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

by Stephen B. Goddard

"A readable and concise overview of how U.S. transportation came to its present pass. . . . Goddard is at his best when recounting the complex and interesting history of what has come to be called 'the highway lobby.'. . . An excellent book for the general reader with an interest in getting around."—Larry Fish, Philadelphia Inquirer

"This is a riveting of mighty railroads hamstrung almost overnight by government bureaucrats; of road interests led by General Motors Corp. conspiring in city after city to destroy efficient trolley systems . . . and of freeways that are far from free."—Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press

"The combination of forces and fates that turned America into a giant parking lot from sea to shining sea is the subject of Stephen B. Goddard's lively pop history. . . . As Mr. Goddard ably points out, road-building and the creation of car-dependent suburbs have become ends in themselves."—James Howard Kunstler, Wall Street Journal

"The strength of Goddard's book is that he understands the complexities of manipulating public opinion to influence legislatures."—David Young, Chicago Tribune

"[Goddard's] book is a deft and easily read history of how transportation has shaped the nation and its economy, and ultimately, how a federation of truck and car interests drastically tilted national policies. . . . For many reasons this is an exceptionally important work."—Jim Dwyer, New York Newsday

Genres: History, Trains, Transport, Urban Planning, Business, Urbanism, Politics

366 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1994

Reviews

[ambyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

A high-level overview of more than a hundred years of transportation policy, written in clear if not particularly enthralling prose. This isn't the place to go for in-depth examination of any particular developments or individuals--given the scope, it couldn't be--but it's solid background reading that I think will help put future books into context for me.

I do wish Goddard had spent slightly more time looking at how racial inequalities and transportation policy intersect; while he does address them in the Eisenhower era, from reading this you'd assume American racial tensions sprang fully grown from the head of Zeus circa 1960, with no prior history of acrimony. (Well, there's one brief mention of poll taxes.) I guess I'll be searching for a book that focuses on that for the future.

[Charles Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is enjoyable and informative. Anyone who views the nation’s highways as some capitalist free market creation that pays for itself and signifies the American ideal of freedom might be convinced otherwise by Goddard and his immense knowledge of transportation history.

[Mrsculpepper · Rating 3 out of 5]

really interesting parallel history of trains and cars

[Maddy Barnard · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book felt more like an encyclopedia then a cohesive book.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

egardless of the status of George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, and William Pitt, each man of power traveled at the same speed as the people they governed: no faster than a running horse. But in the early-mid 19th century, the industrial revolution began producing modes of transportation that would shrink continents, reducing journeys of months into a solitary week. Trains first shriveled the distance and their spans allowed for unprecedented economic growth. That growth produced rail's first rival, the automobiles -- and the highways they drove on. Their competition produced a clear winner in the American 20th century: while the rail lines withered in neglect and passenger service vanished almost entirely, highways covered the landscape. But their struggle was not a fair fight between equals, as both looked for government support and the highwaymen's superior politicking created a fixed game. Getting There is a history of how the rail barons squandered public trust, failed to unite in the face of potent opposition, and continued to flounder as they were supplanted in the lobbying court by a coalition of highwaymen and automobile manufacturers. The status of the great highways as money pits, however, and the fracturing of that opposing coalition present an opportunity for rail to rally, in Goddard's view.

Goddard begins with a brief history of rail transportation's origins before the struggle between the two ensued, a history pitched toward demonstrating how the rail companies' early success led to abuses of the public, and thus to opposition -- -- both by popular movements, like the Grange movement of farmers protesting high rail prices in the midwest, then by the Interstate Commerce Commission, the first government institution designed to oversee any part of the economy. The ICC proved first tepid, then tyrannical, and for most of the book plays the part of a 'bad ref' or crooked umpire, working the game against trains and for the highwaymen. While regulations forced rail companies to quote the same price for hauling freight regardless of circumstances, unregulated truck drivers could change their rates at their own discretion: rail companies were forced to write to Washington for permission, and by the time said clearance arrived, the opportunity for hauling would have already vanished. Ironically, the rail companies were partially complicit in their troubles: they promoted the first 'good roads' measures so that trucks would take unprofitable short runs off of their balance streets -- and so that automobiles would relieve the burden of passengers. Those measures would prove to be another unearned advantage for the automobile industry and highways: while rail companies created and maintained their own lines and stock, car companies, and later car drivers, were given such infrastructure, the funds coming from American taxpayers.

Although the history of American rail is checkered with self-serving episodes, the automobile industry fares no better, as their deliberate campaign to destroy trolley lines in the city and replace them with buses demonstrates. Forcing the rails' decline and letting the infrastructure fall into scrap would be egregiously unwise, in Goddard's view. He outlines the problems of our highway-and-auto dominated system: destruction of cities, the financial albatross of maintenance, and pollution among them. While he doesn't launch into an extensive plea for a rail renaissance, he sees one as inevitable -- if government will get out of the way and stop propping up the trains' competitors. Getting There proves an expansive history -- brimming with detail, but never plodding, and covering social life as well as business and politics.

Related:
Waiting on a Train: A Year Spent Riding Across America, James McCommons
Straphanger: Saving Our Cities from the Automobile, Taras Grescoe
The Great Railroad Revolution: A History of Trains in America, Christian Wolmar
Asphalt Nation, Jane Holtz Keay

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good history of American public policy decisions to build public roads to fight the railroad monopoly, which has wound up making a whole other basket of public policy pickles as the system matured, congested, aged and developed its own special interest groups. The author's "what could happen next" are very interesting to read as the book was written in 1994.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating historical perspective of early commercial speculators influencing the growth of Railroads and the economy in America. Many parallels to today's recent greed fest on wall street.

[Lucinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never got there.

[mcburton · Rating 4 out of 5]

really awesome history of the transportation industrial complex in the US. Why do americans love cars? Why do the railroads suck in the US? find the answers in this book.

[Joe Plummer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goddard gives a detailed yet readable history of transport in the US. I give it only three stars as the last few chapters seemed to drag on a bit.