QUOTE: Originally posted by piouslion Good to hear you weigh in LC, the sound of factual reason is always a welcome sound in the forum .. Pious
QUOTE: Originally posted by SP9033 what the hell are you babling about.... first off...railroads do run other railroads trians on their rails..but they are just as much a pain in the***as amtrash is.... also..where the hell did i say anthing about my local chairmen..now your babling on about stuff that i have never even commented on...... and i would like to know where your "inside" story is...care to share it... meaning a rescouse that we all can read...or is it just for your eyes only....becouse if its just hearsay without any hard date...... csx engineer [/quote I'm so glad we have established your brotherly love for Amtrak employees. Your narrow minded ways have now been witnessed by 10! I was going to say by thousands, but this is not Altmont.COM. You're a craft person...not...Your management's wet dream. I see its all about you and has nothing to to wilth the kids and learning, or the rest of US.... BYE, Jim Well shoot Jim, and here I thought from readin' your writin's it wuz all 'bout you... FOFLMAO... I have news. The railroad is and has always been an every man for himself scramble where seniority is concerned. Perhaps on UPS or whomever you work for as a local driver there isn't as much strife, but that isn't the way it is in railroad reality... Ovah... LC Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 17, 2005 2:04 PM Good to hear you weigh in LC, the sound of factual reason is always a welcome sound in the forum .. Pious Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 17, 2005 1:38 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by SP9033 QUOTE: if you didnt give up your senority on the railroad that you came from when amtrak was started..you got nothing to worry about...except that you might actuly have to work more for a living.... csx engineer CSX Engineer, Wish you'd give us a usable name to addess you by, it doesn't need to be real, but it just seems like something like Jack, Mike or whatever is so much better than CSX Engineer! It seems so fun to hear a railroader, that seems so anti-union, talk about senority rights and stuff. For about 15 years, Amtrak operating crews where supplied by the railroads that passed off their public responsibilities. Those operating employees that came from the freight railroads that cast-off thier responsibilities have a hire date, if its better than your's, guess you're below them. As with any merger, those with hire dates as Amtrak employees, would simply dovetail into the apropreate place with post Amtrak hired freight railroad employees. Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236 Actually, Jim, as Brother CSX Engineer correctly points out, there was a cut off date on the ability of freight railroad employees who opted to go into Amtrak service to flow back to their original railroads. My understanding is that employees who went to Amtrak from the freight railroads surrendered their right to flow back on that date which is now past. Thus, the flow back is no longer an option. LC Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 17, 2005 12:07 PM Just tried to amend some stuff, and the TSA prevented me from doing so...WOW Now thats power! Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 17, 2005 11:53 AM what the hell are you babling about.... first off...railroads do run other railroads trians on their rails..but they are just as much a pain in the***as amtrash is.... also..where the hell did i say anthing about my local chairmen..now your babling on about stuff that i have never even commented on...... and i would like to know where your "inside" story is...care to share it... meaning a rescouse that we all can read...or is it just for your eyes only....becouse if its just hearsay without any hard date...... csx engineer [/quote I'm so glad we have established your brotherly love for Amtrak employees. Your narrow minded ways have now been witnessed by 10! I was going to say by thousands, but this is not Altmont.COM. You're a craft person...not...Your management's wet dream. I see its all about you and has nothing to to wilth the kids and learning, or the rest of US.... BYE, Jim Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 17, 2005 4:25 AM I had a very good friend, 50 years with the Southern Pacific, that retired during 1986 from the railroad. He was one of two Espee engineers on that divission that provided Amtrak's 5 and 6 with direction, 14 years after its creation. They were Southern Pacific employees! There were not any operating emplyees at Amtrak at it creation, they were all supplied from the privious operater of passenger service! Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236 Reply Edit csxengineer98 Member sinceOctober 2002 From: US 2,358 posts Posted by csxengineer98 on Thursday, March 17, 2005 3:46 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by SP9033 QUOTE: if you didnt give up your senority on the railroad that you came from when amtrak was started..you got nothing to worry about...except that you might actuly have to work more for a living.... csx engineer CSX Engineer, Wish you'd give us a usable name to addess you by, it doesn't need to be real, but it just seems like something like Jack, Mike or whatever is so much better than CSX Engineer! It seems so fun to hear a railroader, that seems so anti-union, talk about senority rights and stuff. For about 15 years, Amtrak operating crews where supplied by the railroads that passed off their public responsibilities. Those operating employees that came from the freight railroads that cast-off thier responsibilities have a hire date, if its better than your's, guess you're below them. As with any merger, those with hire dates as Amtrak employees, would simply dovetail into the apropreate place with post Amtrak hired freight railroad employees. Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236 wrong... atleast here it is... anyone that went over to amtrash from a freight railroad when amtrak was first formed retains thier frieght railroads senority... now anyone hired after a preset date...i dont know what it is off hand.. is an amtrak employee with NO ties to the frieght railroads that amtrak runs on....so when amtrak goes downt he crapper...the only ones i have to worry about are the few that still have freight railroad rights...which around hear are 2 people... and both are near retirment...so guess what ...im set either way.... also...since you want to make it more personal...you can address me as MR Csx engineer then.... csx engineer "I AM the higher source" Keep the wheels on steel Reply csxengineer98 Member sinceOctober 2002 From: US 2,358 posts Posted by csxengineer98 on Thursday, March 17, 2005 3:40 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by SP9033 QUOTE: that still makes no sence.... just like your half baked idea about 'giveing" rail passenger service back....dude..what ever your one...send some here..ill even take a Redblock vacation for some of it... for what it has done to you...it has got to be some of the best stuff that money can buy!!!! . csx engineer The first lie was that the freight railroads would run a third party's trains over their own railroad with the same dispatch as if they owned them. The next lie; this shifting of responsibility from private enterprise to government was presented as a solution, when really it was a castoff from private enterprise and its responsibilities to the government, with the idea that Amtrak would daylight itself and be gone post-haste in about 5 to 8 years. The next lie, which confirms the second lie, is; If the creators of Amtrak really wanted to create a federally sponsored passenger rail network with legs, they'd given it a revenue source. Independent of the yearly federal budget constraints and politics! They didn't! It was the typical rich-man pass off to government of their responsibilities, with the hope that it would die. You know CSXengineer, every time I speak to my local's boss, he listens. If you have such a problem with your local chairman, maybe you should run for his place and make railroaders safe from non-attention! Oh, By The Way, I have the inside story to many lies about the creation of AMTRAK. Jim - Lawton, NV MP236 what the hell are you babling about.... first off...railroads do run other railroads trians on their rails..but they are just as much a pain in the***as amtrash is.... also..where the hell did i say anthing about my local chairmen..now your babling on about stuff that i have never even commented on...... and i would like to know where your "inside" story is...care to share it... meaning a rescouse that we all can read...or is it just for your eyes only....becouse if its just hearsay without any hard date...... csx engineer "I AM the higher source" Keep the wheels on steel Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 17, 2005 3:20 AM QUOTE: if you didnt give up your senority on the railroad that you came from when amtrak was started..you got nothing to worry about...except that you might actuly have to work more for a living.... csx engineer CSX Engineer, Wish you'd give us a usable name to addess you by, it doesn't need to be real, but it just seems like something like Jack, Mike or whatever is so much better than CSX Engineer! It seems so fun to hear a railroader, that seems so anti-union, talk about senority rights and stuff. For about 15 years, Amtrak operating crews where supplied by the railroads that passed off their public responsibilities. Those operating employees that came from the freight railroads that cast-off thier responsibilities have a hire date, if its better than your's, guess you're below them. As with any merger, those with hire dates as Amtrak employees, would simply dovetail into the apropreate place with post Amtrak hired freight railroad employees. Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236 Reply Edit daveklepper Member sinceJune 2002 20,096 posts Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, March 17, 2005 2:46 AM Again, a dedicated revenue source is essential. Just like the theater sound system operator and maintenance man who gets a $40,000/year salary just so the 2% of the patrons who are hard of hearing can hear the shows the way normal hearing people hear them. Considering the gobs of money the govt. sp.ends on highways and airports and traffic control, $2 billion a year fokr passenger rail/ Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 17, 2005 2:37 AM QUOTE: that still makes no sence.... just like your half baked idea about 'giveing" rail passenger service back....dude..what ever your one...send some here..ill even take a Redblock vacation for some of it... for what it has done to you...it has got to be some of the best stuff that money can buy!!!! . csx engineer The first lie was that the freight railroads would run a third party's trains over their own railroad with the same dispatch as if they owned them. The next lie; this shifting of responsibility from private enterprise to government was presented as a solution, when