With movements like this its no wonder the public still thinks railroads are dying and trucks move everything. While the pedestrians and photographers are chased off the property the vandals continue to have a free for all! What a joke!
Otherwise, this would have been a profound photo with a modern locomotive paint scheme, two “fallen flag” boxcars and an iconic caboose.
What are you talking about?
Talking about what a shame it is to see modern day railroading represented in this manner. Despite the fact that the railroads are thriving they can’t shake the association with graffiti and its conveyance of crime and decay. I saw this photo and found it disturbing that vandals have the power to leave such a mark.
One of his usual non sequitur rants.
Glad you found the photo - none of us sees it!
Well darn. I guess it was a copyright issue despite the photographer being credited. Anyway, a pathetic train consisting of a nice CSX locomotive pulling two heavily tagged Wisconsin Central boxcars and a heavily tagged Conrail wide vision cab.
Just wanted to share it as it staggered me for a minute. Forgive the graffiti rants but its the elephant in the room that nobody wants to acknowledge. And, its to a point something needs to be done.
Were the engines not able to get the boxcars to their customers?
In other words, two revenue loads being picked up or delivered (or empties to be loaded or that were unloaded). The shove platform (caboose) indicates a significant shove move to make that pickup/delivery.
Odds are the only thoughts that any motorists who experienced the move had were that it was holding them up on their way to wherever they were going.
The chief reason that the general public doesn’t realize how much materiel moves by rail is because they don’t interface with it. Remember that between a third and a half of all rail traffic moves at night, often over stretches of track with no public interface (ie, crossings).
All truck traffic moves over the highway system. The public has no way of avoiding interfacing with it.
The cars in the picture (as described, anyhow) apparently were fully capable of handling a load, unless they were on their way to the scrapper…
Yes the boxcars were able to get to the customer. But who appears more capable? The company providing the consignee with two derelict looking graffiti laden boxcars or the company providing two shiny white and chrome trailers with a pride of ownership not obscured with spray paint? Whether one believes it or not the image will eventually factor in.
The one that gets the cars there for the best price. The people making those decisions don’t care what the boxcars look like on the outside.
Not everyone is hung up on graffiti.
I really don’t understand the statement “hung up on graffiti” within a community of what should be rail supporters. You must not aspire to much if you find the wholesale destructiof the nation’s railroads trivial. Yet, coming from a nation of slobs (look around) its not surprising!
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Whoelsale destruction. A bit of an overreach, I think.
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It appears the railroads are content with public relations generated from a grade crossing accident or a hazardous cargo spill. I have noticed that any time the media speaks of “hard working Americans” railroaders are never included in the list. Or “getting goods to market.” Its always the trucker and never the railroaders.
The irony here is the railroads are thriving yet, nobody is noticing it. I can’t think of many businesses which do not want to tell how good they are. Or, content to let the competition take all the credit.
The better question is would you eat at an establishment in a neighbor hood plasterd with graffiti?
Wholesale destruction? I’ll stand by that. When you compare the cost dealing with graffiti two decades ago and today …Well, thats millions of dollars wasted away on painting, reapplying data and stripes.
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So how has UPS, Pods, Two Men and a Truck, and JB Hunt missed the mark by proudly promoting what they do? All that paint, graphics and marketing mean nothing to the end user who gets a package, rents a storage container, moves his home or ships a product. Why do they bother?
Hooters has made a reputation of what the server looks like who waits on your table! Image and public relations works real good there! [8-|]
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