The history of U.S. railroads provides an interesting case study
on federal regulation. They were the first sector of the economy
to come under heavy regulatory control and nearly went extinct
because of it. Following enactment of the Interstate Commerce
Act in 1887 — which created the Interstate Commerce Commission —
Progressive movement technocrats, populist farmers, and shipping
interests demanded more and more regulation, often with the
support of large segments of the railroad industry. Several
decades took their toll, and by World War I, excessive
regulation of railroads caused massive inefficiencies and soon
led President Woodrow Wilson to nationalize the entire industry
for the remainder of the war. But industry conditions following
de-nationalization were not much better. Time and time again,
the only perceived solution to problems caused by failed
regulation was more, not less, regulatory intervention. It is
this dynamic I examine in my new study on railroad regulation,
“Slow Train Coming? Misguided