The Evolution of High-Speed Rail: A Historical Perspective

1. The Historical Relativism of High Speed on Passenger Railways:1830-Present Jim Cohen, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus; Director, Research Initiatives; Institute for Transportation Systems; The City University of New York; jcohen@jjay.cuny.edu

3. Train à Grand Vitesse Eurostar

4. Coast Daylight Streamliner

5. Tom Thumb, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

7. “…the time spent getting from one place to another…is not an objective mathematical unit, but (rather) a subjective perception of space-time.” W. Schivelbusch, Railway journey:the industrialization of time and space in the 19th century (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986). 36.

8. OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION • 1. Periods of High Speed in Rail History • 2. The Social Construction of High Speed in Each Historic Period • 3. High Speed and Rail Finances • 4. Policy Implications

9. Periods of High Speed in Rail History • 1830-40: First steam powered locomotives • 1900-1910: More powerful locomotives and improved infrastructure • 1930-1955: Era of Streamliners • 1964-Present: After the Japanese Bullet Train

10. Northeast, Texas, and California HSR Corridors

11. Tom Thumb, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

12. 1910 Frisco Locomotive

13. NY Central Steam Streamliner

14. Japanese Bullet Train, 1964

15. 1 Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the U.S. (New York: National Railway Publication Company) Historic Periods of High Speed, Northeast Corridor, NYC – Washington, D.C., Changes in Rate of Speed, 1890-19801 Fastest Commercial Speed by Decade1

16. 1 Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the U.S. (New York: National Railway Publication Company) 2Increase over 1910 rate of speed Historic Periods of High Speed, Texas Corridor, Fort Worth/Dallas–Houston, Changes in Rate of Speed, 1890-19801 2 Fastest Commercial Speed by Decade1

17. 1 Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the U.S. (New York: National Railway Publication Company) Historic Periods of High Speed, California Corridor, S.F. – L.A., Changes in Rate of Speed, 1890-19801 Fastest Commercial Speed by Decade1

18. 1 Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the U.S. (New York: National Railway Publication Company) 2 Texas corridor shows increase over 1910 rate of speed Historic Periods of High Speed, Northeast, Texas, and California Corridors, Changes in Rate of Speed, 1890-19801 2 Fastest Commercial Speed by Decade1

19. The Social Construction of High Speed Rock Island Ry’s “Golden Rocket”

20. “Iron Horses” of the 1830s and 1840s Newspapers talk about a “disagreeable sensation of dizziness,” of passengers “not being able to breathe while travelling at such velocity,” and of “eyes being damaged by having to adjust…” to high speed.”

21. New Haven Railroad “Comet”

22. Railroad Building at 1939–40 World’s Fair

23. PRR S-1 Streamliner at 1939–40 World’s Fair

24. Supertrains: Solutions to America’s Transportation Gridlock, Joseph Vranich

25. Coors Light “Silver Bullet” Christmas Ad

26. High Speed AndRail Finance

27. Coast Daylight Streamliner “(an) instant and profitable…(train)” D. Hofsommer, The Southern Pacific, 1901-1985 (College Station, Texas: Texas A & M University Press, 1986).

28. “(b)uilding a margin of time savings over automobiles and buses, the(se) trains attracted standing-room-only crowds and returned solid earning to their owners…(E)very minute saved in transit was likely to generate 1 per cent more traffic (and, thereby, higher earnings)” W. Middleton and M. Reutter, "Fast trains and faster," Railroad History 31, no. Spring-Summer (2007): 35.

29. City Night Line

30. Policy Implications

31. City Night Line Train in Countryside

32. The Historical Relativism of High Speed on Passenger Railways:1830-Present Jim Cohen, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus; Director, Research Initiatives; Institute for Transportation Systems; The City University of New York; jcohen@jjay.cuny.edu