The Great Road: The Building of the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nation's First Railroad, 1828-1853 [Hardcover]

James Dilts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1993

This masterful, richly illustrated account of the planning and building of the most important and influential early American railroad contributes not only to the railway history but to the history of the development of the United States in the 19th century. 80 illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

After independence, the Appalachian Mountains just as imposingly barred the way of infant capitalism as they had, in the colonial era, formed political limits. And the impediment called forth construction schemes--of turnpikes, canals, then railroads--each favored in turn by the competing cities of Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore. The latter city's financiers of the 1820s settled on the newfangled iron horse to connect their entrep{"}ot with the Ohio River valley, and here is a comprehensive account of the legendary B & O, which took 25 years to build across Maryland's rugged topography. Dilts recounts all aspects of surveying, civil engineering, steam locomotion, and labor. A major social undertaking, celebrated by civic pomp as various sections opened, the B & O was a reified metaphor for the age's idea of Progress. Anchored in sober fact, adorned by 80 photos of people, bridges, and tunnels, this is a railroad history that can't be bested in its special arena. Gilbert Taylor

Review

“A comprehensive account of the legendary B&O. . . . Dilts recounts all aspects of surveying, civil engineering, steam locomotion, and labor. . . . Anchored in sober fact, adorned by 80 photos of people, bridges, and tunnels, this is a railroad history that can’t be bested in its special arena. —Booklist

“Dilts has immortalized himself by writing the definitive history of the construction of the B&O. . . . The Great Road is a masterful scholarly work and a delight to read. It has something for everyone, from high finance and dirty politics to thrilling accounts of labor riots and wrecks.”—Railroad History

“One of the most important studies ever on an individual American railroad. . . . The book is beautifully designed and edited, with a large number of attractive illustrations, including historic maps.”—Choice

“The Great Road is clearly the definitive history of the building of the first regional railroad in America. It should be welcomed by all those interested in the development of internal improvements in the first half of the nineteenth century.”—Business History Review

“The Great Road—the most clearly detailed account of a national enterprise I have ever read—will surely awaken a profound sense of recognition and nostalgia.”—Yale Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 472 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press; 1 edition (October 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804722358
• ISBN-13: 978-0804722353
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,483,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Detailed., December 20, 2007

By 

Michael E. Fitzgerald (Kingwood, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Great Road: The Building of the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nation's First Railroad, 1828-1853 (Paperback)

The Baltimore and Ohio was the Nation's first serious extended railroad investment. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal which served New York City and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which would have connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Begun in 1828 and finished in 1853, it took 25 years to complete. Built at a time when national works, i.e., roads, canals and railroads, were the subject of much acrimonious debate within political circles as to which transportation form was best, it is a wonder it was ever completed.

The B & O is likely the most significant public / private enterprise in the history of North American transportation. It wasn't until late in the road's construction that steam locomotives were powerful enough to haul entire trains over the mountains. With this accomplishment the investing public and Congress began to understand that railroading's primary competition, canals, had been completely eclipsed as the low cost provider of mass transportation. Tied as canals were to water resources, railroads were not only cheaper but could run in any direction, shortening the distances required between points of origin and destination.

This is quite an interesting book. My only negative is that a disproportionate amount of time is spent on Boardroom brawls. While finance, control and management are always the primary concerns for any business, if you skim these extended discussions you have a great book. James Dilts' work is instructive about the politics of the time, the physical obstacles that had to be overcome, the technological evolution that made this engineering feat possible and the competition from alternative forms of transportation, all of which opened the country, connected the States and assured the free flow of our commerce.

5.0 out of 5 stars BAltimore and Ohio Railroad, October 13, 2009

By 

Kyle F. Mcgrogan "Historian" (Paris, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Great Road: The Building of the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nation's First Railroad, 1828-1853 (Paperback)

Mr. Dilts has created a seminal, readable history on the construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Baltimore to the Ohio River at Wheeling, (W)Va 1828-1852, the Nineteenth Century's version of the race to the moon. Some of the contractors and politicians are ones you'll meet with today in the news, just under different names, but the character stays the same.