July 7th:
In 2005, terrorists struck the London transit system, setting off explosions in three subway cars and a double-decker bus in a coordinated rush-hour attack. Fifty-two people were killed and more than 700 injured.
Part of railroad history I find interesting is A Chapter of Erie by Charles Francis Adams. This is Adams’ story of the Erie wars, a contest for control of the railroad fought after the Civil War with Jay Gould and Jim Fisk on one side and Cornelius Vanderbilt on the other. Daniel Drew started off with Gould and Fisk but changed to Vanderbilt. Gould and Fisk were in their 30’s with some but relatively little experience; Vanderbilt was in his 60’s and was the most wealthy man in America. Gould and Fisk won control of the Erie but ultimately were forced out by a stockholder lawsuit. But Gould made money even when forced out.
The book is available on the internet in several places. Here is one of them:
http://books.google.com/books/about/A_chapter_of_Erie.html?id=UJs-AAAAYAAJ
Because of the Erie Wars and also his part in Black Friday (September 29, 1869) resulting from the gold corner Jay Gould is often regarded as a robber baron. Maury Klein in The Life and Legend of Jay Gould believes this to be a myth and explains exactly why he believes it is a myth. Klein also points out the role of President Grant’s wife Julia in the gold corner was never explained because Congress declined to have her testify.
After the Erie Jay Gould went on to become President of the Union Pacific and enabled it to avoid bankruptcy in 1873. He merged the UP with the Kansas Pacific and then moved on the the Missouri Pacific working to create a trunk line from the Atlantic to the Pacific. His work was unfinished when he died in 1892 but, again according to Klein, he did rationalize several rail lines in the effort.