-> On 18 Jul 09  03:12:36, Bob Ackley got back to Dan Ceppa 
-> Re: Rail travel

 DC> If done right, the RRs coukd take over ld transportation from otr
 DC> trucks.  

 BA> That depends.  The major railroads have disposed of most of their
 BA> branch lines and only seem to be interested in moving huge volumes of
 BA> commodities (coal, grain, etc.) between major terminals.  IOW the

Coal is their major customer.  There's a book out on the subjexr, _Big 
Coal_, if I recall the title correctly.  

 BA> railroads *can't* pick up and deliver door-to-door like they once
 BA> could. 

True, thats why I mentioned ld shipments.  

 BA> The railroads also cannot promise delivery on or by a certain date;
 BA> the load will get where it's supposed to go, eventually.  Nor can they
 BA> promise that a loaded railcar will be picked up on a certain date. 
 BA> This sort of thing just does not work when companies need pickup and
 BA> delivery *on time*. 

Bothe the customer and the RRs will need to change and adapt.  IIRC, the 
place I worked at had a regularly scheduled day for pickup.  The only 
delivery was an empty rr car for the next pickup.  

 BA> The only way to get the long distance hauling back on the rails (where
 BA> IMO it belongs) is to force the truckers to pay the actual cost of the
 BA> damage those huge loads are doing to the highways.  Putting the
 BA> trailers on flatcars is a step in the right direction.

I know IC licensig is expensive.  I'm not sure how far it goes to defraying 
actual costa though. 

 BA> The last time (1994) I drove across Nevada there were stretches that
 BA> had  signs posted for 18-wheelers to use the *left* lane.  Presumably

I've seen that in other states as well.  

 BA> Usedtawas that there were very few really long distance OTR truckers. 
 BA> That industry has grown mainly as a result of the Interstate highway
 BA> system - paid for by the taxpayers.  Likewise, airports for air travel
 BA> are paid for by the taxpayers. If the users of those highways and
 BA> airports were required to pay the actual cost of providing those
 BA> highways and airports there'd be a lot less travel on those  systems. 

The same holds true with the fact that oil pricing is subsidized.  

 BA> Note that rail passenger travel was *all* paid for by the respective
 BA> railroads, and the cost of that rail ticket accurately reflected the
 BA> cost of providing the service (unlike air and bus tickets).

The RRs had their benefits.  That dash to Promontory Point ceded an 
awful lot of land to the RRs.  

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