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New Amtrak president

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New Amtrak president
Posted by blue streak 1 on Friday, August 19, 2016 12:32 PM

Amtrak announces Moorman as new president.  Will Fred be happy ?  Wonder how the auto router problem hearings will be handled ?  Conflict of interest ?d 

http://media.amtrak.com/2016/08/amtrak-names-industry-veteran-wick-moorman-president-and-chief-executive-officer/

 

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Posted by oltmannd on Friday, August 19, 2016 4:22 PM

He is, hands down, the best man for this job.  He is a "true believer" in passenger trains.  

CEO of NS was his "dream job".  President of Amtrak is his dream post-retirement hobby.

I'll be he commutes to work on the Norfolk - DC train he helped put in place...

 

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by Buslist on Friday, August 19, 2016 4:40 PM

oltmannd

He is, hands down, the best man for this job.  He is a "true believer" in passenger trains.  

CEO of NS was his "dream job".  President of Amtrak is his dream post-retirement hobby.

I'll be he commutes to work on the Norfolk - DC train he helped put in place...

 

 

Not my number 1 pick but a great#2!

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Posted by dakotafred on Friday, August 19, 2016 4:57 PM

He'll be the best we've had in a long time to tell yahoos like John Mica what they can do in their hats.

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Posted by oltmannd on Friday, August 19, 2016 5:56 PM

dakotafred

...to tell yahoos like John Mica what they can do in their hats.

 

He won't do that.  That's not his way.  He'll get Amtrak managment squared away, spend a lot of time rallying the troops in the field and schmooze the Hill like mad.

 

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by Leo_Ames on Friday, August 19, 2016 6:11 PM

Good move for a change. Looking forward to seeing what he can do at Amtrak. 

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Friday, August 19, 2016 6:13 PM

The big question is "  can he get maintenance to have more rolling stock operating and be in a state of good repair ? "

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Posted by D.Carleton on Friday, August 19, 2016 7:44 PM

So this means the Sandy Creek will be getting a coat of Platinum Mist and the cigar band, right?Smile 

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Posted by BaltACD on Friday, August 19, 2016 7:58 PM

Which goes to how well he can extract money from Congress.  Running Amtrak is less about the equipment, service and employees than it is about dealing with Congress and all it's spear throwers trying to put an end to the Wooly Mamouth that they percieve Amtrak to be.

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Posted by dakotafred on Friday, August 19, 2016 8:10 PM

BaltACD

Which goes to how well he can extract money from Congress.  Running Amtrak is less about the equipment, service and employees than it is about dealing with Congress and all it's spear throwers trying to put an end to the Wooly Mamouth that they percieve Amtrak to be.

 

 
Agree. The BIG job is to have sharp, effective answers, as Boardman never did, when ignoramuses like Mica try to tell him how to run the business. This is more important than ever as we move further year by year from a time when passenger trains and the realities of the business were common knowledge.
 
From my personal observations, which admittedly are confined to mainly west and south of Chicago, Amtrak employees don't need rallying. They already do a great job (always with the exception of one woman running a diner on the California Zephyr who has also caught the attention of Fred Frailey!).
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Posted by blue streak 1 on Friday, August 19, 2016 10:15 PM

Moorman demonstrated great finnese in helping NS deflect CP from taking over NS.  Probably the sooner he gets on board the better he will be able to deal with congress.  Additionally he should be able to deal with the new US president in Amtrak's favor .

Cannot know the personalities but if Moorman can sit in on Boardman's final days he may get a jump on the job.  Anyone know if he was on the Boardman western trip very low profile ?

 

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Posted by schlimm on Friday, August 19, 2016 11:04 PM

blue streak 1
Moorman demonstrated great finnese in helping NS deflect CP from taking over NS. 

He retired in July 2015.  Did he continue advising Squires?  The CP bid was late in 2015.

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Posted by wanswheel on Saturday, August 20, 2016 10:06 AM

Excerpt from Trains newswire, Jan. 22

http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2016/01/22-wick-speaks

Moorman — whose retirement as Norfolk Southern’s executive chairman became effective on Dec. 31 — spoke with Trains NewsWire in a wide-ranging telephone interview last week while he was traveling aboard Amtrak’s Acela Express. He was critical of CP’s proposed hostile takeover and its plans to install E. Hunter Harrison as CEO in Norfolk. And he said it’s highly unlikely that NS would pursue a white knight or swallow a poison pill to avoid being acquired by CP…

After stepping down as CEO, Moorman was serving as an NS board member and special advisor to Squires when CP came calling — and leaked stories began appearing in the financial media.

