The Men Who Loved Trains: The Story of Men Who Battled Greed to Save an Ailing Industry (Railroads Past and Present) [Hardcover]

Rush Loving (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Railroads Past and Present | Publication Date: April 30, 2006

"This absorbing book takes you on an entertaining ride through the train wars of the last 30 years. It is filled with intrigue and backbiting in the executive suites and with stories of how the railroaders got away with unbelievable waste -- until it all caught up with them." -- William Neikirk, Chicago Tribune

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Men Who Loved Trains is a riveting morality story of intrigues, boardroom battles, corporate takeovers, and secret cabals aiming for control of a large part of America's transport system. A rare behind-the-scenes story of an epic battle over power and personal gain." -- Marshall Loeb, columnist for Dow Jones's MoneyWatch and former editor of Fortune and Money magazines

"The men who loved trains deserve a writer who loves them as well. This excellent book is a perfect match of subject and author." -- Carol Loomis, Fortune

Rush Loving Jr. has written for Fortune magazine, served as assistant director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Jimmy Carter, and worked as a consultant specializing in transportation economics, issues before Congress, and corporate communication problems. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

From the Publisher

A behind-the-scenes look at the boardroom battles to save American railroads

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press; 5th Print edition (April 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253347572
• ISBN-13: 978-0253347572
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #683,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent railroading book..., January 4, 2007

By 

Nicholas Fry (Monrovia, MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Men Who Loved Trains: The Story of Men Who Battled Greed to Save an Ailing Industry (Railroads Past and Present) (Hardcover)

This is a rather fast-paced book for a volume that covers 40 years and two of the most significant railroad events in the history of East Cost railroading. Despite the speed, Loving does an excellent job of putting the reader through the creation and death of Penn Central, the birth of Conrail and the bitter split of that railroad between CSX and Norfolk Southern. The PRR executives get blamed for most of the disasters that take place, and perhaps rightfully so. Still, there wasn't much said that redeemed many of the execs from the Pensy. It can lead the reader to assume he has a bias in favor of the NS and NYC.
Despite this, it's an excellent book and well worth buying for anyone who loves trains.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 10 Stars for Impact - Inspired Me to Work in the Rail Industry, November 23, 2006

By 

A. J Smith (Pittsburgh Area) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Men Who Loved Trains: The Story of Men Who Battled Greed to Save an Ailing Industry (Railroads Past and Present) (Hardcover)

While reading this book in the Fall of 2006, I realized I needed to pursue my life-long dream of working in the railroad industry. I know it's in my blood. This book helped me realize that and inspired me to make it happen. So, despite my comments below, this book certainly had a profound impact on me personally.

Overall, I found this book to be a very fascinating, well-researched, and enjoyable read. I'll defer to the insiders who, in other reviews here, have commented on the accuracy of the history (kudos to anyone who tries to capture 50 years of eastern rail history in under 500 pages). So, read it with a grain of salt, and in light of other pieces on the same subject (not many to be found). There were a few places in the book, when discussing mergers and major shifts, where Loving rushed past without much detail (i.e., these two railroads were talking, yada, yada, yada, they were merged). Again, the trade-off would have been a hundred more pages to cover all the details. While it should come as no surprise, loving railroads is not the only requirement to make it to the top floor of the ivory tower. Most if not all of the rail chieftains depicted in this book were Ivy League MBAs, lawyers or bean counters. Nonetheless, leaders who actually love and understand their industry are likely more effective. In the end, if you have an interest in the business aspect of running a railroad, you should definitely read this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Business Review of Northeastern Railroads, July 13, 2006

By 

T. Tonge (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Men Who Loved Trains: The Story of Men Who Battled Greed to Save an Ailing Industry (Railroads Past and Present) (Hardcover)

This book provided a fascinating behind the scenes look at the business and financial side of Northeastern railroads, particularly the PC and then Conrail, and the process by which Conrail, and 3 decades later, its breakup, occured. Have the job I desired when I first worked for the rails (yet never did get) the author seemed to be a the right place at the right time throughout his career, to be instrumental in the changes that occured in the Northeast, and in reality, throughout the rail industry in the 80s setting the stage for the rails revival. The author truely helped shape todays railroads. Dont let the business side of this book scare you away, this is a must read for railfans, historians, government administrators, business students, and those who are just fascinated by trains.