Dave Howarth Jr. Livin' On Former CNW Spur From Manitowoc To Appleton In Reedsville, WI
- Formerly From The Home of Wisconsin Central's 5,000,000th Carload
- Manitowoc Cranes, Manitowoc Ice Machines, Burger Boat
QUOTE: Originally posted by dknelson The CNW used to bring intermodal down from Green Bay through Milwaukee to Chicago, presumably Global or Proviso. They'd pick up some in Milwaukee at St Francis. That service stopped in the 1980s as I recall. I never heard an explanation but presumably the distance was short and the on-line switching made it use up crew time so the usual intermodal efficiency wasn't there. I don't think CN picked up any cars once it left Green Bay however. Given what a nightmare Chicago is becoming I am surprised there isn't some market for intermodal from Green Bay. On the other hand Green Bay does not seem to be quite the traffic source it was in the 1970s to 1990s, if the declining rail picture is any indication. Dave Nelson
QUOTE: Originally posted by M.W. Hemphill In reference to the money CN was making on the Green Bay intermodal service, and CN's plans for WC being limited to Superior to Chicago. Could you share with us the documentation for that?
QUOTE: Originally posted by M.W. Hemphill Thanks, wcfan. Unfortunately, then, the information on the intermodal business isn't reportable by any reasonable standard. It would require a name and a verification of that person's qualifications to know that information -- anyone with access to and high-level information about the P&L statements for the last few years, for instance. A casual glance on a desktop won't do, because I wouldn't be able to ask them about what went into that P&L. Better yet would be the document itself and someone who would swear to its authenticity, and knowledge of its components. Otherwise, there's absolutely no way to separate the story from gossip, malicious intent, or criminal intent. As for the interest only in the Chicago-Superior line, it's imposslble to know intent. However, you can measure if actions are consistent with intent. In this case, a well documented, before-and-after service levels report for all of the WC service units or lines would show if service has changed. That still doesn't prove that the corporation's interest has declined, however. It could actually prove they were more interested, because they were trying to reduce their costs to bring the service out of the red. What' you would then do is compare the document to the railroad's public statements and see if it was consistent. If that led nowhere, then you'd compare it to the historical record of similar changes to see if it falls into any established pattern that would enable you to predict future actions. You still haven't proved intent, of course -- you've only predicted a likely future behavior. You see the problem here: knowing anything that you can sign your name to as a journalist, reporter, or observer of the railroad scene, other than what the railroad publically states and swears to, takes quite a lot of work, and often comes up empty anyway. That's why most of what you see in the business press works primarily with company statements, looking for patterns and testing for consistency. The cost of anything investigative is huge, and the marketplace for business reporting supports very little of that (too bad, because it's fun). Business journalists proceed from the assumption that most people and corporations are reasonable, most of the time, and that market fundamentals will prevail. In the short term, people and corporations can be quite wrong, but it self-corrects when the market starts slapping them around. To believe otherwise is to believe that normal people, upon seeing a $100 bill blowing around in the street, stand there for the next 15 minutes to see if blows irretrievably into a sewer.
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