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I know why the ICC was formed to regulate railroads but why the FCC was needed to reg phone companies in 1930s?

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Posted by greyhounds on Sunday, March 8, 2015 9:44 AM

gardendance
loose track as to where in this thread's 2 pages or the several links I clicked or references I googled, but I see the railroad accused of both inserting its steel tentacles into land the heroic farmers developed and deciding to build on a different route than their original proposal and so make that same land worthless.

I'll guess you're talking about this:

https://books.google.com/books?id=GXQpAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA125#v=onepage&q&f=false

The route did get changed (legally) from a coast route to a San Joaquin Valley route.  But I don't see any reference anywhere to land being made worthless by the change.

This is from the book:  

"Chapters on the History of the Southern Pacific"

 By Stuart Daggett

I've just ordered a reprint of the 1922 book.

All these book purchases are leaving me in quite the pickle.  I'm going to have to get a 2nd job to pay for the books.  But If I'm working two jobs, when will I have time to read the books?  (It's a joke.)

There are two things that I enjoy passing the time with.  One is a good book.  Usually about railroad (or transportation) economics or economic history.  The other is a good baseball game with the White Sox triumphant.  Plenty of both seem on the way.  (If the Sox can just get it together this year.)

"By many measures, the U.S. freight rail system is the safest, most efficient and cost effective in the world." - Federal Railroad Administration, October, 2009. I'm just your average, everyday, uncivilized howling "anti-government" critic of mass government expenditures for "High Speed Rail" in the US. And I'm gosh darn proud of that.
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Posted by gardendance on Sunday, March 8, 2015 10:10 AM

greyhounds, actually more seriously, if you're reading a book how will you have time to participate in the gripping and inciteful internet exchanges we all enjoy?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mussel_Slough_Tragedy

That's probably where I interpreted 'reroute makes land worthless', wiki says "Those who had been building homes along the previous course were distraught" and I thought lowered property value, although I can see my saying worthless was exaggerating, was what was making them distraught.

I wonder who were those who built the homes. Were they folks who sucessfully went throught the homesteading process, or those who had settled on the parcels the fed had deeded to the railroad? I thought the main complaint was those who had settled on railroad land who interpreted "$2.50 and up per acre" to mean $2.50 per acre would be the price the railroad would take, who then balked when it came time for the actual sale and the railroad wanted more than $2.50, who then complained about getting evicted.

Patrick Boylan

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Posted by dakotafred on Sunday, March 8, 2015 5:34 PM

greyhounds
 There are two things that I enjoy passing the time with.  One is a good book.  Usually about railroad (or transportation) economics or economic history.  The other is a good baseball game with the White Sox triumphant.  Plenty of both seem on the way.  (If the Sox can just get it together this year.)
 

Both the Sox and the Cubs -- if you care about the latter; I hear most Sox fans don't -- are supposed to be ascendant. Given this, and that you already live at Railroad Central, are you sure you don't want to reconsider that move to Florida?Smile

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Posted by schlimm on Sunday, March 8, 2015 6:47 PM

dakotafred
Both the Sox and the Cubs -- if you care about the latter; I hear most Sox fans don't -- are supposed to be ascendant.

Both teams will be greatly improved this season (I hope!).   Although I grew up as primarily a Sox fan, I never have understood the hatred for the Northsiders.   But I grew up in the 'burbs, so maybe it's a city thing, just like our hating Glenbard West.

C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan

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Posted by gardendance on Sunday, March 8, 2015 8:01 PM

Other than the Dallas Cowboys, which of course are the devil's spawn, I never understood why anyone should hate any sports team.

Patrick Boylan

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Posted by dakotafred on Sunday, March 8, 2015 8:14 PM

gardendance

Other than the Dallas Cowboys, which of course are the devil's spawn, I never understood why anyone should hate any sports team.

 
Oh, man, you had to grow up in an American League city other than New York in the 1950s. The Yankees won every pennant but TWO between 1949 and 1964. They even used to talk of "breaking up the Yankees." How we (in the other cities) hated them -- and the "front runners" from coast to coast for whom the Yanks were, in those days, "America's team"!
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Posted by BaltACD on Sunday, March 8, 2015 8:43 PM

There is only one baseball team to cheer for - the one beating the Yankees!

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by gardendance on Sunday, March 8, 2015 8:59 PM

Around here we have t-shirts that say "I support only 2 football teams, The Eagles and whoever beats the Cowboys."

