| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 112.2

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 112.2 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Canada and the United States

Mark Aldrich. Death Rode the Rails: American Railroad Accidents and Safety, 1828–1965. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 2006. Pp. xvi, 446. $59.95.
Railroads affected American society and law in many ways. A hazardous enterprise responsible for many casualties, railroading inaugurated the age of industrial accidents. Consequently, railroads did much to shape tort law governing personal injuries as well as to trigger regulatory attempts to improve rail safety. Mark Aldrich has written a masterful study of the complex evolution of railroad safety. He meticulously investigates a variety of railroad mishaps, including derailments, collisions, bridge failures, dangers arising from shipment of explosives and acids, as well as grade crossing accidents. In addition, Aldrich treats the pioneering steps by railroad companies to organize relief associations to provide medical care for injured or sick employees. The author skillfully examines the blend of technological advances, market pressures, public concerns, and regulatory programs that fashioned safety policy.	1
Economic considerations dictated that railroads initially constructed inexpensive and often dangerous lines to serve a sparse population over great distances. Passengers, moreover, encouraged this practice by preferring speed to safety. Yet over the course of the nineteenth century, carriers, driven by a desire to improve productivity, minimize liability costs, and defuse public anxiety, adopted many equipment improvements and organized safety programs. In fact, as Aldrich emphasizes, rail safety grew progressively better. Although the public focused on major disasters involving passenger trains, the author points out that most casualties were caused by minor accidents involving railroad workers.	. . .

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