Andy, in my opinion the impending purchase of the EJ&E by CN and the controversy surrounding that purchase in the Chicago metro area would rank as a top ten story for sure. Thanks for asking and Happy Holidays.
Here are a couple also the Purchase of the DM&E and IC&E by the CP and then Kevin Schaffer leaving the RR right before they take over. Also Grand Canyon Railway stopping all Steam Service to the Canyon.
The UP mud slide washout and reconstruction in Oregon was a big story to me.
What about the English building that steam loco?
RJ
"Something hidden, Go and find it. Go and look behind the ranges, Something lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go." The Explorers - Rudyard Kipling
http://sweetwater-photography.com/
The biggest story in terms of dollars and how it will change railroading is the Railway Safety Act of 2008, which mandates Positive Train Control on rail lines carrying intercity or commuter passengers, or TIH hazmat, by 2015.
Bigger than that, though, is the dramatic drop in carloadings not seen since the Great Depression -- but railroads still made money.
Other big stories include Warren Buffett purchasing 20% of BNSF (which tells you what he thinks about the future of railroading) and the Heartland Corridor project.
RWM
How an engineer was texting on a phone, which plays a huge role in a passenger train crash, yet drivers on the road are still constantly using their cells while driving anyhow.
To pick & choose & summarize my selections/ "seconds of the nominations" from the above (in no particular order):
- EJ&E
- Chatsworth wreck
- PTC legislation
- DM&E/ IC&E / CP saga - latest chapter;
- UP mudslide restoration
- Warren Buffett
Plus to add a few:
- Cajon Pass triple-track completed
- Amtrak funding increase (with the PTC legislation)
- Midwest floods (again)
- Paul North.
The success and expansion of Railex. There is a huge, undeveloped rail market for long haul perishables. Railex has taken the lead in developing this market.
You might add the shut down of the Grand Luxe Rail Tours, and the shut downs of several dinner trains to the list.
How about California voters passing the 10 Billion HSR proposal.
Work began on Abo Canyon double tracking last single track stretch of former Santa Fe Mainline between Chicago and Los Angeles
Al - in - Stockton
in my opinion one of the top stories for 2008 is the flooding that washed out the raillines
passengerfan [snip] Work began on Abo Canyon double tracking last single track stretch of former Santa Fe Mainline between Chicago and Los Angeles Al - in - Stockton
In addition to mentioned Abo Canyon - which is about 20 miles southeast of Belen, and about 40 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico - actually there are 2 other remaining single-track areas, per a couple of BNSF publications, as below.
One of those is about 60 miles further east, at Vaughn, New Mexico - where the BNSF line climbs up a high fill to "fly-over" the UP RR line on the west side of town - to Carnero, which is about halfway (3 miles) towards Encino further to the west.
The other is about another 45 miles further east, at the high bridge over the Pecos River, which is just west of Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
Looks like a couple of interesting years ahead for railroad construction in the "Land of Enchantment" !
Sources / references:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From RAILWAY - The Employee Magazine of Team BNSF – November / December 2008 – BNSF Railway, “Abo Canyon: The Double-Track Challenge”, pg. 5, col. 2, at:
“ 'Abo Canyon’s expansion will benefit the Transcon by improving staging. It’s one of the last major pieces of single track on the Transcon.' Two others in New Mexico are at Vaughn and Fort Sumner.” [emphasis added – PDN.]
From “2007 Peak Season Plans” Power-Point presentation slide 9 (page 10 of 16 of the “PDF” format version) by Patrick Kinne,General Director International Marketing, BNSF Railway, March 27, 2007, at:
- Vaughn - Carnero”
[emphasis added – PDN.]
kolechovski How an engineer was texting on a phone, which plays a huge role in a passenger train crash, yet drivers on the road are still constantly using their cells while driving anyhow.
No. You dont know what you are talking about.
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
The biggest story has to be the rebuilding of the mountain where it gave way, courtesy of UP and partners.
The Chatsworth wreck, and its ramifications on work rules and conditions for every railroader (PTC, Hours of Service, and cell-phone usage were either changed or their change was given impetus as a direct result of this incident).
The Cajon triple-tracking is big for railfans, but not necessarily as big for the railroad(s) involved--it's just another expansion.
Floods--Midwest in the spring, the hurricane hitting Texas later on.
A political election that brings fresh optimism--whether justified or not.
CN's and CP's acquisitions (possibly two items there).
The economic downturn, particularly the auto-industry misfortunes, and the lasting effect they'll have on freight patterns.
I think--and fervently hope--that there are big stories in the works for 2009, such as:
Amtrak getting money with which to order some new equipment and increase frequencies, if not establish new routes. Implementation of higher speeds on the Chicago-Detroit and Chicago-St. Louis lines that we've waited so long for.
Infrastructure improvements, possibly as part of a Government-assisted economic bailout. I'm looking for stuff that affects CREATE here, among other projects.
Concrete developments on high-speed rail in the Midwest.
Railroads taking advantage of a downturn in traffic to improve their trackage, maybe ccomplete a few expansion projects more quickly, and keep ordering new, better, equipment.
More use of ECP brakes.
Let's get into it! Happy New Year!
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Although often overlooked, I'd pick the June signing of the UTU national contract agreement which was three yrs in the making, beame quite nasty at times and ended w/ the force receiving a pay raise and three yrs back pay which, for a change, put some smiles on many railroaders!
How about the federal and state governments finally (Hopefully) getting serious about investing in passenger and freight rail.
How about finding out about ridership gains & record passengers for Amtrak with improved results. i'd like to see how well the commuter RR's fared. Don't forget to include the newer startups like Nashville, New Mexico, etc.
An important update from this summer's flooding would be to report on progress at the Mid Continent Rail museum in North Freedom.
My entries are very similar to two above and are really part of the same topic, Amtrak:
(1) New Amtrak President; and
(2) Vice President-Elect is a regular Amtrak l-d commuter (Accela from D.C. to Wilmington DE).
On the freight side, I'd point to the fact that most of the big RR companies remained profitable (albeit less so) in spite of the down economy.
Happy New Year! - al
Having reviewed the list on the Newswire, I'd say they did a good job making their selections.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68Having reviewed the list on the Newswire, I'd say they did a good job making their selections.
Agreed 100 percent. Thanks, Andy!
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