Must be a recession (Parked up Power)

[ex-railwayman]

I wonder how much it would cost to ship an SD to Nottingham.
Claude

Actually, I don't think it would cost anything more than about $10,000 - all I would need to do is get it from California to New York, sea freight it to Southampton and then drive it up here....I'd need an American engineer of course to drive it for me, how are ya fixed Claude, ever driven one of these babies before.....:hehe:

Cheerz. ex. :wave:

 

[Klinger]

And by scrapping rather than storing, they save a bit of money which makes the next quarterly report look better.
Which, by the way, is the mindset that put us in this condition to begin with.
The stock market has mostly stabilized. if the politicians will just stop saying stupid things to panic the market (again) we've already started to recover on our own. A little help would make it go faster, as long as its not something incredibly stupid.
But then, this is Washington we're talking about.
If they required early pre-ordering and rail transport wherever economically feasible it would go a long way to help the rails and the economy.
Done right, the high speed rail program could be not only a powerful long-term stimulus, but a profitable one as well.

Claude

p.s. Come on over, Wilee, we'll run some trains especially for you.

the problem is that people look at rail traffic as an outdated form of transportation. I read a news article recently, I cant remember what or where, but it was something about railroads, I believe it was about moving the rail lines in Denver east out of the city. Some one posted a comment on the story, saying that we should scrap all railroads and haul everything by truck.

Can you imagine? Millions and millions MORE trucks on the interstates? 20 lane wide highways packed bumper to bumper across whole states? Taking 10 days to get from Chicago to New York. Train travel is hands down the most efficient form of transporting goods.

People think that trains are an outdated form of travel from 150 years ago. people need to see, not just railfans either, real people who know nothing about trains, need to see that trains are part of the future, as well as a piece of history. High speed trains like the Acela can carry people cross country in record times. We should not JUST expand airports and make highways wider, investing in rail traffic would clear up both airports and highways, and should be considered as not just as a method of last resort, but as a alternative to taking a plane of driving.

And right beside the Acela, places like the Cumbras and Toltec, and the Durango and Silverton, and the Union Pacific Steam Program, and Strasburg, shows the history of railroads, its rich history, places like the D&SNG have been operating continusly since 1880, never ceased.

Railroads ARE improtant. And in order for them to make a difference, people who know nothing about them need to see how important they are. Railfans already know. Railroaders already know, its up to us to help educate the rest of the people here in America about what placed like Europe already know

 

[RooRocz]

Well, since the recession started, I've seen a huge INCREASE in the amount of traffic going through Washington D.C. (my school is right next to the tracks)

Clearly there is some sort of conspiracy happening.

 

[dreddman]

Yeah, a sad reflection on the economic state, in all countries. I hope they don't scrap those locos, I might chuck in a few quid for an SD70M, she'd look lovely in our garden, it'd give the kids next door something to clean on a Saturday afternoon...... :udrool:

Cheerz. ex.

by the angle of the pic they are short enough to fit in the back garden lol so many parked!

 

[illinoiscentral]

From a front page article in today's Wall Street Journal:

"The nation's five largest railroads have put more than 30% of their boxcars - 206,000 in all - into storage, according to the Association of American Railroads. Placed end to end, the cars would stretch from New York to Salt Lake City."

That my friends, sums it up right there.
Or as Harold in my new book would say,
"My Grandfather lived through the great depression, so everybody can just shut up or ship out!"-Harold Campbell
Looking forward to sharing more of these little quotes in the future!

 

[illinoiscentral]

Never Mind,
Illinois Central

 

[AJ_Fox]

Leave the politics out of it please.

Cheers

AJ

 

[illinoiscentral]

Look above your post AJ! Sorry about that, I have a big mouth or finger in this case!:wave: I type too much.

 

[K4driver]

but anyway...The Economy has not effected pittsburgh and the Mon valley as hard as other places. Pittsburgh managed to bounce their economy up a couple years ago when we were in our own bankruptcy issues. the Mon valley was (and is still) allready suffering from The loss of the steel mills in the 70's. So the only town in the Mon valley worth it is Monongahela. we have a decent economy so far....Btw Coal trains have Increased on the ex Prr, Ex PC, Ex Conrail, Mon Valley line. and the CSX local has expanded up farther up the river.

 

[backyard]

When the stored equipment starts disappearing...

...it means the economy is going to get better.

I have read that the BNSF has stored 19 miles of intermodal/tofc/cofc/autoracks on a company owned branch line in the Southwest.

 

[Tokkyu40]

There were also some cars parked on the San Diego & Arizona Eastern siding out by Ocotillo the last time I went past.
I don't know if that actually means anything, though. They usually have a few extra cars for Plaster City anyway.

Claude