RichM wrote:There are solutions, they just require a long term investment.
Not truer a word has been spoken. Especially so when one considers that, generally, American Railroads started with a 'build it fast, build it cheap, we'll improve it later' mindset. E. H. Harriman understood this and UP is reaping the rewards of what he did to the Overland route. Now that his SP-UP dream is realized it's past time for Omaha to start this effort anew.
CSX needs to learn this mentality and learn it fast. The ACL mainline down the East Coast was once a double-track speedway. Aside from that I can't think of another CSX main line which received such an improvement, i.e. Southern's "Rat Hole" division improvement of the 1960s. CSX's rationalization of the 1980s certainly didn't help. CSX lines in the southeast have really become a 'wooden axle' railroad. I find it ironic that CSX announces their capital investment program after the
Trains magazine article. Coincidence? I don't think so.
Speaking of
Trains magazine, since Jim Wrinn has come aboard the gloves seem to be off and I applaud his effort. Another periodical,
Railway Age, is the mouthpiece for the industry and cannot afford to be critical.
Trains has always been in that nebulous area between railfan and railroader and not beholden to either. Mr. Wrinn has been critical of CSX's strategy in the Southeast and it's about time someone did so. Trains is more than just pretty pictures and anecdotes from railfans. It is also the views and experiences of real hardboiled railroaders whose opinions mean much more than a post on a BBS. Mr. Wrinn has saved at least one subscription. At this rate he will accomplish much more.