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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gilbert B Norman: [QB] I agree with everything you state in your mature and respectful posting, Mr. Kiernan. There is no question whatever, NARP has learned how to "play the Washington game" - I may have called Tony Haswell a rich kid, but I never called him stupid. Transportation interests have and will continue to line up at the feeding trough - and those "vittles' always come with strings attached. Away from railroads, let us remember that Uncle Sam can requisition any commercial aircraft or maritime vessel for a rather low standard of "National Defense' (Uncle can even requisition foreign flagged vessels where US shipping has been sold to foreign interests; case in point the "tonnage" conveyed from US flagged Sea-Land to Danish flagged Maersk). Even though "my" MILW did not benefit one penny from land grants for Lines West (they did for other lines West of "Big Mo'), I think the land grants were paid in full for years of handling government shipments at bargain basement rates. Now to the issue dear at hand to this Forum - intercity passenger trains (remember, volks, I ride 'em too - "more positives than negatives"). Yes, by grace of joining Amtrak, the railroads were instantly and without any further arduous trips "to the courthouse", i.e. regulatory agencies, relieved of the real, i.e. $$$ out of the cookie jar, passenger train losses. But how long is proper "penance" for this relief? As I have noted, I was in railroad management on A-Day. By no means was I high up (entry level Internal Auditor) but I did have informal contact with those who were "higher up' and the only consensus I could gather regarding Amtrak was negative. However, it was to be all over in about five years. Amtrak was to be a means to instantly kill some 66% of the intercity service (that it did) and to provide for an orderly means to discontinue the rest. That of course meant "buying time' for the NECorridor (I think it would have been folded into the RRR '73, or Conrail enabling legislation) and to conduct a "spruce 'em up', a marketing campaign, and otherwise present a 'well we tried" case prior to hanging up the Adios drumheads. Needless to say that was not the outcome; the roads are now burdened with over saturated ROW's operating passenger trains that "don't exactly' pay their way - and now an advocacy group that seems to know how to play the game better than most is pushing for more of 'em!!! I guess there are differing viewpoints between contemporary railroad managers and most here at the Forum. [b]Disclaimer:[/b] while author @ age 66 does not seek to return to the railroad industry in any capacity, nevertheless holds positions in BNI and NSC [/QB][/QUOTE]
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