When I was a kid in the 1950’s, Pomona, Calif. had numerous crossing gates towers. Colton had one too. And there were numerous railroad control towers also, such at West Yard Tower is San Bernardino and Hobart Tower in Los Angeles. As time went on, ALL these towers were eliminated!
The power of railroads was unreal. Now, however, with hardly anyone employed by railroads, Tehachapi Pass can’t even be two-tracked the opposition from locals is so stiff!
Where will all this end?
According to the Association of American Railroads, U.S. railroads have approximately 153,000 direct employees, creating a total economic impact supporting approximately 749,000 jobs. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics and the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, 1,220,784 people were employed in U.S. rail transportation in 1950.
Also in the latest news, horse carriage production is on a downward trend, along with blacksmiths, telephone operators and child labor.
So I suppose it’s curtains for buggy-whip makers, too, then?
This is an amazing statistic. Railroads in the US today move more freight than in 1950 with 1.1 million fewer workers? That’s a heck of a big increase in productivity.
Even camera toting railfans have been affected indirectly by self-defeatism.
About 45 years ago photography took a super hit, and all the great photographers left. And, they have never returned.
And that phenomena I believe is directly responsible for the constant massive exit of TRAINS Magazine subscribers, and for the mortality non-replacement of said subscribers.
With AI and robotics. Some people just exist and others live life to the fullest. Some people let things happen, others make things happen. The world is a wondrous place for those that get off the couch.
We have six Golden Retrievers and two robot vacuums that also wash the floors. Buying those gave my wife 10 hours a week to go do something else more productive, more enjoyable.
There’s only the Mackinac Island, Central Park, Amish and S&M markets left, so yeah! 
I just read that iRobot, maker of the Roomba robo-vacuum just went into bankruptcy due to tariffs.
Roomba Maker iRobot Files for Bankruptcy and Will Go Private - Bloomberg
Read that with the advances in computers and AI and all the other ‘labor saving’ technologies - there will not be enough productive jobs for the working population - world wide.
Permanent Vacations does not a peaceful world make..
I am 69 and fully retired at 52. I have been very busy and involved since. Like I said, some people exist, some people live.
There are endless articles on how the economies of the world will unfold as AI takes over, start reading.
You have been fortunate - the Permanent Vacations I foresee start at the end of High School with no income but the dole. That will not be a stable world.
So why aren’t you one of the greats?
There’s plenty of great photographers. Many better than the ones of 45 years ago. But they aren’t found posting to railfan mags, train forums, or picture books. Those media are all but dead.
I am not seeing that so far. To me it seems AI and robotics are only eliminating the menial jobs. The benefit seems to be people can focus more on what they want to work on vs the menial and tedious tasks.
But ai is impacting things like art and music in a big way.
And who decides what counts as menial?
Menial jobs are what employ most of the work force. For every leader there are hundreds to thousands of employees with menial jobs to be led. Eliminate the menial jobs and you increase the UNEMPLOYED.
Unemployment does not benefit any country as a whole - it destabilizes it, it tears the country apart from the inside.
The answer to your question was right in YOUR quote.
However, why would anyone want to be a super great photographer these days? IS IT WORTH IT to spend thousands of dollars for camera equipment just to cater to super radicals?
Then there are the unknowns of the digital processing itself. Black and white was super simple in its time. So is color in the digital age, but untested. That is where I get hung up, having to spend thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars to prove it works … and how good it works. And it is not like one can just buy it off the shelf!
There is NOT just one wonder, but a multiplicity of wonders.
AGAIN, this is a thread with few viewers. I’m out of here.
Huh??? We’re going to need to see some actual documentation to back up a claim of that nature. Contact Firecrown Media and see if they’ll allow you access to their records so you can get the names and addresses of former magazine subscribers so you can contact them and see if they agree with your theory. Otherwise such a claim is invalid.
pennytrains:
The first issue of TRAINS I bought was in 1969 as a teenager. So. I’ve been around for a while.
I’ve seen a drop in circulation from 90,000, to 80,000, to 70,000, to 60,000 and honestly I don’t know what it is now, probably 40,000. But the fact that Kalmbach was sold to Firecrown tells me it was hopeless.
Currently, subscriber benefits are not completely available to me on Google Crome, and I’ve had to resort to Microsoft Edge. I’m still waiting for my magazine hard copies.
It is great you have a positive attitude! I wish I could say the same …
