All Aboard Amtrac??

[Anonymous]

While driving on bussiness I stopped along the BNSF main line to watch some trains near Mendota Ill. An Amtrac train went by. It was being pulled by 5 engines. All 5 were the new one's that I have no idea what they are called. (I no very little about engines I just like watching trains.) What I found surpising about this train was the fact that it was pulling 36 cars. 6 were passenger cars, 15 were boxcars and 15 were roadrailer trailers. This train was hauling more frieght then passengers! Questions; When did Amtrac get into the frieght bussiness? Are they making more money hauling frieght? How are they getting away with this? I cannot believe BNSF would allow a goverment subsitized outfit, to use there rails and take revenue away from them. Last year Amtrac was complaining that they had no money to repair passenger cars but yet, the boxcars and trailers I saw all looked brand new. Was Amtrac deferring there repair money and funneling it into buying these new frieght cars?
Maybe I am reading to much into this but, All Amtrac needs is one passenger per train and they can legaly steal money from other railroads from the time sensetive frieght market. Am I wrong? If I am right were can I buy shares of Amtrac?
TIM ARGUBRIGHT

[Jackflash]

Tim, I think I read somewhere that the "freight"
that amtrak hauls would not go by rail if amtrak
didnt haul it, if it were stopped tomorrow that
freight would be on the interstate tomorrow night
I'm not real sure I read the article right or
remember everything so I'll stand corrected if I'm
wrong about this. jackflash

[Modelcar]

...I don't know all the details either, but Amtrak has been hauling special shipments, not sure what the category...maybe even some mail but it has been an effort to effect the bottom line. And, now I believe the latest is they are in the process of doing away with that service.

QM

[ironhorseman]

Dear Tim,

Amtrak regularly hauls mail on most of all of its routes most of the time. I have rode the Southwest Chief a couple of times and sometimes they have a long string of road railers on the end and sometimes it's not very many. Near Kansas City they pick up a heck of a lot of mail. I remember one trip we must have stayed in the station over an hour after I boarded. It was late at night, the conducter said we'd be picking up some mail cars then be on our way. I fell asleep and woke up to find we hadn't left K.C. I have also rode between K.C. and St. Louis several times and they sometimes have mail cars and sometimes don't.

TRAINS Magazine did an article about the mail Amtrak hauls. I did a search and came up with two relevant articles. I don't know which issue these articles came out of since every article in the search was dated 09/24/2002 for some reason. The first article I have pasted completly in, just in case anyone has problems with the direct web address to the article. The second one I only put in the first paragraph since it mainly deals about funding.

If I ever find the issue these came from I'll put that in at a later time.

ironhorseman

"Why Amtrak bothers with Mail and Express"
by Bob Johnston
see article at:
http://www.trains.com/content/dynamic/articles/000/000/001/699gejib.asp

>Is mail and express worth the bother?

>In fiscal year 2000, cargo contributed $122 million to Amtrak versus $1.277 billion of passenger-related revenue. After other corporate income is included, it amounts to a little over 6 percent of Amtrak’s total take at the cash box.

>That’s not a lot on which to hang the future of the company, but that figure is up a whopping 25 percent from FY ’99, including a 19 percent increase for mail (to $96 million) and a 50 percent increase in express shipments (to $26 million).

>On the expense side, the picture is murky because mail and express was only lately divested from Amtrak Intercity into its own unit. However, ballooning operating expense numbers coinciding with the years of greatest boxcar and RoadRailer deployment hint that the mail and express initiative hasn’t come cheap.
-------------------------------------------------
>"Mail and Express would vanish with Amtrak’s long-distance trains "
by Bill Stephens
see article at: http://www.trains.com/content/dynamic/articles/000/000/002/043ocysw.asp

>If Congress balks at increasing Amtrak’s funding and the railroad then follows through on its threat to scrap most long-distance service in October, the Amtrak Mail and Express network would vanish overnight along with the passenger trains it relies upon. ...

