Book Review Published in Transportation Journal Summer 2011

 

Blood, Iron, and Gold

How the Railroads Transformed the World

By Christian Wolmar

Perseus Book Group

New York, NY

2010

ISBN 978-1-58648-834-5

376 pp.   $28.95

 

 

 

 

Christian Wolmar is a writer who specializes in the social history of railroads and other modes of transport. This unique perspective provides the reader with information about railroad history not usually found in other works.  The narrative takes a global approach, including anecdotes about the construction and operations of most of the major railroads in the world. The book consists of 13 chapters and is well researched with 17 pages of notes.

The first three chapters describe the construction and early operations of railroads in Britain and on the European continent. British technology and capital led development of railroads in Europe and later, through the influence of the Empire, India and Latin America.  Railroads in all countries began as a force for economic development. Less obvious was their military utility. European monarchs certainly recognized the efficiencies in moving troops and supplies by rail. This new form of military transportation also allowed rulers to keep a firm hand on their subjects. In the short term railroads served to consolidate royal power. In the long term, as the author notes, railroads were a democratizing force.  Wolmar provides many interesting anecdotes and facts about the effect of faster transportation on the human race. Isolation and privation gradually give way to urbanization and improved standards of living.

As railways developed gage standards became an issue for debate. Wider gages increased costs of construction and land but resulted in a more comfortable ride for passengers. Narrower gages lowered the cost of construction but resulted in lower speed operations and reduced capacity.  By the mid 19^th Century the Stephenson Gage of 4’ 8 ½”, named after the British engineer George Stephenson became the standard. Another topic of much discussion was the “loading gage” which is the size of the envelope needed to accommodate trains, tunnels, platforms, and equipment.

The role of government in establishing railroads differed between Britain and continental Europe.  Nations such as Italy and Germany were fragmented and not completely unified in the 19^th Century. As a result railroad planning was controlled by the monarchies in an authoritarian manner.  In Britain and later the US, railroads grew more organically as drivers of economic development aided by public policy.

Chapter 4, The American Way, is lengthy, describing in detail the history of US railroads, especially the transcontinental. As Wolmar explains, the size of the US continent and challenging terrain made railroad construction, especially the transcontinental road, a monumental task. Size and scope alone require devoting a large portion of his book to the US experience. The author contrasts the building of US railroads with earlier projects in Europe. He provides a thorough examination of the new mode of transportation including finance, government involvement, construction, technology, land costs, and military utility. The great champion of the transcontinental railroad was Abraham Lincoln. Even during the Civil War he insisted that planning go forward.  Government involvement in the US was mostly limited to finance and land grants for right of way. Operations of railroads were left to big corporations. As expected, the huge financial sums involved in building the infrastructure resulted in corruption and insider deals. According to Wolmar another distinction between US and Europe was that in Europe the railroads were servants of big business while in a younger US the railroads were creators of business.

While construction in the US was challenging due to distances and terrain, land costs were much cheaper than in Europe.  Crews were able to choose direct routes and avoid obstacles resulting in lower costs per mile and fewer tunnels and bridges than in other countries. This was crucial since less capital was available.

Emerging telegraph technology provided a major improvement in railroad scheduling and operations. As we have already seen in Europe, railroads became a strategic military asset. During the US Civil War trains were used to move troops and supplies. This was a bigger advantage to the union forces because they controlled more miles of track and equipment.

By the late 19^th Century railroads in the US had gained an unhealthy amount of power over business and the public. Discriminatory and arbitrary practices led to the establishment of the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1887. An interesting anecdote about this era describes tactics used by American farmers against the railroads. One such tactic was to feed their cows alongside tracks in order to slow or stop trains. Railroads retaliated by installing “cow catchers” on the front of the engines.

By itself, this chapter is a complete and interesting history of railroad development in the US. It is no exaggeration to say that the transcontinental railroad transformed the US from a North/South oriented nation to an East/West nation.

The following three chapters describe epic projects on other parts of the world such the Trans Siberian Railroad. Motivation for such tasks was both economic and political. The more remote the geography the more political will and public financing was necessary. The economic lure was often resource extraction which would not have been possible without railways.

Railroads continued their global expansion with no competition from other modes. Economies transformed from agricultural to industrial. The lives of people all over the world changed dramatically. Diets improved due to greater availability of fruit and vegetables. Before the existence of railroads most people never traveled more than a few miles from home but would soon be able to expand their horizons. All of this had a democratizing effect as the middle class grew worldwide. The negative effects of railroads included near monopolistic power over prices, land values, and routes.