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Posted by CMStPnP on Saturday, August 20, 2016 2:35 PM

dakotafred

He'll be the best we've had in a long time to tell yahoos like John Mica what they can do in their hats.

Hopefully, Mica will get a thoughtful response now instead of a mustached grin to his points.    I think this guy would have to really work at it to be worse than Boardman though.   Huge difference in what a private company demands in the area of job performance vs a Federal Agency like where Boardman came from.

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Posted by schlimm on Saturday, August 20, 2016 2:38 PM

wanswheel

Excerpt from Trains newswire, Jan. 22

http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2016/01/22-wick-speaks

 

Moorman — whose retirement as Norfolk Southern’s executive chairman became effective on Dec. 31 — spoke with Trains NewsWire in a wide-ranging telephone interview last week while he was traveling aboard Amtrak’s Acela Express. He was critical of CP’s proposed hostile takeover and its plans to install E. Hunter Harrison as CEO in Norfolk. And he said it’s highly unlikely that NS would pursue a white knight or swallow a poison pill to avoid being acquired by CP…

 

After stepping down as CEO, Moorman was serving as an NS board member and special advisor to Squires when CP came calling — and leaked stories began appearing in the financial media.

 

 

More precisely (from NS newsletter)

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Posted by oltmannd on Saturday, August 20, 2016 6:25 PM

blue streak 1

The big question is "  can he get maintenance to have more rolling stock operating and be in a state of good repair ? "

 

Yes.  But, it'll take a while to do.

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by dakotafred on Saturday, August 20, 2016 8:28 PM

What gets me is the close questioning that Amtrak has to endure, while the sacred cows, where the real waste and fraud occurs -- Social Security disability, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps -- get a free pass.

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Posted by Firelock76 on Saturday, August 20, 2016 9:03 PM

dakotafred

What gets me is the close questioning that Amtrak has to endure, while the sacred cows, where the real waste and fraud occurs -- Social Security disability, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps -- get a free pass.

 

Which is why if someone wants to start a "Throw 'Em All Out!" political party I'll be one of the first in line to sign up.

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Saturday, August 20, 2016 9:42 PM

dakotafred

What gets me is the close questioning that Amtrak has to endure, while the sacred cows, where the real waste and fraud occurs -- Social Security disability, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps -- get a free pass.

 

   What gets me is the way the monied people are constantly demonizing the poor.

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Posted by SD70M-2Dude on Saturday, August 20, 2016 10:45 PM

Paul of Covington
dakotafred

What gets me is the close questioning that Amtrak has to endure, while the sacred cows, where the real waste and fraud occurs -- Social Security disability, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps -- get a free pass.

   What gets me is the way the monied people are constantly demonizing the poor.

YesYesYes+10, well said Paul.

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Posted by zugmann on Saturday, August 20, 2016 11:27 PM

Firelock76
Which is why if someone wants to start a "Throw 'Em All Out!" political party I'll be one of the first in line to sign up.

Years ago, we had a guy in this state that was gaining traction in doing that.  "Clean sweep" was his tagline, I believe.   But then he threw all that effort and support in the trash can when he decided to make a run for governor instead.  I think he got like 3 votes.    Was a shame.

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any

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Posted by schlimm on Sunday, August 21, 2016 9:29 AM

SD70M-2Dude

 

 
Paul of Covington
dakotafred

What gets me is the close questioning that Amtrak has to endure, while the sacred cows, where the real waste and fraud occurs -- Social Security disability, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps -- get a free pass.

   What gets me is the way the monied people are constantly demonizing the poor.

 

 

YesYesYes+10, well said Paul.

 

Since politics is apparently no longer off limits, I say +10, Paul.  

Demonizing the poor is a form of compensation.

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Posted by CMStPnP on Sunday, August 21, 2016 1:07 PM

Paul of Covington
What gets me is the way the monied people are constantly demonizing the poor.

Of those programs listed only Food Stamps and Medicaid has an income test....sort of in some cases.    The income test on Food Stamps is more cash flow based and I have seen Middle Class families on Food Stamps that had the assets to liquidate to pay their own food costs but were on food stamps because of a cash flow or bankruptcy court temporary freeze or siezure issue.

