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homestead - Re: [Homestead] The Frustration of Addressing Real Problems

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  • From: "Don Bowen" <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>
  • To: <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] The Frustration of Addressing Real Problems
  • Date: Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:49:00 -0700

Truckers currently have the biggest "voice" in Congress. The rail lines are
far more efficient. We see that problem here in CA where massive quantities
of produce *used* to be "trucked" by rail but are now clogging up the
freeways and sucking down the fuel. Now the rail lines are either being
torn up and turned into "urban paths" or left lying to rot.

It is a little more complex than that. Trucks can deliver produce faster than rail. The cost is higher but trucks are faster. Railroads have mostly given up on perishable loads. With federal and union rules when a train crew times out a train may be left standing on some remote siding until a new crew can be brought out.

Railroads have long since given up on what used to be called LCL freight or Less than Car Load. This was the Railway Express where a single package could be dropped off at a station. Now even the stations are gone. Railroads now would rather have unit trains, a train of a single commodity. Coal trains are a prime example, a train of a single cargo, fill it up, take it some where and dump it, then go back to fill it up. It is easy to schedule. Trains of containers are another example, load a long train at Long Beach then haul it to a terminal somewhere where it is unloaded and the containers moved to trucks.

In fact the amount of container movement out of Long Beach required another track and to keep speeds the track had to be sunk below streets and freeways. Santa Fe is busily putting in double and triple tracks to speed up container movement. UP has four tracks in some areas to speed movement of coal trains. They are trying to double track some of the SP line but SP mismanagement is slowing that down.

It is a shame that many branch lines were torn up, we will need them before too long.

Don Bowen KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html




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