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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. Train à Grand Vitesse Eurostar.
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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
“…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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
The Social Construction of High Speed Rock Island Ry’s “Golden Rocket”
“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.”
Supertrains: Solutions to America’s Transportation Gridlock, Joseph Vranich
Coast Daylight Streamliner “(an) instant and profitable…(train)” D. Hofsommer, The Southern Pacific, 1901-1985 (College Station, Texas: Texas A & M University Press, 1986).
“(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.
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