★★★★ ★★★★
timates that another 100 million will be added to the U.S. population by 2050.
Southwest Chief: A Future?
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NEW YORK CENTRAL 2014 CALENDAR
15 photos includes color covers. Calendars are $11.00 each, Ohio residents add .88 cents sales tax. Dealer inquiries welcome.
NEW YORK CENTRAL SYSTEM HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. DEPT T • 17038 ROOSEVELT AVE LOCKPORT, IL 60441-4734
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Several months ago we reported that a spe- cial train plied the rails in a large swath of the Southwest Chief over three states (from Newton, Kan., to Albuquerque, N.M., via La Junta, Colo.). Each of the states would be re- quired to pay $4 million per year over a ten year period. In this case, January 2016 is key. That is the day the contract between Amtrak and track owner BNSF expires. NARP Chairman Bob Stewart has been meeting with city and state officials along the line visiting cities in Kansas, as the group’s President Ross Capon has spoken to a well-attended meeting in Pueblo, Colo. The Chief is an overnight from Chicago to L.A.
The NEC: Enough Room?
The Northeast Corridor (Amtrak-owned) is one of the most congested passenger rail lines anywhere in the world. But it now is at or near capacity, according to Angela Cotey of Progressive Railroading. The 457 miles linking Washington,
Philadelphia, New
York, New Haven, Providence, Boston and all points in between provides reliable serv- ice to an annual ridership of 13 million on Amtrak and 200 million on the commuter lines along the way. But, alas, “the majority of its infrastructure is at least a century old, and in the era preceding the bankruptcy of the old Penn Central, the line was not al- ways maintained properly. The corridor requires considerable spend- ing just to keep in good shape. More elabo- rate plans will have to wait. Rep. Bill Shus-
ter (R-Pa.) the current chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee, believes the NEC is worth in- vesting in, but he also believes such invest- ment will have to be balanced against pres- sures on Congress to deal with the nation’s $17 trillion debt, to say nothing of the fact that entitlements such as Medicare and So- cial security are going broke.
No More Gravy Train Uh-oh! Wait until the rail labor unions hear this: Train drivers (Those of us with respect for tradition call them engineers) have been raking in yearly salaries of $224,000 a year — in Australia. The trains haul iron ore in that nation’s remote Pilbara region. Think that will never last? Well, you may be right. The companies that have been pay- ing out that gold-plated compensation ap- parently have decided they’ve reached their breaking point, and are bringing the gravy train to a halt, thanks to robots. And why not? Robots not only are cheaper but willing to work longer hours. The math adds up no matter how you measure it. The mining giant Rio Tinto decided that although they were then employing about 400 drivers at that sky-high rate, the remote location where it is said one does not really have a life (and thus little activity on which to spend all that cash) will eventually make it harder to find any employees even for the attractive paychecks. As a matter of fact, union advocates themselves say working in such remote surroundings, regardless of the lucrative pay, is not exactly glamorous. Wes Vernon is a Washington-based writer and veteran broadcast journalist.
The Swissdriver: railroad trips in Switzerland
Y our tour guide for
GoldenRailVideo.com RUTLAND RAILS BEYOND THE by Philip R. Jordan
The Rutland Railway shut down in 1961, ending an era in New England railroading. Three years later the railroad was revived by the state of Vermont and began operation
as companies. and two Green different Author Philip R.
Jordan looks at the Rutland’s successors — the Vermont Railway
Mountain
Railroad — with a tour of the lines between Burlington, Vermont, and North Walpole, New Hampshire. (C00054) $12.95 + s&h
Order On-Line At:
www.carstensbookstore.com
Carstens Publications, Inc. 18 NOVEMBER 2013 •
RAILFAN.COM
www.steamtrainvideos.com
I organize and guide tours to the great railroad lines of Switzerland. Enjoy the famous Gotthard Railroad (SBB) or the scenic Furka Steam Railroad (DFB)! But I also show you the unknown railroads, like the beau- tiful Jura Railroad (CJ) or the narrow gauged Walden- burg Railroad (WB). Whatever you would like to discover, I take care to make it happen. I ride with you in the trains and inform you about the historical, technical and cultural aspects of the area. I drive you to the best photo spots along the track by car. I take care of tickets, food, lodging and souvenirs.
Hire me for your next railroad adventure in Switzerland! THE SWISSDRIVER ¦ Lorenz Degen
Member of the Center for Railroad Photography and Arts
Subscribe to Digital Editions! Details at:
www.railfan.com/digital/
Lettenweg 32 ¦ 4436 Liedertswil Switzerland / Europe Phone +41 (0) 79 728 87 24 Email:
swissdriver@bluewin.ch
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