with all the knowledge of the seven class one railroads of today, which is the best out of all seven. This obviously doesn't include fallen flags, like Chicago Northwestern and Illinois Central. my favorite goes to Union Pacific for their outstanding website and railfan-friendly pages, plus their historic locomotive program.
I guess it depends on where you are.
Norm
I am intrigued as to why "which is the best", especially when there are so few to choose from and each is so diverse and different than the others? Americans have a penchant for rating things without really considering the differences of each or having or understanding a reason to have to rate. NS because it goes through my town, CSX because it looms larger in my state; UP because it is so big and encompasses so many classic railorads; BNSF because it wears the warbonnet, runs down the mainstreet of the northwest, its heritage is the Empire Builder, and spans the praries; KCS is north and south; IC/CN because it cuts up and down through the heart of the country. In the end they all put the OS sheets in the files at the end of the day. Maybe the question should not be which is the best, because there is no definitive answer, but which do you admire most because there is only one answer per person and it is never wrong.
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Define "Best".
Makes the most money for stockholders?
Most union friendly?
Has the least number of accidents?
Has the cleanest property?
Polutes the least?
Runs the fastest trains?
Runs heritage equipment often?
Most railfan friendly?
Has the most pleasing livery?
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Thanks, Henry and Semper.
Johnny
From a financial standpoint, the big 6 seem to be firing on all cylinders these days. Not so sure about KCS lately...havent checked.
CSX seems to have really taken great strides with their franchise. Revenues are really expanding and Operating ratio is dropping. NS should be concerned about certain lanes.
CN just keeps doing their thing. Not so sure they have much competition in their lanes. The IC, WC, and EJE purchases were outstanding. Full disclosure - I have significant (my largest individual stock) holdings of CN stock.
UP has had bumps in the track in the past, particularly when absorbing SP and CNW but seems to be moving forward. They have a great route structure and when the Sunset route is double tracked will be a force on containers.
That is my take on things.
Ed
The best? Too broad of a question.
The best is the one you don't work for or have to do business with.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
Well its neither Canadian road, thats for *** sure.
Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..."
The Missabe Road: Safety First
They're all excellent...but most of us have favorites for sentimental reasons. Thus, the "best" road is probably the one you grew up with...
The best? The best at what?
You cannot say that any of them are really the best. If there were some sort of detailed system for grading RRs I would be willing to bet that BNSF, NS, and UP would top the list.
On the other side of this....
You do hear alot of talk about CSX. I think CSX is the best... at advertising..... and selling its self in general. Personally, I think the only thing that Mike Ward and the rest of the big boys over at CSX are good at is making stock holders happy. I am waiting for a real traffic surge for CSX to show us its true colors. Everything I have ever seen, read, or heard first hand accounts of has indicated that CSX is the worst in terms of morale, management, safety, and equipment. The rest of it is not related to how well the road is run, but they sure do know how to$1****$2off a railfan.
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