[Anonymous]

Well, well Timmy.

The USDOT owns Amtrak. Amtrak is their secret way to funnel barrels of money to the "private" freight companys. Need a new communications system there "private" freight company. Here let Amtrak fix Yahoo on their trains which will cover all the dead spots. Need repair depots===Heck use one of Amtraks 14. Need millions for track usage rights for 10 minutes a day while a Amtrak uses the tracks ---Here let the tax-payers pay it.

Me-Here-Now

I believe the owner of the Cincinatti Reds owns all the junk shares which are worth about 2 bits apiece.

[Anonymous]

If you do not have the courage to sign a proper name, Please do not annoy me with your dribble.
"Illinios"

[edblysard]

WE DONT CARE WHAT YOU SAY.
EThe Unihead Ed

[Anonymous]

Missouri, shutthefuckup. O.K.! Just shut up! Go away. You are an illiterate jackoff artist!
Ken

[Anonymous]

Sir you have been most helpful. I was able to read one of the articles, I will have to go to the Library for the other. Thank you for the info
TIM ARGUBRIGHT

[Anonymous]

Jackflash,QM thanks for the help. You have steered me in the right direction. Thanks again,
TIM A

[JoeKoh]

well clown
do you know who owns the reds?by the way its spelled CINCINNATI.IF YOU MAKE IT PAST hOUSTON BE THERE JULY 18TH.coward
joe

[JoeKoh]

by the way clown
when the reds built their new stadium it was finished on time and under budget so go back home to mamma clown.
joe

[Anonymous]

I have no problem if Amtrak wants to haul some freight. IT would be the freight carrier's loss. Let them fight over it. Maybe make some competition. If the passanger train hauls a box car or two it will get to the destination a lot faster than the way the freight carriers now carry it.IT could then be spotted by switcher to destination. The freight trains fool around too much. A few hundred miles a day is bull. No wonder they can not compete except for bulk commodities.

[Anonymous]

Boy, you really don't know crap about railroading and your post shows it. We don't fool around hauling freight. I have forgotten more about moving freight than you will ever learn. Railroading is very simple from the foamer side.
Ken

[Anonymous]

Hauling frieght would be OK but, it seems to me that Amtrac is borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. All of last year we heard Amtrac crying that they did not have enough money to repair passenger cars that were broke or damaged. They made a big fuss and lobbied for more money just on that fact. Trouble with that is, it looks like they were going out and spending big bucks on boxcars and roadrailer trailers at the same time. That implies that they are making frieght service the priority and passenger service secoundary.
Another question for the talent out there. Is there a sight were someone can get a list of how many cars Amtrac owns and when they were bought?
TIM A

[Anonymous]

Whats a foamer?
TIM A

[Anonymous]

Amtrak actually owns almost nothing---they have sold all of it off and lease it back. A million a day towards interest on loans before the first wheel turns.

Train Equipment/Infrastructure

Passenger Cars: Amtrak operates 2,141 railroad cars including 168 sleeper cars, 760 coach cars, 126 first class/business class cars, 66 dormitory/crew cars, 225 lounge/café/dinette cars, and 92 dining cars. Baggage cars make up the remainder of the fleet.
Locomotives: Amtrak operates 425 locomotives, 351 diesel and 74 electric.
19 Acela Express trainsets currently provide high-speed rail service along the Northeast Corridor between Washington and Boston.

[Anonymous]

Yeah Ken, what is a "Foamer"? Is it contagious? Can you buy them at WalMart? Do they make them in 6 packs?

Jeff

[Anonymous]

I asked you to stop annoying us. When you find the courage to sign a proper name like an adult then you may respond. Untiil then, You are a coward and cannot be trusted. You have also insulted some very talented and respectable people. Please find another WEB sight to play your childish games.
ILLINIOS

[Mookie]

Psst Tim: That was almost a courteous answer from Missouri - no yelling, no grade crossing info and no murders. I don't know if his information is correct, but at least it was polite.

Jen

Nebraska!