefore, he seems to "cherry pick" his facts- not that any are false, just that they're incomplete. For example, he notes that Amtrack's subsidy is tiny compared with highway subsidies- which is true, but, he neglects to note that Amtrack's subsidy *per passenger-mile* is enormously greater. Nor is he about to point out that NYC's extensive subway system actually uses more energy (again, per passenger-mile) than a commuter's car.

Nor does he identify the real reason why, outside of a few very congested areas, the public consistently chooses to drive rather use public transportation- and, no, it's not the government subsidies. It's because transit (local or inter-city, present-day or "golden age") is almost always a 3-seat solution: there's a branch line to the mainline, the mainline, and then another branch line to your destination. And therefore it takes too long, and is too inconvenient, and (dare I say it?)becomes too costly and inefficient. Without the ability to offer a door-to-door ride, those who can will almost always choose to drive.

But, the author does know lots about trains- and that (if you can ignore the anti-highway bias) still makes this book a worthwile read.

I may be a little biased in my review of "Getting There", since my grand uncle Roy and my grandfather John Fitzgerald (pages 123-137)played such a significant role in the transformation from the trolley to the bus.

Interestingly, this expansive transportation network was created by American entrepreneurs with no public funds and ran at a profit that public transportation doesn't seem to be able to do today.

This was accomplished during the the Great Depression era and may be a more poignent lesson today during our current economic times.

I ordered this volume on Oct. 19 and haven't received it yet. It's intended as a gift, so it's time sensitive. Please explain why I haven't gotten it!

Steve