One of Six
The Lehigh Valley Railroad as a Case Study for Conrail

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Pubished 2025  

Blending meticulous research with vivid storytelling, this book provides insights into the unique circumstances of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the challenges and triumphs it faced during its final decade of operations. This book dives into the Lehigh Valley's financial struggles, industry and regulatory changes, and the various proposed alternatives to the eventual 1976 merger of six railroads that reshaped the American rail system. With over a year and a half of academic research in historical collections, original Lehigh Valley Railroad documents, and interviews with historical figures, author Rudy Garbely highlights the railroad's changing operations, its key players, and the socio-economic factors that contributed to the Lehigh Valley's decline.

Through the lens of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, Garbely further examines the larger financial, operational, and political challenges that plagued the region's rail industry and ultimately led to the necessity of Conrail.

From the transition to Conrail to the lasting impact of its legacy, Garbely offers both a tribute to and a critical examination of the Lehigh Valley's waning years while providing a broader understanding of the transformation of American railroading in the 1970s. 

The text is supplemented with multiple appendixes, including Lehigh Valley Railroad financial documentation and a locomotive roster. 

This book is an essential read for all railroad historians, industry professionals, and anyone interested in the dramatic transformation of U.S. railroads during one of the most turbulent periods in their history.

Book Reviews:

"Mr. Garbely has done an amazing piece of original research. . . . He did a magnificent job in both the conception and execution of this [book]. . . . So few students are interested in business and corporate history, and Mr. Garbely is exceptionally talented at it."
     -- Dr. Richard Saunders, Jr., professor of history at Clemson University and author of Merging Lines: American Railroads, 1900-1970 and Main Lines: Rebirth of the North American Railroads, 1970–2002

"I have just finished reading every page of [this book], and it is outstanding! . . . [Garbely has] presented the facts in a most comprehensive, but extremely readable, format. I had intended to . . . read it at my leisure, but when I got into the first few pages, I found that I could not put it down. For any student of the LV, [Garbely deserves] the utmost credit."
     - Hays Watkins, former chairman of the Chesapeake & Ohio, Chessie System, and CSX from 1971-1988

Softbound, 6x9, 122 pages, text only. Shrinkwrapped.
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