I can tell you that Workmens Comp is another abused program.   I wasn't an employer for three months before my first workmans comp claim.   Impressive part of workmens comp, you can pick any hospital or health system to get treated including some of the Rolls Royce choices.    Least impressive part, the claim filed against my business I was sure was Fraudulent but not much I could do to prove it as such.   If you ever served in the Armed Forces or under another means of socialized medicine you know the two greatest abused medical areas are "pulled or twisted muscle" or "pain in my lower back" because medicine has not advanced enough to determine 100% if the claim is fradulent.

The others....SS, Disability and Medicare,  have multi-millionaires that can easily do without the assistance among the list of recipients because they are premium / subscriber programs.......no income or needs test really.

The fact this is not widely known among the idealogies out there does indeed seem to demand an audit or at least a breakdown by income of whom is accepting the payments and for what reason.

Also, I would have added the DoD to the list which recently lost track of another $6 Billion due to bad book keeping.    How long have we been hearing the refrain from the DoD that they will implement an audit system?   Still not there.

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Posted by XOTOWER on Monday, August 29, 2016 4:58 PM

There is a very disturboing report that AMTRAK is planning to dismantle the magnificent flip board that annoiunces arrivals and  departures in Philadelphia 30th Street.  In my humble opinion this would be yet another travesty of short-sighted management.  Please tell me its not true.

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Posted by RME on Monday, August 29, 2016 5:23 PM

If you had to keep fixing that thing you might not have the same opinion.

Current word is that the RR museum of PA is going to get it -- Win95 and all -- and fix it up for demonstration (or at least preserve its components).

I'll miss that Solari action too, but the new board will probably be better for the things a passenger information sign fulfils.

An interesting project describing the technology is here.

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Posted by LehighLad on Monday, August 29, 2016 8:54 PM

Firelock76

 

 
dakotafred

What gets me is the close questioning that Amtrak has to endure, while the sacred cows, where the real waste and fraud occurs -- Social Security disability, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps -- get a free pass.

 

 

 

Which is why if someone wants to start a "Throw 'Em All Out!" political party I'll be one of the first in line to sign up.

 

Firelock76

 

 
dakotafred

What gets me is the close questioning that Amtrak has to endure, while the sacred cows, where the real waste and fraud occurs -- Social Security disability, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps -- get a free pass.

 

 

 

Which is why if someone wants to start a "Throw 'Em All Out!" political party I'll be one of the first in line to sign up.

 

Firelock76

 

 
dakotafred

What gets me is the close questioning that Amtrak has to endure, while the sacred cows, where the real waste and fraud occurs -- Social Security disability, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps -- get a free pass.

 

 

 

Which is why if someone wants to start a "Throw 'Em All Out!" political party I'll be one of the first in line to sign up.

 

How about a Citizens' VETO party?  (re incumbents)

Vote

Each of

Them

Out

 

Pass it on.

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Posted by Sunnyland on Tuesday, August 30, 2016 11:38 AM

good choice, he's a man who loves trains, brought back steam to NS and the heritage units. 

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Posted by 65BIGt47 on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 11:24 PM

blue streak 1

Amtrak announces Moorman as new president.  Will Fred be happy ?  Wonder how the auto router problem hearings will be handled ?  Conflict of interest ?d 

http://media.amtrak.com/2016/08/amtrak-names-industry-veteran-wick-moorman-president-and-chief-executive-officer/

 

 

Hope he can get some of the equipment washed once in a while. On the Spfld. shuttles only time washing occurs is during a rain storm.

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Posted by oltmannd on Friday, September 9, 2016 5:09 PM

schlimm

 

 
blue streak 1
Moorman demonstrated great finnese in helping NS deflect CP from taking over NS. 

 

He retired in July 2015.  Did he continue advising Squires?  The CP bid was late in 2015.

 

Yes, he did.

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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Posted by oltmannd on Friday, September 9, 2016 5:16 PM

D.Carleton

So this means the Sandy Creek will be getting a coat of Platinum Mist and the cigar band, right?Smile 

 

Hah!  Funny you should ask!  I asked him the same thing during his "farewell tour" (free cookies! Get's me every time.)  He said no.  It stays NS.  His plausible "no Amtrak" alternate history has NS running passenger over the water level route west of Cleveland, so it SHOULD be in NS colors now.  He had 40+ yrs at NS, so....  

He also owns the hulk of a Southern tavern lounge (i think - sitting in Chattanooga at present)

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

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