James McCommons

An interesting book about the history of passenger rail in the US and it's relationship to the freight railroads in 2008. The best parts of the book are the stories McCommons tells from his long haul trips on Amtrak. I soon got lost among the acronyms and names in the filler chapters between the long haul stories, but they do a great job illustrating the potentials and pitfalls; success and failures of passenger rail. The worst part of the book is the forward which is only barely related to the rest of the book. Since I just finished The Big Roads by Earl Swift, I could relate to much of the comparisons between road and rail. I'd be interested to see an update - maybe in a magazine or newspaper article - written by this same author 5 years from now.… (more)

This is a very enjoyable and eye-opening book. I enjoyed imagining the picture McCommons painted of fellow passengers, government and industry leaders, and landscapes in the land of the free and the home of the brave. His observations and descriptions are poetic and insightful. His interviews are skillful (no surprise with his journalism background) in gaining the information he seeks, yet also revealing of the personalities.

What I particularly found helpful is the intertwining of history, technology, and political reality. He delineates how we came to arrive at the semi-broken and variegated passenger train system we have today, what can be done to fix it, and what it will take to do so. The author is an enthusiastic realist, talking with other enthusiastic realists, but is no mere foamer. He explains, from a technical and industry standpoint, why American railroads (or Amtrak, either)cannot run bullet trains on existing freight tracks. Yet, he also points out what speed increases beyond 100 mph are possible, and how and where these increases might be accomplished, both from a technical, political, and financial standpoint. Regarding bullet trains, he reports where and how Americans might replicate the Japanese experience.

McCommons addresses varying train technology, footprints, politics, including the creation of Amtrak, and the customer experiences and improvements along the way. He clearly enjoys riding the rails, notes where problems and success exist, and hopes for a better tomorrow for American railroading.
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A really interesting look at the past, present and future of Amtrak through the lens of the long distance trains. McCommons is a university professor and some chapters come through as feeling like a published paper, but overall it was super readable. Especially as I began reading it on a Lake Shore Limited between Albany and NYC. While not a foamer myself, long distance train travel fascinates me and I enjoyed this look at the history of some - especially why the Empire Builder has that name.
While the cost of gas isn't the issue that it was in 2009, there remain many reasons to take trains. Seeing the country is one amazing one - getting there quickly isn't always.… (more)