Patrick Boylan

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Posted by trackrat888 on Sunday, March 8, 2015 11:03 PM

Trucking companies as far as I know do not use Ramsey or Commoditiy bases pricing

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Posted by greyhounds on Sunday, March 8, 2015 11:47 PM

trackrat888

Trucking companies as far as I know do not use Ramsey or Commoditiy bases pricing

 

Trucking companies have a different cost structure than railroads.  Fixed costs are a much larger component of railroad costs than they are in trucking.

 

"By many measures, the U.S. freight rail system is the safest, most efficient and cost effective in the world." - Federal Railroad Administration, October, 2009. I'm just your average, everyday, uncivilized howling "anti-government" critic of mass government expenditures for "High Speed Rail" in the US. And I'm gosh darn proud of that.
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Posted by greyhounds on Monday, March 9, 2015 12:07 AM

dakotafred
, are you sure you don't want to reconsider that move to Florida?

I get more sure that I want to move every day.  This winter was not as severe as last year.  It also came later.  But it was bad enough.  I can get through the northern Illinois winters OK, I'm just getting real tired of them.

I'll watch DVD's of trains.  I'll catch a couple White Sox games when they play in Tampa.  There will be $130 in the budget each year to buy the Sox telecasts on MLB TV.  

I'll join a model railroad club.  I'm modeling the C&IM circa 1950.  I've got good running model engines.  One for each type they operated then.  'Cept the 2-10-2's.  I've got two of them.  (#600 and #603).  DCC on all but the 0-8-0.  I just don't really have anywhere to operate.

Gonna' sit out on my screened in porch and work on my trains with the Sox game on.  I'll never experience 15 below zero again.  And the State of Illinois can take its corruption and high property taxes and put 'em where the sun don't shine. 

My targeted last date working is December 31, 2016.

 

"By many measures, the U.S. freight rail system is the safest, most efficient and cost effective in the world." - Federal Railroad Administration, October, 2009. I'm just your average, everyday, uncivilized howling "anti-government" critic of mass government expenditures for "High Speed Rail" in the US. And I'm gosh darn proud of that.
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Posted by dakotafred on Monday, March 9, 2015 6:05 AM

By golly, I believe Greyhounds is serious!

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Posted by bobwilcox on Monday, March 9, 2015 6:41 AM

As a 13 year resident of Chicago and 7 year resident of Omaha go for it!

Bob
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Posted by SALfan on Monday, March 9, 2015 10:14 PM

gardendance

Other than the Dallas Cowboys, which of course are the devil's spawn, I never understood why anyone should hate any sports team.

 

My wife, a rabid Florida State Univ.fan, would add to the list of Satan's spawn.  According to her, University of Florida is on the list.

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Posted by gardendance on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 9:19 AM

That's hard for us out of staters to figure. It's kind of like when Sarah Palin expected her audience in Pittsburg to appreciate her congratulating the Phillies for their winning 2008 series.

Florida State Univ disliking University of Florida sounds a lot to me like something out of Life of Bryan Judean People’s Front Versus The People’s Front Of Judea. What next, should Penn State fans hate University of Pennsylvania, assuming U of P would ever put out a decent footbal team?

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Posted by BaltACD on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 10:42 AM

gardendance

That's hard for us out of staters to figure. It's kind of like when Sarah Palin expected her audience in Pittsburg to appreciate her congratulating the Phillies for their winning 2008 series.

Florida State Univ disliking University of Florida sounds a lot to me like something out of Life of Bryan Judean People’s Front Versus The People’s Front Of Judea. What next, should Penn State fans hate University of Pennsylvania, assuming U of P would ever put out a decent footbal team?

 

There are 3 catagories of fans in Florida.  University of Florida, Florida State University & Miami University.

They all have football National Championships to back up their 'street cred' and their animosity toward each other.  Additionally the animosity is bouyed by the conflict between the Southeast Conference (SEC) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). 

My highlight days while living in Florida, where the Saturday's where all three lost.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by tree68 on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 11:10 AM

The University of Michigan ("Michigan") vs Michigan State ("State") rivalry is a little more of the friendly sort, I would opine.  There are certainly rabid fans on both sides, but I'm not sure it reaches the realm of outright hatred.

Michigan vs Ohio State, however...

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