THE MEN WHO LOVED TRAINS -- Who loved the book?

[al-in-chgo]

  In reading thru some of the more elaborate threads on this site, it seems we have more than a couple of self-proclaimed literati.  And also, I'm sure, lots of people like me who just like to read. 

Have you read Rush Loving's recently released book, THE MEN WHO LOVED TRAINS? And what was your opinion of it? 

Hopefully this thread will be of help to many of us. 

Best,

al-in-chgo

 

[jp2153]

I saw Mr Loving's interview o CSPAN about a week ago. I thought the interview and the walk thru of the B&O Museum was very informative. Looking for the book online at the Museum bookstore was fruitless.

I'll be going to Borders Bookstore this weekend and will send you an updated post.

[jeaton]

Great book.  It is available on line from Indiana University Press.

http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/catalog/index.php?cPath=1037_1272_1787&page=2

[MP173]

It is an extremely well written book telling the story of Eastern US railroading from about 1960 to present, basically thru the eyes of one gentlemen Jim McClellan, who was the "Forest Gump" of railroading from 1960 -2000.  He simply was at every big event that happened east of the Mississippi.

Best book on railroading I have ever read.

ed

[Murphy Siding]

     I'll agree with Ed about the book.  I'd also offer that you should become good friends with the librarian at the reference desk in your local library.  I got my copy on an inter-library loan in about a week.

[Datafever]

For those who really wish to buy the book (and perhaps give to someone as a gift), abebooks.com has very good prices.

[PBenham]

 I was transfixed by it. All of the problems Amtrak has experienced were avoidable if the Nixon and Ford administrations had listened to the likes of the men Mr. Loving interviewed. Now, Amtrak is still begging for funds on hands and knees! This is a disgrace, now would you let it die or properly fund it (at enormous cost to you and your fellow taxpayers)?

The Penn Central fiasco was also quite interesting, we seem to learn lessons and then a generation later we forget them! Had some one recalled Bevan's with PCs books, Adelphia, Enron and WorldCom would have been caught earlier! But, we do not remember what we need to remember.

[jeaton]

It is an extremely well written book telling the story of Eastern US railroading from about 1960 to present, basically thru the eyes of one gentlemen Jim McClellan, who was the "Forest Gump" of railroading from 1960 -2000.  He simply was at every big event that happened east of the Mississippi.

Best book on railroading I have ever read.

ed

However, just to make sure it's clear, Jim McClellan wasn't just there like Forrest, but actually made some very substantial contributions to the event covered by the book. 

[MOJAX]

I read all 345 pages in 2 days. In my opinion the author Rush Loving, Jr. did great job writing about the events leading up to Conrail, its demise, and the aftermath.

Great book and a great read!

[MP173]

Jay, I was in NO WAY comparing Mr. McClellan's intellect to Forest Gump.  Nor am I taking credit for the comparison, as I read it somewhere.

 BTW, when one looks at Forest Gump, he did make sizeable contributions along his interesting life.  Football star, war hero, ping pong trip to China, Watergate whistle blower, successful businessman, runner, etc.  even the smilely face (have a good day).

Seriously, the movie is one of my favorites and it is an excellent history lesson in post WW2 US affairs.

ed

[jeaton]

Jay, I was in NO WAY comparing Mr. McClellan's intellect to Forest Gump.  Nor am I taking credit for the comparison, as I read it somewhere.

 BTW, when one looks at Forest Gump, he did make sizeable contributions along his interesting life.  Football star, war hero, ping pong trip to China, Watergate whistle blower, successful businessman, runner, etc.  even the smilely face (have a good day).

Seriously, the movie is one of my favorites and it is an excellent history lesson in post WW2 US affairs.

ed

I understand what you say.  Actually it was McClellan who identified himself with Forrest Gump and he is quoted as saying so on Page 3 of the book.  I had an oppurtunity meet and join some interesting and very cordial conversations with Jim and others a couple of times last fall. I think his self comparison to Forrest Gump reflects the fact that even with his career accomplishments he doesn't take himself too seriously.

Just off the top I'd say questions of "accident" or as the movie suggests, devine guidance, would be a matter of degrees.  McClellan didn't have the specific goal of putting himself in the middle of one of the big stories in railroad history, but his career moves certainly had purpose.  On the other hand, Forrest got to places mostly by accident.  The story has him doing a very good job when he got there and it certainly is a story of great moral character. 

With the possible exception of "That Thing You Do" I have put Hank's movies at the top of my all time list.  In fact I again watched most of "Forrest Gump" on a late night Cable showing last week.  Worth watching from time to time.

[MP173]

Jay, I would have loved to have met Mr. McClelland last fall in Milwaukee.  Unfortunately, the family obligations were such that I couldnt go. 

