Thomas Curtis Clarke (1827–1901)

The American Railway, first published in 1889 and subsequently reprinted by various publishing houses (this edition is a 1988 edition published by Castle, a division of Book Sales), is a summation of the state of the railroad business in 1889. By 1889 U.S. railroads had a combined mileage of over 150,000 miles which was more than all of Europe combined. Railroads were the high tech of the day and the size and scope of the industry impacted (for good and ill) all aspects of American life and interest in all things railroad was high, not only in the U.S. but also overseas. This interest resulted in the publication of numerous books (of varying quality and depth of understanding). The fact that this particular book has been reprinted several times could be viewed as a testament to the quality of its content.

This summary is divided into 13 chapters; The building of a railway, Feats of railway engineering, American locomotives and cars, Railway management, Safety in railroad travel, Railway passenger travel, The freight -car service, How to feed a railway, The railway mail service, The railway in its business relations, The prevention of railway strikes, The every-day life of railroad men, and Statistical railway studies. Each chapter is authored by a then recognized expert in the field of the chapter title. Each chapter has a byline for the author followed by an outline of chapter contents and each chapter contains illustrations and tables.

While this book is an overview of a technical enterprise it is not a dry read. The attention to detail and the description of events and practices long since vanished from the American scene hold the readers interest. If you know anything of present day railroading just reading the chapter outlines provides an appreciation of how much things have changed. I would recommend this book to anyone desiring a better understanding of the state of 19th Century railroad technology and practice.… (mais)