Visionary Railroader

President Bill Clinton has groused to friends that history will never rank him among the greatest presidents because he never had to confront a major war or an economic catastrophe during his tenure. Barack Obama will have both and, with it, the chance to go down in the annals as a monumental goat or savior. And so it is, as well, with industry. As Clemson University historian H. Roger Grant writes, when the American railroad industry imploded in the '60s and '70s, Jervis Langdon Jr. was well positioned as president of the Rock Island and later the Baltimore & Ohio Railroads to play a role in national rail reorganization. Like other successful captains of industry, the challenge of fixing a broken organization trumped material gain for Langdon, as was evidenced when he joined the board of the troubled Delaware & Hudson. "As one of 'Jerv's boys' from the B&O, Bill Collins, D&H vice president for administration and strategic planning, put it: 'Jervis did not come for glory or for coin.'" Langdon's proven track record, so to speak, made him a logical choice to become lead trustee for the bankrupt Penn Central, whose presidency he took over three years later. He was instrumental as well in passing the federal Regional Rail Reorganization Act of 1973 and in creating the quasi-public Conrail. An interesting sideline the author came up with is that Langdon was related, on his father's side, to the prominent Elmira, N.Y. family which produced Olivia "Livy" Langdon, Mark Twain's beloved wife and mother of their three children.

-- Steve Goddard * www.historywire.com *

Visionary Railroader is an enjoyable account of a fascinating individual. . . . Grant's work might be just the ticket for understanding the convoluted evolution of the twentieth-century railroad industry. 84.1, Spring 2010

* Business History Review *

[T]his book will provide a valuable guide to future scholars studying the history of railroad management, coporate strategy, and regulation. January 2010, Vol. 51

* Technology and Culture *

Eminently readable, Visionary Railroader is both well written and well organized. April 1, 2009

* Civil Engineering *

Roger Grant's biography is well written, and tells us not only about his work as a railroader, but as a child, student, and family man. Importantly, the details of Langdon's tenure at B&O, Rock Island, and Penn Central add insight into the histories of those railroads.Spring-Summer 2009

* Railroad History *

[Langdon] was a remarkable man and we are fortunate to have this interesting biography. January 2009

* www.bookviews.com *

. . . succeeds handsomely in telling the story of an important railroad personage.October 5, 2008

-- Frederick N. Rasmussen * The Baltimore Sun *

. . . this is a book for any railroader . . . or anyone else interested in the life of a raliroad executive who truly loves trains.October 2008

-- Rush Loving Jr. * RABO News & Not