really it was a castoff from private enterprise and its responsibilities to the government, with the idea that Amtrak would daylight itself and be gone post-haste in about 5 to 8 years. The next lie, which confirms the second lie, is; If the creators of Amtrak really wanted to create a federally sponsored passenger rail network with legs, they'd given it a revenue source. Independent of the yearly federal budget constraints and politics! They didn't! It was the typical rich-man pass off to government of their responsibilities, with the hope that it would die. You know CSXengineer, every time I speak to my local's boss, he listens. If you have such a problem with your local chairman, maybe you should run for his place and make railroaders safe from non-attention! Oh, By The Way, I have the inside story to many lies about the creation of AMTRAK. Jim - Lawton, NV MP236 Reply Edit csxengineer98 Member sinceOctober 2002 From: US 2,358 posts Posted by csxengineer98 on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 11:50 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by gfjwilmde As I read this forum, I've come to realize that some of you are complete idiots. You don't see a problem with our livelyhoods(jobs) being exported overseas. Nor do you see a problem with our government spending BILLIONS of our money on other countries infastrutures(ie: transportation, utilities, education, etc.)!! You just feel the status quo and to hell with whoever suffers under that ANTI-CHRIST'S ideology!! It's hypocritical NEO-CHRISTIAN FACIST like some of you is why this country will be on the verge of its own citizens revolting, and possibly leading to anarchy!! COME DOWN OFF YOUR SELF MADE PILLAR OF LIES AND SEE FOR YOURSELVES THE MANURE YOU'VE BEEN FEEDING US ALL THESE YEARS!!!!!!!!! AND SOME OF YOU D A R E TO CALL YOURSELVES RAILROADERS OR RAILFANS!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE TOO MANY YEARS INVESTED IN THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY AND AMTRAK TO LET PUNKS LIKE SOME YOU TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!!!! GLENN A R E A L AND D E V O T E D RAILROADER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A R E A L AND D E V O T E D AMTRAKER!!!!!!!!!!!! A R E A L L Y ANGRY AND DISSAPPOINTED AMERICAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if you didnt give up your senority on the railroad that you came from when amtrak was started..you got nothing to worry about...except that you might actuly have to work more for a living.... csx engineer "I AM the higher source" Keep the wheels on steel Reply csxengineer98 Member sinceOctober 2002 From: US 2,358 posts Posted by csxengineer98 on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 11:43 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by SP9033 QUOTE: Originally posted by csxengineer98 sp...what are you on..and where can i get some of it...it seems like some realy realy good stuff.. csx engineer Its 35 years of watching the quality of life for working folks be put aside for some higher goal for the nation, that somehow never worked out for the majority of us! Its called a passion to tell truths, so folks can see through the lies! Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236 that still makes no sence.... just like your half baked idea about 'giveing" rail passenger service back....dude..what ever your one...send some here..ill even take a Redblock vacation for some of it... for what it has done to you...it has got to be some of the best stuff that money can buy!!!! . csx engineer "I AM the higher source" Keep the wheels on steel Reply andrewjonathon Member sinceJanuary 2001 From: US 304 posts Posted by andrewjonathon on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 10:34 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton I would like to know how many of you who so adamantly oppose Amtrak actually travel via any mode any farther than the county line. If you haven't had the recent pleasure of a 500 mile trip by car on the crowded interstate system or had the privelege of taking two hours to go through the security drill to be shoehorned into a metal tube for a ride in a seat that is small for my 5'8", 160 pound frame, then I repectfully request that you butt out. This should be a conversation by people who travel, who are not tightly constrained by time limits and prefer a mode of travel with very low stress levels. Hmm, that sounds a little arrogant, no matter how many stars you have by your name. However, if the criteria for having an opinion is how much you travelling you do then I think I qualify. Suffice it to say that I have lived in three different countries, travelled through over 25 other countries, lived in three of four corners of this country (excluding California) and travelled coast to coast numerous times on trains, planes and automobiles that I couldn't count the number of times. Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 9:28 PM Can we all just get along? Reply Edit Junctionfan Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: St.Catharines, Ontario 3,770 posts Posted by Junctionfan on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 8:07 PM I still say that a Great Lakes Corridor is the next step Amtrak should take. As far as fare of VIA goes, you abosolutely right OnHarry, it is pretty darn expensive for that but that's because we have a Liberal government which doesn't have a real agenda on pretty much anything. They have know real ambition other than political survival and keeping the Tories out of the Prime Ministers office. At least VIA has introduced a new fare called Flexi-fare I believe it's called. Andrew Reply gfjwilmde Member sinceNovember 2004 65 posts Posted by gfjwilmde on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 4:38 PM As I read this forum, I've come to realize that some of you are complete idiots. You don't see a problem with our livelyhoods(jobs) being exported overseas. Nor do you see a problem with our government spending BILLIONS of our money on other countries infastrutures(ie: transportation, utilities, education, etc.)