In the final chapters, Wolmar catalogs the post WWII decline of passenger traffic and the financial problems of railroads. Mergers and consolidations lead to big railroad systems in the US and around the world. Intermodal transportation becomes essential to replacing lost passenger revenue enabling railways to survive and prosper in the late 20^th Century.

The author’s goal as stated in the Preface was to draw together the history of railways and demonstrate their social impact across the world. Having met this goal in a relatively short book is an impressive piece of writing. The result, however, is a narrative so densely packed with detail that the reader is tempted to skip over large sections in order to maintain interest.  The book is, however, greatly informative and a good addition to any transportation library.

 

Mitchell G. Kostoulakos, CTL

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review Published in Transportation Journal Fall 2009

 

Flying Across America: The Airline Passenger Experience

By Daniel L. Rust.

University of Oklahoma Press

Norman OK

ISBN 978-0-8-61-3870-I

260 pages

$45

 

Americans have always had a fascination with air travel. The present day frustrations experienced by airline passengers make it easy to forget the one time excitement and mystique of flying. Daniel Rust traces the evolution of the airlines from the early days to the post 9/11 environment from the passenger viewpoint. The book is non technical, focusing on anecdotes about passenger travel.

 

The narrative begins with air mail contracts awarded by the government which enabled the infant airline industry to get started and develop. This example of government policy regarding transportation is similar to land grants given to railroads and the interstate highway system that facilitates trucking in the US. As expected, there are stories about Will Rogers and the barnstorming era. Interesting facts include early pilots navigating by following transcontinental railroad tracks called the “iron compass”. Night flying was aided by beacons every 10-25 miles across the center of the continent. The beacons were introduced by the Commerce Department and maintained by the Lighthouse Bureau.

 

As airlines struggled to become established, Lindbergh’s famous flight across the Atlantic helped attract new investors. Along with the new medium of radio, aviation became the darling of Wall Street. During this period transcontinental routes were established in intermodal fashion along with the railroads. With pilots following the rail lines for navigation, passengers slept and dined in Pullman cars between air legs of the journey. Transportation between rail depots and air fields was by specially designed “aero cars”. Details of TAT’s first passenger flights include descriptions of the Ford Tri Motor cabin interior, uniformed attendant service, and early airport terminal facilities. The $350 fare for Top Class, coast to coast, service on TAT in the 1920’s equates to about $4000 today.

 

The patchwork system of air-rail travel proved unprofitable leading to mergers and bigger mail contracts. Through these contracts, Postmaster General Walter Brown reshaped the nation’s airway map, limited competition, and set the pattern for the establishment of trunk lines.

 

The 1930’s was a period of growing pains for the industry. New and bigger aircraft led to a series of crashes and the new science of air accident investigation. The CAB was established to address loss of confidence in air travel by the public. At the same time radio technology improved navigation especially during night flying.

 

The middle chapters of the book describe difficulties encountered by passengers during WWII. Airline terms such as “standby”, “no show”, and “bumping” were added to the lexicon.  After the war, the glut of military aircraft and abundance of trained pilots resulted in excess capacity and reduced load factor. This led to the emergence of non scheduled airlines known as “non scheds”. These charter airlines began flying air cargo as well as passengers and are the ancestors of today’s air freight carriers.

 

The chapter entitled Economy and Elegance tells the story of the glamour period of air travel in the 1950’s and 1960’s. United Airlines led the way with faster coast to coast service with fewer stops. This reduced operating costs per flight but the new larger aircraft required more passengers. Of course this is an example of the age old transportation dilemma of yield vs. load factor. A reluctant CAB approved the new Coach and Family Fare plans to allow carriers to attract more passengers. Other forms of competition included the introduction of non stop coast to coast flights known as the “red eye”, champagne flights, credit card payment, and flight insurance.

 

Descriptions of the modern era begin with a rather uninteresting chapter about the development of the jet engine. The technical details seem out of place with the passenger experience theme of the book. Jet engines led to larger aircraft and the need for bigger airports further from city centers. In-flight movies were introduced to offset passenger boredom and feelings of isolation at higher altitudes.

 

The last chapter The Era of Airline Deregulation and 9/11 covers the industry as it exists today. The oil shocks of the 1970’s resulted in removal of CAB price restrictions and, ultimately, full deregulation. Legacy carriers struggled to compete with new entrants such as People Express and Southwest. These lower cost airlines forced the older airlines to revamp their networks, with most adopting hub and spoke systems. The intense competition that followed led to lower fares, frequent flyer programs, and paperless ticketing, among many innovations. As we all know, airlines and airports have become overcrowded. The security lines and delays after 9/11 are well known to anyone who flies today.  Passenger satisfaction in the 21^st Century is low in spite of competitive fares and increased safety. Certainly the glamour of air travel has been lost forever.

