The enduring American railroads -- The ills of government regulation of rail rates and services -- The policy dilemma of competition and consolidation -- The impact of rival freight modes on railroads -- The decline of railway passenger service, 1900/1970 -- Mergers at mid-century and the Penn Central debacle -- The RRR and RRRR Acts and Northeast rail reorganization -- The brief, mainly happy life of Conrail, 1976/1999 -- The Staggers Rail Act and railroad experience under deregulation -- How railroads got their final sizes and shapes -- The enduring problem of rail passenger service in the Amtrak era -- Advancing technology for enduring railroads -- Decline and renaissance of American railroads in the twentieth century; pulling into the terminal.