[AT] quiet list/Railroads

[Gene Dotson]

    In October, 2006, I made a trip to Colorado to haul an IH truck that a 
friend had bought. On the trip home we left I-80 at Kimball, Nebraska and 
drove U.S. 30 to Grand Island. This highway parallels the main east/west 
rail line through the middle of the country. There are 5 main tracks. We met 
or passed a moving train at least every 10 or 15 minutes. Many were Pac 
Trains bound to or outbound from the major Pacific ports. Also many open 
gondola and grain cars hauling grain, coal and steel plus boxcars by the 
hundreds. Railroads are alive and well east of the Mississippi river.

                Gene



>
> Don't feel so bad about them, most railroads are doing very well, seeing 
> great
> profits, and shipping more freight than ever.   The local short lines are
> going bust, but the long cross country railroads are doing very well. 
> High
> oil prices help them, because they use 1/3rd the fuel of sending freight 
> by
> truck. (per amount shipped - obviously a train uses more fuel, but it 
> pulls
> 100 cars)
>
> All that junk we get from china gets put on a train and shipped to a city, 
> and
> then from the city to the stores.    Long distance semis are mostly used 
> when
> you are in a hurry, but it isn't important enough to fly.   (There are a
> bunch of exceptions to this, but in general if it can go by train does for
> part of the trip, because the cost is so much less)