(erielack) Invisible Giants

["Schuyler G Larrabee" <sgl2_@_ix.netcom.com>]

A good read . . .

Mantis James and Oris Paxton . . . most of you would now say "Van
Sweringen."

I've just finished a new book, _Invisible Giants_ by Herbert H Harwood Jr.
I was so impressed I volunteered to review the book for the R&LHS, but
someone else has the assignment already.

This book is the life story of these two men, who remade Cleveland's real
estate, developed a prototypical suburb in Shaker Heights, and also created
the largest US railroad empire prior to the BNSF and UP systems of modern
day.  They had a coast-to-coast railroad system (Jersey City, and the C&O's
waterfront  to San Francisco) in the late 1920's.  In 1929 they were worth
in the neighborhood of $3 billion, in 1929 dollars.

In 1933, they bought it back from the banks for $3.1 million.

In essence they were thwarted in their goals by an ICC which encouraged
consolidation of railroads all through the 1920's, by Congressional mandate,
but balked at what the Vans wanted to do because it didn't fit their notions
of what "ought" to happen.

In this book you will find the names of many, many railroad people you have
heard of before, and you will learn a great deal about where they came from,
and where they got their ideas on how to run a railroad.  And for balanced
list content, the ERIE was one of the Vans' railroads, but the DL&W was in
play as well  . . . and Oris Paxton died on a DL&W business car between
Scranton and Hoboken!

It's a great book.  Published by Indiana University Press, 2003, and you can
get it through Amazon, if you don't support your local bookseller.

Beware: there are two newish books entitled _Invisible Giants-, so be sure
you order the one written by Herbert H Harwood.

SGL

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