On Oct. 14, 1980, President Jimmy Carter affixed pen to paper and put nearly a century of U.S. railroad history permanently out to pasture.
The Staggers Rail Act, named for its sponsor, Rep. Harley O. Staggers, a West Virginia Democrat, ended much of the 93 years of federal railroad regulation. The act drastically diminished the influence of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which had been established in 1887 to oversee the railroads and curb their abuse of market power. It sent a...
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-staggers-act-settles-a-bit-uneasily-onto-cusp-of-middle-age