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Switching Tracks: The Place of Railroads in an Era of Economic and Environmental Reform, 1966-80

Wollet, Benjamin W.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1322711209

Abstract Details

2012, Master of Arts (MA), Ohio University, History (Arts and Sciences).
To stave off the collapse of the feeble and bankrupt U.S. railroad industry in the 1970s, federal policymakers enacted major regulatory reforms. The creation of Amtrak and Conrail, significant rehabilitation projects, and an overhaul of transportation laws enabled the railroads to pare down their lines and retool their businesses. Each of these rapid developments in economic and business policy also reshaped natural and built landscapes. Using congressional and executive documents and secondary materials, this thesis shows how environmental regulations, historical preservation, and public awareness of ecology and resource scarcity informed the process of railroad reform. The environmental impact statement redefined how federal bureaucrats approached railroad infrastructure projects and line abandonment, while new pollution rules and energy-efficiency programs affected the rails’ biggest customers, like coal and manufacturing. Two important trends in postwar domestic policy—new social regulation and economic deregulation—intersected to jumpstart U.S. railroading in the 1970s.
Paul Milazzo, PhD (Advisor)
Geoff Buckley, PhD (Committee Member)
Katherine Jellison, PhD (Committee Member)
170 p.
American History; Modern History; Transportation
railroad regulation; new social regulation; environmental law; landscape change

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wollet, B. W. (2012). Switching Tracks: The Place of Railroads in an Era of Economic and Environmental Reform, 1966-80 [Master's thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1322711209

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wollet, Benjamin. Switching Tracks: The Place of Railroads in an Era of Economic and Environmental Reform, 1966-80. 2012. Ohio University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1322711209.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wollet, Benjamin. "Switching Tracks: The Place of Railroads in an Era of Economic and Environmental Reform, 1966-80." Master's thesis, Ohio University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1322711209

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1322711209
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© 2011, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.