Rock Island Requiem: The Collapse of a Mighty Fine Line
"This is one of the greatest contributions to railroad history that has been presented over the past several years, and one cannot completely understand the history of US railroads in the final half of the 20th century without reading this book."—Railroad History"This impressive volume chronicles the long, sad decline of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, and illustrates how federal regulation dating back to the early 20th century had become counterproductive by the 1960s."—Trains"In Schneider's tightly-organized, clear, and illuminating history, the Rock Island becomes a key ingredient in the reshaping of the economic partnership between government, industry, and finance at a crucial period in American history."--Edward Brunner, author ofSplendid Failureand former employee of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway"Schneider's careful research shows that misguided regulation forced a troubled railroad out of business and made bankruptcy lawyers rich.Rock Island Requiemreminds us how the all-powerful Interstate Commerce Commission turned the railroad industry into a basket case, much to the nation's loss."--Marc Levinson, author ofThe Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger"An exciting story that is well researched and pleasingly written and that makes a major contribution to recent railroad history."--H. Roger Grant, author ofThe Railroads: The Life Story of a Technology