Edit topic

Updated your discussion topic below.

Subject
Enter a subject for your topic. Maximum 150 characters.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
Railroads in this country are probably the worst-treated companies for the lousiest reasons. In the late 1800's, the government put up the Interstate Commerce Commission, an organization that spent its entire life throwing out bull to railroads. It forced regulations left and right onto the lines, an action that if today was thrown on trucking lines, they would be whining and griping that it was unfair. The ICC didn't even allow the railroads to charge fair and competitive shipping rates for a time, mainly because all the ICC was cut out to be was a few trucking and airline lovers in fancy suits sitting around wasting taxpayer's hard earned money. And what does the government do after ICC was finally ended in the 1980's but subsidize trucking and airline companies and allow all of our industries to import from China! Here in Carrollton they're planning to build a 4-lane highway through this summer... Then the government brass's so-called Passenger Train Line, Amtrak, is wasting away from lack of funds. If Amtrak could recieve a penny off of the tax for every gallon of gas sold, they could have such excellent service to the point that branchline rail diesel cars could operate on Carrollton's KCS RR branch, and 100-mph rail lines would exist between all major cities. What no one in this country relizes is that WHO won both world wars for America and the world: THE RAILROADS. Who is commited to U.S. industrial development: THE RAILROADS. Who built America from the ground up and is cheaper and uses less fuel than any other mode of transportation: THE RAILROADS. But of course no one of any power in this country is going to fight for what's right... all they want is get filthy rich and kill off all of us "little guys". Then don't even get me started about globalization in this country... I saw an ad on TV yesterday showing a Chinese factory with Chinese railroads... the main pupose of the commercial was to point out every American should be against this sort of thing. That commercial made me mad to the point I was riled for the rest of the day. And yet I just ordered 3 Intermountain boxcars to find out that assembled Intermountain cars are imported from China. I'm not saying that they're poor quality models, many of them are top-quality models. But there's just something very sick and wrong about models of American machinery being made in other countries. The real railroads hurt from importing too. When Greene County, Illinois was still powered by the railroad, Carrollton had a steel fabricating plant, Roodhouse was the division point of the GM&O railroad, Hillview had a scale manufacturer... there were countless local industries. LOCAL INDUSTRIES, the very thing that we model on our layouts, just like everything else on the pike, they just don't exist any more. I suppose all of these industries have been moved to China or Mexico. And what does our president do, puts billions of dollars in the Middle East when people in the U.S. needed it. I imagine you think I'm blowing off more steam than a Pennsy RR Q-2, but what's going on in our country just isn't right. For those of you from Canada, England or elsewhere, hope you don't or don't already have the same problem.[V][V][xx(][:(][}:)][B)][:0]
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
E-mail Subscribe
Check the box below if you want to receive e-mail notifications when replies are made to this thread.

Receive notifications

Subscriber & Member Login

Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!

Model Railroader Newsletter See all

Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter and get model railroad news in your inbox!

Subscriber & Member Login

Edit topic

Subject

Post Body

Tags (Optional)

E-mail Subscribe

Subscriber & Member Login

Users Online

Search the Community