The epic of U. S. railroad building ended with a mild clink in 1931. In that year Arthur Curtiss James tamped a golden spike into a convenient tie near Bieber, Calif., formally completing 200 miles of new track connecting Great Northern R. R. with his Western Pacific. After that, paralysis descended on what had once bean the lustiest field of U. S. business pioneering. Total mileage of new track laid by all U. S. railroads plummeted from 748 in 1931 to 163 in 1932, collapsed to 24 miles in 1933. In 1934, 76...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
