Go to Hachette Book Group home

Search

Site Preferences

Show prices in:

By clicking “Accept,” you agree to the use of cookies and similar technologies on your device as set forth in our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy. Please note that certain cookies are essential for this website to function properly and do not require user consent to be deployed.

The Great Railroad Revolution

The History of Trains in America

The Great Railroad Revolution Open the full-size image

Contributors

By Christian Wolmar

Formats and Prices

Price

$12.99

Price

$16.99 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. ebook $12.99 $16.99 CAD
  2. Trade Paperback $19.99 $24.99 CAD

Also available from:

America was made by the railroads. The opening of the Baltimore & Ohio line — the first American railroad — in the 1830s sparked a national revolution in the way that people lived thanks to the speed and convenience of train travel. Promoted by visionaries and built through heroic effort, the American railroad network was bigger in every sense than Europe’s, and facilitated everything from long-distance travel to commuting and transporting goods to waging war. It united far-flung parts of the country, boosted economic development, and was the catalyst for America’s rise to world-power status.

Every American town, great or small, aspired to be connected to a railroad and by the turn of the century, almost every American lived within easy access of a station. By the early 1900s, the United States was covered in a latticework of more than 200,000 miles of railroad track and a series of magisterial termini, all built and controlled by the biggest corporations in the land. The railroads dominated the American landscape for more than a hundred years but by the middle of the twentieth century, the automobile, the truck, and the airplane had eclipsed the railroads and the nation started to forget them.

In The Great Railroad Revolution, renowned railroad expert Christian Wolmar tells the extraordinary story of the rise and the fall of the greatest of all American endeavors, and argues that the time has come for America to reclaim and celebrate its often-overlooked rail heritage.

Genre:

On Sale
Sep 25, 2012
Page Count
448 pages
Publisher
PublicAffairs
ISBN-13
9781610391801

You May Also Like

To the Edge of the World
To the Edge of the World $21.99 $28.99 CAD
Grand Central
Grand Central $12.99 $16.99 CAD
Blood, Iron, and Gold
Blood, Iron, and Gold $24.99 $31.99 CAD
Mechanic Shop Femme’s Guide to Car Ownership
Mechanic Shop Femme’s Guide to Car Ownership $19.99 $25.99 CAD
Subway
Subway $30.00 $39.00 CAD

Christian Wolmar

About the Author

Christian Wolmar has written for major international newspapers and appears frequently on TV and radio as a commentator on transport issues. His previous books include the widely acclaimed The Subterranean Railway; Fire and Steam; Blood, Iron, and Gold; Engines of War; The Great Railway Revolution; To the Edge of the World; Railways and the Raj; Cathedrals of Steam; and British Rail. He lives in London, UK. 

Learn more about this author