 

While some chapters contain too much information, this book will be of interest to airline aficionados as well as readers interested in the history of transportation. It is designed in a coffee table format and beautifully illustrated. Collectors of airline memorabilia will like the charts and early marketing materials that are depicted throughout the book. All in all an enjoyable read.

 

 

Mitch Kostoulakos, CTL

Adjunct Instructor

Northern Essex Community College

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review Published in Transportation Journal Winter 2008

 

The Future of Pricing

How Airline Ticket Pricing Has Inspired a Revolution

By E.Andrew Boyd

Palgrave MacMillan

New York, NY

November 2007, pp 192, $45.00

ISBN-13: 978-0-230-60019-5

ISBN-10: 0-230-60019-0

 

 

 

Written by a leading authority on pricing, The Future of Pricing presents a view of airline pricing practices from the inside. The author’s stated goal is to teach using interviews, examples, history, and personal experience. This approach helps to make his book readable and Dr. Boyd does accomplish his goal of teaching the basics of the science of pricing to the average reader. The stories used as examples range from Socrates to Las Vegas casinos. While interesting, these anecdotes often do not seem relevant to the subject matter.

 

After providing background about airline pricing in Chapter 1, the author clearly explains yield management and introduces the concept of perishability of airline seats in Chapter 2. This is followed by clear descriptions of the long haul, hub and spoke systems of the legacy carriers and the shorter haul, point to point operations of the low cost carriers.

 

Chapter 3 is one of the most interesting and informative in the book. It examines the evolution of airline reservations systems from manual booking to card and chalkboard systems, followed by mechanical systems and present day computerization. As reservations systems evolved, airlines learned to use them as a competitive advantage. Travel agents and airlines also began the practice of co-hosting, or shared displays on reservations systems. Anecdotes in this chapter show how management practices and airline inefficiencies have often led to dilution of revenue. This created the need, after deregulation, for passive reservations booking groups to morph into sales teams.

 

Chapters 4 and 5 are dense and mathematical but do illustrate the big challenges faced by airlines. The main points are that it is difficult to convert reservations systems from inventory management; filling seats, to revenue management; maximizing yield. This is further complicated by uncertainty of demand and high costs of airline infrastructure. Some examples of pricing terminology in this section include nested fares, pseudo fares, and fare class buckets.

 

Chapter 6, “Hold Me, Darlin”, continues the discussion of demand forecasting by using lengthy examples of card playing strategies. The author is enthusiastic about poker and blackjack but the connection to scientific pricing is not made clear. The chapter describes four forecasting concepts: Unconstraining, Buy-down, Competitive Price Data, and Consumer Choice.

 

The applications of revenue management in the hotel, car rental, and cruise ship industries are explored in Chapter 7. The examples used here do reflect the travel experiences of the average reader, making this chapter especially effective in communicating the effect of scientific pricing on revenue management. The business problems of these travel companies are similar to those of airlines. All face the pressures of perishable inventory. Competition for market share demands that revenue management not necessarily result in price increases.

 

In Chapter 8, the author invokes Aristotle and Socrates to introduce the concept of “just pricing”. Oil company profits, along with rapidly changing fuel prices, are widely seen as unjust. Airline fares are associated with miles flown by the average consumer. Actual costs, however, are the result of both high fixed costs and uncertainty of demand. This makes it difficult to establish what a fair and reasonable price should be for any particular flight. Accounting based pricing attempts to recover costs plus some profit, while science based pricing charges according to demand and willingness to pay. A big issue for companies using science based pricing is that they run the risk of offending the sense of justice of their customers. Frequently changing prices takes away our idea of a just or reasonable fare.

 

Chapter 9, “The Scientists”, consists of a rather uninteresting story about some of the major players in the world of scientific pricing. Dr. Boyd emphasizes that the point of operations research in business is to increase profits. This may be anathema to those “pure” scientists who wish to do research for its own sake. This view, according to Boyd, hinders the growth of scientific pricing due to the researchers’ unwillingness or inability to communicate the science in business terms. Chapter 10 provides examples of pricing done by the seat of the pants in some industries.

 

Chapter 11 is intended to illustrate how pricing is slowly evolving through the use of science. It includes a lengthy anecdote about contract pricing in health care and is supported by graphs. I found this chapter confusing and difficult to connect to the topic of airline pricing. The book concludes with Chapter 12, making a strong case for customer centric pricing as the way of the future.

 

This book will certainly be of value to pricing professionals in airlines and other industries. However, I would be reluctant to recommend it to the average reader or airline passenger.

 

 

 

 

Mitch Kostoulakos, CTL

Adjunct Instructor- Supply Chain

Northern EssexCommunity College

Haverhill, MA01835