This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mentzer, M. S. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Irrational optimism in a declining industry: Sir Adam Beck's interurban railway proposal

University of Saskatchewan

Sir Adam Beck, best known for his advocacy of publicly owned electric utilities, in 1920 sought to build a network of electric interurban railways in southern Ontario. Such ‘interurbans,’ often referred to as ‘radials’ in Ontario, were essentially long-distance trolleys and would have been entirely separate from conventional railways. Beck failed to recognize that the interurban industry was already in a state of decline by 1920, and the resulting controversy pit Beck against Ernest Drury, Premier of Ontario, who successfully blocked the plan. Beck's proposal illustrates the phenomenon of irrationally optimistic responses to the decline of an industry.

Key Words: Ontario • radials • railroad • Toronto

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?