'The authors's interdisciplinary stance has enabled him to demonstrate the nature of the interelations and interactions which have taken place between the various elements of the railroad system and to present us with an holist view of the railroad industry. Such an exceptionally detailed and well researched study is uncommon. Its high order of scholarship, and combination of breadth and assiduity, enables the author to make an original, stimulating and valuable contribution to the field of contemporary business history.' Economic History Review

• Part I. Assembling the Machine, 1840–76: 1. Engines of expansion and extraction: the politics of development; 2. Acquiring technology: insider innovation; 3. Patent problems: inventors and the market for technology; Part II. Running the Machine, 1876–1904: 4. Patent remedies: politics, jurisprudence, and procedure; 5. Mastering technology, channeling change; 6. Standardizing steel rails: engineered innovation; 7. Engineering enshrined; Part III. Friction in the Machine, 1904–20: 8. Reluctant innovators: the annoying allure of automatic train control; 9. The limits of engineering: rate regulation and the course of innovation; Epilogue: the enduring challenge of innovation.

'The authors's interdisciplinary stance has enabled him to demonstrate the nature of the interelations and interactions which have taken place between the various elements of the railroad system and to present us with an holist view of the railroad industry. Such an exceptionally detailed and well researched study is uncommon. Its high order of scholarship, and combination of breadth and assiduity, enables the author to make an original, stimulating and valuable contribution to the field of contemporary business history.' Economic History Review

• Part I. Assembling the Machine, 1840–76: 1. Engines of expansion and extraction: the politics of development; 2. Acquiring technology: insider innovation; 3. Patent problems: inventors and the market for technology; Part II. Running the Machine, 1876–1904: 4. Patent remedies: politics, jurisprudence, and procedure; 5. Mastering technology, channeling change; 6. Standardizing steel rails: engineered innovation; 7. Engineering enshrined; Part III. Friction in the Machine, 1904–20: 8. Reluctant innovators: the annoying allure of automatic train control; 9. The limits of engineering: rate regulation and the course of innovation; Epilogue: the enduring challenge of innovation.

'The authors's interdisciplinary stance has enabled him to demonstrate the nature of the interelations and interactions which have taken place between the various elements of the railroad system and to present us with an holist view of the railroad industry. Such an exceptionally detailed and well researched study is uncommon. Its high order of scholarship, and combination of breadth and assiduity, enables the author to make an original, stimulating and valuable contribution to the field of contemporary business history.' Economic History Review

• Part I. Assembling the Machine, 1840–76: 1. Engines of expansion and extraction: the politics of development; 2. Acquiring technology: insider innovation; 3. Patent problems: inventors and the market for technology; Part II. Running the Machine, 1876–1904: 4. Patent remedies: politics, jurisprudence, and procedure; 5. Mastering technology, channeling change; 6. Standardizing steel rails: engineered innovation; 7. Engineering enshrined; Part III. Friction in the Machine, 1904–20: 8. Reluctant innovators: the annoying allure of automatic train control; 9. The limits of engineering: rate regulation and the course of innovation; Epilogue: the enduring challenge of innovation.