Interesting article

Classic Toy Trains Forum
1

I don’t know if this will work, but here is a link to a story in today’s WSJ about the railroads. It is pretty interesting reading:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120179835382432337.html?mod=hps_us_pageone

Regards,

John

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John,

Interesting article. It was all news to me. Thanks.

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Great Wall Street Journal article, John. Trains cannot help but have a resurgence, not only because of fuel costs as the article pointed out but because around major metropolitan areas there are simply too many cars and trucks competing for a fixed amount of roadway. I read with interest how cheap it is moving freight by train versus truck. Our just in time mentality will have to be reconsidered because fuel costs ain’t going down any time soon, if ever.

During the past 20 years up here in the Northeast, I’ve seen auto traffic go from simply aggravating to outright putrid. It amazes me that the existing commuter rail lines around Boston still struggle to attract ridership. I used to be one of those frazzled drivers on the road.

I used to drive into Boston (25 miles one way) and finally gave up, checked out the commuter rail. I was hooked. For seven years I would leave home, buy coffee and a paper, catch a train 1 mile from my house, and then relax on the ride into Boston watching the stalemate on the roads during the trip or catch up on some work stuff. Add in some bad weather and the car cummute got only worse, while the train commute remained the same, on time. On the reverse commute, the same, only when I got home I was relaxed.

A guy I worked with and who lived a couple of miles from me offered me a ride home one night when we were leaving work. He said he wouldn’t take the train because he would be tied to a train schedule and, besides, it was quicker to drive. I bet him he couldn’t beat the train I was going to catch. As he pulled into the train station where my car was parked near my home, I calmly pointed out the train departing the station, my train. He lost the bet.

Parking costs, wear and tear on your car, wear and tear on you. Commute time. Sure, you have to work around the train schedule. Yes, sometimes an a/c or heating unit on a train car is o