Articles by John P. Hankey's Profile | Railway Age, VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network, Trains Magazine Journalist

Like the First Astronauts

May 07, 2026 |

By John P. Hankey

| Railway Age

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, MAY 2026 ISSUE: Sometimes, coincidence spurs recall, which invites comparison, and (if we are perceptive) leads to insight. I had not before thought of the striking parallels between our 1960s quest to land on the moon and our 1860s quest to connect the coasts with a railroad link. It is difficult now to ignore them. We collectively breathed a sigh of relief when the Artemis II capsule splashed down on April 10.

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William Strickland and the Foundation of U.S. Railroading

Apr 07, 2026 |

By John P. Hankey

| Railway Age

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE APRIL 2026 ISSUE: Two hundred years ago, the Pennsylvania Society for the Promotion of Internal Improvement published Reports on Canals, Railways, Roads, and Other Subjects. In it, William Strickland summarized conclusions from his intensive eight-month stay in Great Britain, studying state-of-the-craft technologies. It is one of the most significant documents in American business and transportation history.

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The Final Act of Independence

Mar 09, 2026 |

By John P. Hankey

| Railway Age

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE, RAILWAY AGE MARCH 2026 ISSUE: Railroad history tends to be reductive, or at the very least presented without a great deal of context. Why that is, and what to do about it, have not greatly troubled scholars and writers of popular histories for the past two centuries. There were many reasons. By its nature, railroading is complex, multi-disciplinary, dispersed and sometimes devilishly hard to characterize.

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Steamtown's Future: Railroad Heritage at a Crossroads

Aug 29, 2025 |

By John P. Hankey

| Trains Magazine

Thirty years after its grand opening as a unit of the National Park Service, Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pa., is at a crossroads. Whether you admire or disdain it, know nothing about it, or simply hope for its survival, it remains a significant railroad preservation effort. Steamtown has the potential to expand the ways we think about railroad heritage and could redefine the ways future generations understand how railroad mobility helped shape America.

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Pullman porters and the fight for equality

Aug 06, 2025 |

By John P. Hankey

| Trains Magazine

A century can seem like a long time, especially given the accelerating rate of change that oppresses all of us. At the same time, 100 years is one long lifetime. Almost 100,000 now-living Americans were on this Earth in 1925, the year a group of Black Pullman employees organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids in New York. That August, they selected a young labor activist named Asa Philip Randolph as their president.

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Train music, or music in trains?

Jun 02, 2025 |

By John P. Hankey

| Trains Magazine

Railroading — and its echoes — remain all around us, deeply embedded in language, culture, technology, and attitudes. It is less visible today than even 50 years ago, but it is there if you take a look. Or listen, because trains have been a major part of the American cultural soundtrack. There is music about trains. There is music mentioning trains. And then there is music which is technically neither, but the trains are there nevertheless.

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A new look at Civil War railroading

May 05, 2025 |

By John P. Hankey

| Trains Magazine

Almost exactly 160 years ago, the American Civil War wound down to a messy and anticlimactic end. By December 1864, it was apparent the Union had prevailed. It didn’t necessarily win, but at least southern secession had been thwarted. If noticed at all, the anniversary might be an occasion to recount the many roles railroading played in the war. The standard narrative is that railroad mobility was a crucial supporting factor in supplying and enabling northern armies, ensuring victory.

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Cataloging the railroad hobby

Apr 11, 2025 |

By John P. Hankey

| Trains Magazine

Forty years ago, there was a lot going on in “Train World.” New museums, mainline steam programs, railroad-specific historical societies, and innovative preservation projects spawned a sense that railroad heritage had entered a different, more mature, phase. There were conversations about the emerging “railway heritage movement.” In hindsight, that was a tad optimistic. It had the same chances for success as organizing a squirrel parade at a kennel club show.

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Map And Facts (North vs South)

Feb 10, 2022 |

By Adam Burns, John P. Hankey, David Hollis

| american-rails.com

Last revised: February 10, 2022 By: Adam Burns Railroads in the Civil War would play a pivotal role in deciding how the campaign transpired. The North not only held a commanding advantage in total mileage but also boasted a mighty industrial machine across New England. There were many reasons for the South's failure to achieve victory. One of the most noteworthy was its inability to properly utilize the railroad.

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