jeffhergert Brian Solomon has a book out, "North American Railroad Family Trees." It has chapters on different eras, but mostly names the railroads has they have traditionally been known. They don't go into all the little railroads that became the bigger ones most of us would recognize. It also has a chapter that has a section about how the railroads might "unmerge" into smaller systems. He's not advocating, like some railfans do, but more of a "what if" type scenario. Jeff
Brian Solomon has a book out, "North American Railroad Family Trees." It has chapters on different eras, but mostly names the railroads has they have traditionally been known. They don't go into all the little railroads that became the bigger ones most of us would recognize.
It also has a chapter that has a section about how the railroads might "unmerge" into smaller systems. He's not advocating, like some railfans do, but more of a "what if" type scenario.
Jeff
Most of the writing I've seen in magazines on the subject of the "final mergers" (i.e resulting in two transcontinental class 1 railroads in the U.S (which may or may not also incorporate CP and CN) have made the point that there would almost certainly be a lot of "spin offs" resulting in additional mileage being acquired by existing regional railroads and/or the creation of new regionals.
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
Boomer5 There seems to be a wide range opinion on this issue but no clear consensus. The argument for the decreasing number of class I’s as opposed to declining Class I’s makes sense to me and is perhaps the most logical answer to a point but by definition decreasing and declining mean the same thing: to become smaller or fewer in size or number.
One could argue that membership in the AAR could have very closely determined the number of Class I’s and for years it did until the number of Class I’s declined so much that they started to allow holding companies to buy their way into the association.
“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.”
― Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
"That is a lot of carloads not counted."
What does a lot of carloads look like as a per cent of all car loads?
If a car originates on a Class 1 carrier, say UP, but is delivered to a regional railroad, i.e. South Orient Rail, which really runs from Alpine Junction to San Angelo, is it one car or two cars for reporting purposes.
Most of the traffic on the South Orient is fracking sand that is delivered to Fort Stockton, where it is transferred to trucks to be taken to the oil fields. During harvest season, some grain originates on the South Orient, for delivery to the UP or BNSF.
If the UP and South Orient count the car for statistical reporting purposes, it would appear as two cars when in fact it is just one car unless it is backed out somewhere. Or is it the originating railroad that reports the car?
beaulieu To my knowledge no Class I Line-haul carrier lost its standing as a Class I railroad due to the raising of the revenue requirements since 1960. There would be several more Class I railroads in the major commuter railroads were not excluded by reason that they are not private corporations.
Florida East Coast was formerly classified as a Class 1 road and is now considered Class 2.
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