Now there is a book I would read, if he were to write one.  I am sure there are plenty of stories and inside tales that were not covered.

ed

[oltmannd]

I really enjoyed the book.  Lots of interesting insight on what went on behind the scenes of the Conrail "merger".  Facts matched up very well with what I remember having gone through it plus having heard David Goode tell his version of it.

[Anonymous]

I had read "The wreck of the penn central" last year it was a somewhat dull read,lots of detail.Then I read "the men who loved trains" it helped make more sense of "the wreck" and helped me understand the the things that were happening at the time.I recommend it!

[backaboose]

I read "The Men Who Loved Trains" last year and found it an extremely well written and interesting book.  I would recommend it to any railfan or anyone else who is intrigued by what goes on behind corporate boardroom doors.

  

[Army_Sailor]

I lived through that nightmare, dad drove for the old Central on the Barnegat Clocker, then on freight for CONRAIL after a layoff, Loving tells it like it was, Stanley Crane pulled so many peoples rocks out of the fire that knowing people lost count. In so far as John Snow, the book confirmed exactly what dad had said, he was in charge, but didn't have the slightest idea of what he was in charge of. As a politician he was perfect for the job, their all jacks of all trades and masters of none.

[nbrodar]

The book is spot on.   Like several others here, both my father and I lived through it.  Loving tells it like it was.

I highly recommend it.  Even for non-railfans, that what a behind closed doors look at big business dealings.

Nick

[kaprod]

I found out about the book and my wife bought it for me for Christmas.  I read the 350 pages in a about a week and it was very enjoyable.

I'm glad to add it to my collection.  If I could rate it, I'd give it a 5 out of 5.

 

Alan Anderson 

 

 

[SFbrkmn]

Thus far I have to say this is an excellent piece of work. I am now on chapter 12. Needless to say I'm not a fan of Stuart Saunders. I was 7 yrs old in 1970 when PC filed. I can recall hearing about it on the news, but at that young age I didn't understand how serious the problem was,  Just remember seeing that ugly PC logo behind the news reporter. One of our former members in our local NRHS chapter was a former PRR man at the time of the merger. He stated that back in time, workers from the two carriers would get into fistfights on who was the better rr. Now that is  what you call employee loyalty.

[METRO]

One of the things I loved about the book was that it didn't hold back on the real villians, or fail to pat the visionaries on the back.  In my grandfather's home Al Pearlman was spoken of with the same respect that WWII generals got.

It's also great to see the first real draft of business history look on Conrail so favorably. Despite all the bad press in the 70s and 80s that Big Blue got, I think that historians will continue to see Conrail as both a great railroading sucess and as a great model of government working with business for the benefit of all. 

Cheers!

~METRO 

[poppyl]

I agree with Metro that the book did a lot to dispel the negative publicity/myths tht surrounded the Conrail operation.

I also found the discussion of the carve up of Conrail route structure by CSX and NS quite relevant to today's eastern railroading situation, including the recent proposals for high speed intermodel corridors.

Poppyl

[joemcspadden]

I agree with everyone else here in having found this book to be absolutely fascinating. In my opinion,
it's one of the best railroad books and one of the better business books ever written.

I didn't find the book, however, to really be about heroes and villains--at least in terms of a central
theme. Rather, I thought the book painted an entrancing story of how intelligent men of good will
can still allow things to go astray because of miscalculations or mistakes in judgement.

To me the most intriguing part of the story revolved around CSX's and Conrail's critical mistake in
thinking they could effect a merger which would leave Norfolk Southern out in the cold. The leaders
of these two railroads also underestimated the depth of Norfolk Southern's resolve and willingness to
"bet the company" in this matter.

This misjudgement caused CSX to summarily dismiss Norfok Southern's proposal for a "divvying up"
of Conrail, a proposal which actually ended up being very close to the way Conraill was ultimately
divided. When all was said and done, this error caused the stockholders of both CSX and NS to have
to fork over billions more for Conrail than they might have had to.

The final effect may have been good, however. The stockholders of Conrail ended up with a fair-to-
slightly premium price for their railroad, rather than a bargain discount price.

The other thing that really stands out about this book is the picture it paints of how unbelievably
dedicated the leaders of all three of these railroads were in the last third of the 20th century.

Regards, Joe McSpadden, Wabash, Indiana

[METRO]

I'll redily agree that Conrail probably would have gone for a steal had the bidding war not ensued.  David LeVan is going to be remembered as hero to Conrail's shareholders, including the large number of Conrail employees that owned company stock.  However is effort to save the X, while noble, was probably doomed from the outset by the realities of what it would take to make a compedititve system east of Chicago. 

Still the most interesting aspect of the book entriely to me is how Al Pearlman foresaw the current shape of eastern railroading a full half-century before it happened. That's both a lot of luck and a lot of vision.

Cheers!

~METRO