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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by Clevelandrocks So what you are telling me is that Railroads cant do everything that used to do in the era from 1850-1979...That LCL,LTL and express is not profitble. That single car railroading is not worth the railroads time? That Railroading is a very specialsed transportation industry capable of doing only a few things well or right? That railroads are not a panacea to our nations transportation and enviromentle woes? Am I supposed to unlearn everything that I have been taught Mr Hemphill? Please tell me when did Trains magazine become a apolagist for the railroad industry? Amtrak Express was a great idea whos time had come and why is no one complianing that they are selling off there Express boxcars at way below market rates? I believe that something fishy is going on here [/quote] The railroads until 1979 were a heavily regulate industry and where rates between A and X for a commodity were the same, not matter the carriers involved in the haul. In 1980 the Staggers Act took effect and allowed the railroads to compete in a deregulated enviornment. In that enviornment they were allowed to set their rates on a market basis and also on a cost basis. Once the railroads had to accurately cost the services they had been providing in the Regulated era, they found out that they were losing vast sums handling various commodities on various routes and under specific circumstance. The light bulb lit. Today's railroads seek traffic that will compensate them for handling it. If the traffic doesn't bring money to the corporations bottom line the railroads raise the prices to the level necessary to make money on it. With the raise in prices some shippers decide, for market reasons, there is a better was to handle their shipping needs. Some shippers continue to ship rail and the increased revenue comes to the bottom line. Railroads are in business to make money, not just to haul traffic and especially not to haul traffic that cost more to haul than is received in revenue.
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