Railroaded
A Motorman's Story of the New York City Subway
Will be published approx. on 30. June 2026
Book
Hardback
274 pages
978-1-9788-4409-4 (ISBN)
Description
The New York City subway system is one of the largest and oldest in the world, still carrying traces of the transport systems that came before it. Some of its elevated tracks are remnants of steam railroads, and some tunnels run where canoes served as ferries. For passengers, riding the subway can feel like stepping into another world, dark and dank and sometimes dangerous. Now just imagine what it's like to work there every day.
One of the few subway workers who went on to earn a PhD from Harvard, historian Fred Naiden gives readers a firsthand look at what it was like to work as a subway porter, a motorman, and a locomotive engineer during the 1980s. He recounts the labor activism of his fellow MTA employees, who advocated for better conditions, higher pay, and less institutional racism. He also shares wild stories about the riders he encountered, from a homeless former realtor who worked as a mob frontman to an angry passenger who pulled a gun on him while the train was stuck at a stop signal. Above all, Railroaded will answer many questions about the New York subway system, including how it could be improved.
One of the few subway workers who went on to earn a PhD from Harvard, historian Fred Naiden gives readers a firsthand look at what it was like to work as a subway porter, a motorman, and a locomotive engineer during the 1980s. He recounts the labor activism of his fellow MTA employees, who advocated for better conditions, higher pay, and less institutional racism. He also shares wild stories about the riders he encountered, from a homeless former realtor who worked as a mob frontman to an angry passenger who pulled a gun on him while the train was stuck at a stop signal. Above all, Railroaded will answer many questions about the New York subway system, including how it could be improved.
Reviews / Votes
"A compelling, colorful book. An instant classic of labor and transportation history." - Library Journal, starred review"Blending memoir with institutional history, this fast-paced, edifying account elicits fresh appreciation for the workers who keep New York City moving. It's a ride worth taking." - Publishers Weekly
"A vivid, ground-level, often funny view of what it was like to work on the New York City subway during the 1980s, when underfunding and neglect led to startling levels of decay and chaos, and what it was like to live in the pre-gentrified city. Along the way, motorman-turned-historian Fred Naiden provides a rich, iconoclastic history of New York mass transit." - Joshua B. Freeman, author of In Transit: The Transport Workers Union in New York City, 1933-1966
"A gripping, often heartbreaking account of transit workers working in the tunnels under New York City, moving millions of souls each day. Fred Naiden worked on the New York subways as a young man, and Railroaded is a memoir of the deplorable conditions he and thousands of others worked in, combined with a sardonic history of the crazy quilt of subway lines that never quite became a system." - Jack Metzgar, author of Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered
"A fascinating insider's view of a vital and dangerous profession." - The Wall Street Journal
"[Naiden] lyrically recount[s] the lousy working conditions, colorful passengers, and union fights to protect transit workers." - Working-Class Studies Association
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Brunswick NJ
United States
Product notice
With printed dust jacket
Illustrations
10 color and 7 B-W images
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 24 mm
Weight
472 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-9788-4409-4 (9781978844094)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Fred S. Naiden, formerly New York City Transit Authority Employee #4046, is now professor emeritus of history at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His many books include Ancient Supplication (2006), Smoke Signals for the Gods (2012), and Soldier, Priest, and God: A Life of Alexander the Great (2018).
Content
Prologue 1
1 A Motorman's Work 5
2 The Strikes and Deficits That Plague the Subway 35
3 My Life in a Downtown Railroad Flat 69
4 A Railroad Porter's Work 99
5 My Time as a Shop Steward 125
6 A Locomotive Engineer's Work 153
7 My Life as a Rider-and Yours 191
Epilogue 219
Two Centuries of Subway Maps 223
Photographs and Illustrations 231
Chronology 241
Glossary 247
Acknowledgments and Bibliographical Essay 251
Index 000
1 A Motorman's Work 5
2 The Strikes and Deficits That Plague the Subway 35
3 My Life in a Downtown Railroad Flat 69
4 A Railroad Porter's Work 99
5 My Time as a Shop Steward 125
6 A Locomotive Engineer's Work 153
7 My Life as a Rider-and Yours 191
Epilogue 219
Two Centuries of Subway Maps 223
Photographs and Illustrations 231
Chronology 241
Glossary 247
Acknowledgments and Bibliographical Essay 251
Index 000