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Railroads

I have written letters to my Congressmae and Senator about the railroads. Why can't we re-invigorate our rail beds and expand them where they have to be expanded. Build a corridor that goes from coast to coast, get most of the long haul trucks off the roads by hauling the trailers on fast moving railroads. Then have the truckers deliver the merchandise on a regional or local level. This would save millions of gallons of diesel, but we must reinvent the railroads.

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Permalink Reply by John Sobolewski on September 1, 2008 at 11:22am
Government regulations and archaic laws dating way back have stifled the railroads and I would also assume that the American Trucking Industry has had a lot to do with freight moving in trucks instead of rails. Bottom line is we need an extensive overhaul of the rail industry, and for starters, there should be a think tank of concerned people ahich would have to include rail executives, rail employees, Fed and Stae highway officials, and finally a bunch of regular concerned citezens that could make some wise and long overdue decisions in the country's best interest..
Permalink Reply by John Sobolewski on September 25, 2008 at 7:35pm
We have been talking about the railroads for weeks and weeks, It is time for others to step up and make a difference. The govenment should take a stand and operate the railroads right of way as they do the federal highway system, and let the railrods pay a fee for operating on the tracks. I hope that this blog is more than just talk. I really need people to take notice and get behind these ideas that all of us have been throwing around. The railroads are a viable way of moving truck trailers from coast to coast and saving fuel (diesel) as well as reducing the long haul trucking and in effect, reducing the wear and tear on the highway system as well as fatalities on our roads. Wake up people and let's make a difference...
Permalink Reply by NKYCarbon on September 25, 2008 at 7:50pm
It is the most effiecient solution but we are sort of painted into a corner.

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS162692+25-Jan-2008+...

2.9 million ... Class 8 trucks

3.4 million ... professional truck drivers.

The truck cabs are worth say $100,000 a piece
Maybe $25,000 for a driver
(yes I'm using low numbers on purpose)

Say we take a million trucks off the road and a million drivers.
That is $100,000,000,000 of equipment that goes the way of the housing market, a million people out of work that were making at least $25,000,000,000 a year and paying income taxes, road taxes, gas taxes.

Fuel costs probally have started this shift already but speeding it up would actually reduce the amount of things to move since a big chunk of the economy would have gone missing.
Permalink Reply by John Sobolewski on September 25, 2008 at 9:16pm
I am not saying to take the trucks off the highway, only the interstate. We need the trucks and the drivers for shorter hauls. The railroads would do the long hauling, but there would still be a vast need for the truckers, only for much shorter routes. The goods still have to be delivered to distribution centers and to retailers..
Permalink Reply by DubleDeuce on September 26, 2008 at 1:41am
and let the railrods pay a fee for operating on the tracks>>

John, The railroads OWN the tracks. The railroads USE the tracks. The railroads OWN the right of ways upon which the tracks are laid. The rail roads ALREADY are taxed to Kingdom come. You want MORE? And own the property too?

Seems as though you and that Hugo Chavez guy from Venezuela are just MADE for each other. Everything has a "let the Guvmint do it" connotation.

Wake up people. Lets FIGHT to keep private enterprise PRIVATE.

The Deuceman
Permalink Reply by neil cox on September 26, 2008 at 2:30am
I agree: Private enterprise is often short of perfect, but recent government has rarely done anything well. Judging from Federal management of our financial institutions, any changes in how the feds regulate the railroads is likely to make matters worse with horrible side effects. If the 80% railroad is correct for over 1000 miles, little improvement is practical, and it could easily drop to 75% at huge cost to the taxpayers. Most of the present tracks are unsafe for high speed rail. Railroads produce lots of noise. I occasionally hear the line 5 miles from my house. I would not want tracks closer to where I live, Some people do not want to give up their home to make more tracks or highways, even if paid top market price. Better is to adjust zoning laws so that each square mile is more self sufficient, thus reducing the need to move either people or goods daily. Our health would likely improve, if we lived a simpler lifestyle, besides saving energy. Neil
Permalink Reply by DubleDeuce on September 26, 2008 at 1:34am
we must reinvent the railroads.>>
Yeah, I think that steam powered locomotives should be retired and go with diesels. Maybe like THIS. http://www.emdiesels.com/emdweb/emd_index.jsp

Or, do you mean like THIS?
http://www.triplecrownsvc.com/Bimodal.html

Been There Done That, and NOW you have just wasted a postage stamp to tell your congressman something that he probably knows already.

Push the Plan.

The Deuceman
Permalink Reply by DubleDeuce on September 26, 2008 at 1:53am
Permalink Reply by NKYCarbon on September 26, 2008 at 7:50am

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