Railroaders Without Borders: A History of the Railroad Development Corporation

For over 25 years, the creatively led Railroad Development Corporation (RDC) has rejuvenated a series of down-and-out and even defunct railroads. Launched in 1987 by Henry Posner III, this investment and management company has demonstrated that it is possible both to have a conscience and to earn a profit in today's railroad industry. With ventures on four continents, RDC has created an admirable record of long-term commitments, respect for local cultures, and protection of the public interest. H. Roger Grant presents a firsthand look at this unique business operation and its triumphs and disappointments.

"H. Roger Grant has brought his considerable research and writing skills to the story of a unique and exotic present-day railroad enterprise that spans an area from the American Great Plains, to the Andes, to the Zambezi River, and the Baltic Sea-with postscripts in Colombia, Germany, and France.

"Railroaders without Borders covers the recent appearance of a revolutionary railway holding company, whose purpose has been to acquire and rejuvenate properties that have suffered financial failure. While its 1987 beginning concerned a Pennsylvania company, its later ventures have spanned the globe. Grant's detailed narratives follow RDC's growth through both successes and failures." --J. Parker Lamb, author of Railroads of Meridian Indiana University Press Indiana University Press

H. Roger Grant is Kathryn and Calhoun Lemon Professor of History at Clemson University. He is author of over 30 books, including The Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Rail Road: Dreams of Linking North and South (IUP, 2014), Railroads and the American People (IUP, 2012), Iowa's Railroads: An Album (with Don L. Hofsommer) (IUP, 2009), and Visionary Railroader: Jervis Langdon Jr. and the Transportation Revolution (IUP, 2008).

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Beginnings

2. Iowa Interstate: An RDC Triumph

3. Latin America: Philosophy of Foreign Investments

4. Africa and Europe: Malawi and Mozambique

5. New Involvements

Notes

Index