Railfan Etiquette

[JoeKoh]

Ok Ok Ok
I think what young daniel was reffering to was that paul martin would be more pro truck than rail?now lets go mend some fences and we'll have chocolate cake.
stay safe
Joe

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by JoeKoh

Ok Ok Ok
I think what young daniel was reffering to was that paul martin would be more pro truck than rail?now lets go mend some fences and we'll have chocolate cake.
stay safe
Joe

Joe, I think you're right. I've spent way too much time over on the MR forums...getting a little trigger happy. Ed and I'll put it back in the holster and take it back to the ranch. Chocolate cake you say...hmmmm... pecan pie with some Blue Bell French Vanilla or a Boston Cream Pie from the Flying Saucer Pie shop on Crosstimbers in Houston....now we're talking...[:p]

[Anonymous]

Paul Martin also owned one of the biggest Ocean Freighter businesses in Canada,

Canada Steam Ships.

He had to sell it to his sons before he became Prime Minister due to conflicts of interest.
Interesting fact, Paul Martin is all up on Canada (being the Prime Minister and all) doing his best to create jobs and whatnot, and yet the majority of his freighters were registered with "Flag of Convenience Countries" taking away jobs from Canadians and giving them to people of other countries for slave wages.

Yep, he's our man.

[edblysard]

Flying Saucer Pie, think we will run by there tomorrow night...
You know, the Pig Stand on Washington is still open...

As for registering ships, outside of Canada, US and England, most other countries have much more lax requirements on safety, crew training and procedures than us, and require a less stringent ship condition and seaworthyness than the three mentioned above.
Most shipping companies register in the country that offers the best "deal" or requires the least of the mentioned factors.

Which is one of the reasons that our civilan shipyards are almost gone, and no one registers ship here.

Outside of military ships, can anyone here remember the last keel laid for a big vessel in America?

Shucks, if Don Phillips still worked for the Post, he would know...

Ed

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

There are several American-built and American-flagged tankers in service between Alaska and West Coast ports. This is due to cabotage restrictions for domestic trade. These restrictions also apply to airlines, which is why foreign airlines cannot handle domestic traffic in other than their own country.

[AntonioFP45]

IronHorseman,

[:D][;)]Thanks for posting your thoughts with such keen insight!

I remember reading about harassment that some railfans received as a result of the post 9/11 "knee-jerk" reactions of the railroad industry as a whole. Apparently the paranoia has calmed down considerably but we must always remain vigilant. Good manners and respect from railfans really do go a long way with railroad employees and police 99% of the time.

[:D][:)][8D][8)] Here in CSX territory, I still see engineers and/or crew members wave back and somtimes smile. Considering all of the world's troubles, I doubt many train crews laugh at railfans as they would likely prefer railfans over vandals, rock throwers, or kids yelling out obscenities[V].

[swg]On one memorable occasion a several years ago, a pair of "brand spanking new" CSX
General Electric AC 6000s (AC60) came to Tampa, which was rare then. As the locomotives slowly crossed in front of me and a friend of mine as we were sitting in traffic on 7th Ave, the engineer looked very happy and proud to be operating these GIANTS! We all exhanged salutes!
This gentleman looked very contented with his job![4:-)] [swg][swg][tup]