On April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War I, and very soon the nation’s railroads proved inadequate to the task of supplying the nation’s war effort. The federal government seizes control of the railroads for the duration of World War I.

The backdrop to this is that the railroads were experiencing one of the most difficult financial periods in their history; costs (especially wages) were rising, taxes had been raised, yet the rates the railroads could charge were defined by law and remained static.

By the time the railroads were returned to private ownership in 1920, they are in seriously run-down condition and in need of substantial maintenance and improvement.

The United States Railroad Administration was the name given to the nationalised US railroad system between 1917 and 1920. It was possibly the largest American experiment with nationalisation, and was undertaken against a background of war emergency.

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