Association of American Railroads "Railroad Regulation: An Absurd Game" Slide Transparencies and Sound Recording

Inclusive date range: 1976-1980

Bulk date: circa 1977-1979



This collection consists of an audio cassette and eighty 35mm color slides. They are designed to be presented together, with the audio from the cassette tape providing explanation and narration for the slides, which the presenter advances at the prompting of the cassette tape. They were produced to support the deregulation of the railroad industry with the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976, often called the "4R Act," and the Staggers Rail Act of 1980, during the tenure of the Association of American Railroads' president William H. Dempsey (1977-1991) .



The slides depict a hypothetical board game, somewhat reminiscent of Monopoly, in which a locomotive, a semi-truck, and a container ship travel around the board. However, the three forms of shipping and transport are subject to different regulations from the Interstate Commerce Commission [ICC] and as such have different success rates, profit margins, and impact on the American economy. In addition to visually representing the ways in which railroad regulation was strangling the railroad industry, the slides also emphasize the other side effects, such as increased pollution created by more trucks driving on the highways, the loss of jobs, and the impact on the broader manufacturing sector as the railroad industry continued to flounder.



In addition to the slides depicting the imaginary game, there are five slides that have photographs of actual rail operations including a photograph of an Erie Lackawanna locomotive, Santa Fe rolling stock, Santa Fe Rail Yards, and Canadian National Railway rolling stock. Additionally, there is one photograph of a semi-truck driving over a bridge.