Great Railway Revolution

Following his success with books on the London Underground, the railways of Britain and the world’s railways which focus on their social and economic impact, Christian Wolmar is now writing a history of the American railroads. The American railroads in effect created the United States. Until their arrival, the country was a collection of disparate states with impossibly difficult transport connections. The advent of railroads in the early 1830s was a pivotal moment in the history of the nation. Within a couple of decades, America had more miles of railway than the rest of the world put together and ideas of crossing the continent were being put forward.

The railroads played a crucial role in the American Civil War, helping the North to victory and being used to transport troops and supplies on an enormous scale. The second half of the century belonged to the railroads. They enjoyed a monopoly in vast swathes of the country and were the engine behind the economic growth and industrialisation of the nation. Huge railroad companies emerged, often hated by local people as they exploited their monopoly position and were frequently corrupt. By the end of the century, their heyday was already coming to an end, thanks to the growth of motor transport and the development of increasingly strict regulation by government.

This book will cover the rise and fall – and possible rejuvenation – of the American railroads, highlighting the role they played in the development of the world’s most powerful nation.

Book Author

Christian Wolmar is a writer and broadcaster specialising in transport. He has spent nearly all of his working life as a journalist, and lately was at The Independent where he worked from 1989 to 1997, as transport correspondent and UK Political Correspondent. After graduating from Warwick university in 1971, Christian started his career at Marketing magazine and then the Hampstead and Highgate Express where he was a sports reporter. He later moved to the New Statesman and the London Daily News. He is currently a freelance, working regularly for a variety of publications including the Even...
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