Why the Lehigh Valley Won’t Get Passenger Rail Service, Again: Committees Didn’t Build America’s Railroads, Robber Barons Did

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

The Lehigh Valley has a Committee to Talk About Trains, but we are not going to get passenger rail service.

Committees did not create America’s railroads. Hardnosed, unscrupulous, driven, manipulative capitalists did. These were ruthless men who played the stock market as if it were a board game, who made and broke alliances, and as good capitalists, sought and sometimes paid for government help when it suited them.

These men were the likes of Cornelius Vanderbilt, Leland Stanford, Cyrus Field and Daniel Drew. Their 19th century era is a fascinating time of investment, vision, double-crossing and dirty dealing.

My favorite of the era was Jay Gould. A lot of that has to do with Lyndhurst, his estate overlooking the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York. During his time, Gould was reviled by many, but he was no worse, and perhaps better, than his competitors.

Things I like about Gould:

1-He was a dedicated family man.

2-He didn’t care about high society.

3-He lived in Lyndhurst, which we visited three years ago. The river views are spectacular. The house was also used for some exterior shots for Dark Shadows, a gothic 1960s television soap opera about vampires. Kids loved it. Jonathan Frid, who portrayed vampire Barnabas Collins, became known as “America’s favorite pain in the neck.”

Back to trains. America’s train systems were built by men who gambled and sometimes lost fortunes on the rails, who switched alliances more often than college football players in the portal, and who didn’t give a hang what people thought of them.

19th Century America had such legendary figures. The Lehigh Valley has a well-meaning committee to talk about trains.

Not that there aren’t such ruthless men and women today on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, but they are investing in the next technology, not something that is centuries old.

Let’s stop pretending, and while people are free to talk as much as they like, let’s devote no more taxpayers’ money to the chat.

— Editor’s note: For an interesting biography of Jay Goud, see Dark Genius of Wall Street, subtitle, The Misunderstood Life of Jay Gould, King of the Robber Barrons.

I bought the book at Lyndhurst. Somehow or other, Gould’s legacy is still getting my money. I have to admire that.