1956 is the year!!

[Anonymous]

Yes Indeedy,...I am the Anti-Redmond, Anti-MS, Anti-Gates, of biblical proportions...

He's so rich...and I'm so po...=)

Yes, technology is nice, some things are way better.

But, if you look at the Buying power of the dollar, the cost of a house, a car, a set of Living room furniture, etc in compare to a years wages, ...adjusting for inflation...the 50's were our High water mark..

Remember when the "word" was "Stay in school, oppose communism, and the american dream will be yours"?

Then the wording was changed to "can be yours"

Then the gold standard was 86'ed

Then, the Gov't decided that the cost of housing was causing unrealistic impact on the published CPI index?...so...IT WAS DROPPED from the calculation.

Can't you see the association? eg "The American Dream was an unrealistic goal for most folks"

In 56, even the Milkman could expect to buy a house, affordably,....look what happened to him..

OK, I was joking about the last part, but the last several years, I've been trying something "new"

Used to be, I'd see an ad on TV, latest and greatest xyz to open in town, and I'd be on the freeway to go check it out,...much like the rest of America.

Maybe I'm just getting older, but the "sizzle" is no longer more important than the steak.

When I get home from work, the car stays pretty much parked in the drive. If I want to eat out, I walk a block or three, to one of the Local restaurants, where the staff and manager recognize me as a regular, treat me exceptionally well. No "40 minute hustle" table turn,..etc

And ya know what? I like it better!! I've become a citizen of my Local environ,. with numerous businesses and service providers seeing me as "special", rather than just part of the "5:30 onslaught"

Thinking back, that's pretty much the world that Ward and June Cleaver lived in,...now isn't it?

Yeah I dig modern tech too.

Give me Gilligans Island and a T-1 line any day, and I'd be building a raft for the Skipper, the Professor, and Mr Howell to galantly sail out seeking our rescue, while I'd stay behind, you know, just to keep the girls safe... And I'd have all that I need ;-)

[Anonymous]

Hmmm, for ME, I think things went to pot in the time period between 1967, and 1985. But that's just my opinion. Railroads have been on the decline since the late 1920's...
Todd C.

[cabforward]

hiways had zilch to do w/change in anything except the small towns the interstate passed-by.. as has been mentioned in this forum beore, most nations' govts. operate their r.rs. .. their govt. decides issues bearing on pub. trans. ..here, private enterprise determines what works and what doesn't..
foreign govts. tell their citizens what will be provided for them, and that's it.. here, private enterprise decides what the public prefers and markets accordingly.. if one studies products embraced by the public and those rejected by the public, it becomes apparent that when the consumer finds something that interests him, he will spend money on it.. after wwii, consumers were more impressed by autos and highway driving than riding trains or local transit.. ergo, more cars were built and highways opened.. in foreign countries, new highways were built but europeans are accustomed to doing what they're told, and their govts. told them that trains were economical, cheap and frequent.. the europeans followed the lead of their govt., and continental trains have continued to be successful in the sense that they still run, not that they are moneymakers.. the govts. support their rail systems without question and joe six-pack supports the daily ridership..

if there was $$ to be made in u.s. pass.r.rs., somebody would have found it by now..
that there is such abysmal service means several things: capitalism will not support a losing operation; pass. r.rs. will not do well in u.s. due to inconsistent policies between the levels of govt. and the chaotic system of transportation auth. ( im talking about amtrak-type operations, not local transit ).. uncle sam will not foot the total $$, the states will not foot more than a small % of the $$.. the on-again, off-again attractiveness of pass. r.r. is not a hot stock investment for anyone.. r.rs. may well become the hot ticket again, but it wont be soon, and it wont happen with the present level of mistrust and micro-managment policies employed by would-be funding partners..

eisenhower is gone, so is elvis and the superchief, got it??

[edblysard]

Little late in 58, new years eve to be exact. Im the guy at the light in the 71 Challanger, the one with the funny vents in the sides of the hood, 440 Hemi, ram air induction, borg warner trick stick shifter, micky T 50s on the rear. Looked like crap, ran like lightning. Ate a whole lot of cameros and trans ams, a vette or two, broke even with a really trick 57 Bel-air.
And your goverment really has no plan to make a uniform transportation system, to many beuracrats have to many special projects, none will surrender theirs in favor of the real public interest. but for a look at a oddly smart plan, check out TDOT, texas dept of transportation website, and check out the trans texas corridors. If only it was that easy.
Ed

[Anonymous]

My idea of fun in the 60's was sitting near the NYC-GTW diamond in my home town and watching the trains roll through town.Then a trip uptown to see the muscle cars parade around in an endless circle. Nothing strikes more fear into your soul (and chest) than a full blown 426 hemi doind a burnout while the F's and Geeps blow through the other end of town.

[Modelcar]

....Putting all forms of Transport working together does seem to make sense. I wonder if the Gov. support for them will ever come as a package...but it sounds good to me. And way back when...Several of my buddies had 55, 56, and 57 T-Birds and I was the one in a Vette....It was fun.

QM

[sooblue]

Hi Anti:
*smile* Does "TheAntiGates" refer to Microsoft?
Being the first to reply leaves you open to a lot of BS but what the heck.
I think we're doing well for a growing Nation.
Technology has improved all our lives. I came on the scene in '53. Things seem better to me.
I like being able to hop onto the highway and trip out. What I don't like is when people try to divide all the different forms of transportation up and say one deserves to be subsidized and the other one needs to be done away with.
Someday we'll stop that nonsense and form a plan to use all the transportation to compliment each other. When we see how it can all work together we may even find that we WANT to subsidize it as a package. There is nothing that moves quantity better than Rail. There is nothing that moves people faster than Air. There is nothing as convenient as Auto. There is nothing that can distribute better than Trucking.
As far as Passenger service goes, We should give people choices, Rail works (or could) bus is excellent as a connector and auto is ofcourse convenient.
I don't want the "good old days" but I'd take a 56 t-bird.
Sooblue

[Anonymous]

That it all started to fall apart.

that's the year the Federal HWY admin decreed that there would be 41,000 miles of interstate Highway built.

Let's see, have we as a nation sprung forward since that time, or have we given up the grand mufti?

Gee, born in 1957 myself, they all look like the "good ol days" to me....