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;

Train à Grand Vitesse Eurostar

Coast Daylight Streamliner

Tom Thumb, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

“…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 : First steam powered locomotives : More powerful locomotives and improved infrastructure : Era of Streamliners 1964-Present: After the Japanese Bullet Train

Northeast, Texas, and California HSR Corridors

Tom Thumb, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

1910 Frisco Locomotive

NY Central Steam Streamliner

Japanese Bullet Train, 1964

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

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

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

Historic Periods of High Speed, Northeast, Texas, and California Corridors, Changes in Rate of Speed, 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 Fastest Commercial Speed by Decade 1 2

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.”

New Haven Railroad “Comet”

Railroad Building at 1939–40 World’s Fair

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

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

Coors Light “Silver Bullet” Christmas Ad

High Speed And Rail Finance

Coast Daylight Streamliner “(an) instant and profitable…(train)” D. Hofsommer, The Southern Pacific, (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.

City Night Line

Policy Implications

City Night Line Train in Countryside

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;