!! You just feel the status quo and to hell with whoever suffers under that ANTI-CHRIST'S ideology!! It's hypocritical NEO-CHRISTIAN FACIST like some of you is why this country will be on the verge of its own citizens revolting, and possibly leading to anarchy!! COME DOWN OFF YOUR SELF MADE PILLAR OF LIES AND SEE FOR YOURSELVES THE MANURE YOU'VE BEEN FEEDING US ALL THESE YEARS!!!!!!!!! AND SOME OF YOU D A R E TO CALL YOURSELVES RAILROADERS OR RAILFANS!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE TOO MANY YEARS INVESTED IN THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY AND AMTRAK TO LET PUNKS LIKE SOME YOU TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!!!! GLENN A R E A L AND D E V O T E D RAILROADER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A R E A L AND D E V O T E D AMTRAKER!!!!!!!!!!!! A R E A L L Y ANGRY AND DISSAPPOINTED AMERICAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the sophisticated hobo Reply OnHarry Member sinceFebruary 2005 29 posts Posted by OnHarry on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 10:03 AM Actually VIA is not that great. I just did a fare check online, and if I wanted to go to somewhere in Toronto from where I live, St. Thomas Ontario today on a whim it would cost me $100. return.If I was better organized and booked it ahead I get saving that allows me to do a same day run there for $82.39. However to achieve this I have to drive my little Mazda 323 to London, a thirty minute drive during the day sometimes longer, then take public transportation in Toronto when I arrive to get to my destination. Were I to drive my 323 I could get to most places in Toronto in two hours tops assuming I don't get caught up in an accident on the 400 series highways, which slows down traffic more than usual. It wouldn't take a full tank of gas but assuming it did it would still only cost me at most $30. and would be faster, and much more convenient. Frankly at those prices Via is not an option, as much as I would prefer it it is just too expensive. I have not been keeping up with railways for some time now but am just now getting back to them again, hence this my first post here. It seems to me that one thing that really moved the abandonment of rail passenger service in the sixties was the wholesale decision of the US postal service to go to trucks rather than RPO, and when the mail contracts started coming off then any pretension at viability for many trains was lost. Admittedly some tryed to renew pasenger service, Canadian National comes to mind, but they were only too happy to hand it over to VIa when that was an option. I believe also didn't Southern railway continue to run it's passenger trains or at least one on it's own after Amtrack came into being for a few years? As someone mentioned above until a major crisis occurs that would exclude expanded highways as an option then nothing much is likely to change. Sorry for the rambling post I am feeling rather random just now. Reply jeaton Member sinceSeptember 2002 From: Rockton, IL 4,821 posts Posted by jeaton on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 9:55 AM Yeah, It is a wonder that we weren't affixiated by all the smoke. Jay "We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 9:19 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by daveklepper Mitch, your experience is important of course. But it takes time to reverse things and David Gunn has had neither the time nor the money to do the job thoroughly. I don't nered to tell you who Doug Riddell is. Just got a wonderful letter from him. His son Ryan at 20 is doing a great job as a conductor on the Capitol Limited, and apparently that is one well-run operation. Dave, We're in agreement with the time and funding thing. It won't happen overnight at all. It wouldn't happen over a decade. My comments are based on my personal frustration with the entirety of it all. As for Ryan Riddell, I'm pleased to hear of a young person doing a fine job running his job. I'd like to meet him. I met a young conductor on the Hiawatha service a few weeks ago that knew what he was doing. When I was a youngster conductor on the Turbos and Hiawatha, I knew what I was doing. But it's not enough to mitigate problems with a lot of dissorganized hoo-hah going on at CUS and other not-on-board scenarios at Amtrak, throughout the years that gives me pause on their culture. Remember, their first big emergency was to change all the uniforms, re-title all the jobs, and paint the ceilings purple. From this I never saw success. From a 1973 Amtrak employee pamphlet... Conductor- to be changed to "On Board Operations Officer" Chef- " Food Specialist" Steward- " Maitre D" Tickets- " Lift Documents" (my favorite) It took their culture 32 years to figure out what a conductor's cap should look like. Mitch Reply Edit jeaton Member sinceSeptember 2002 From: Rockton, IL 4,821 posts Posted by jeaton on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 9:16 AM Mitch is right about corporate culture. It doesn't turn on a dime, but I think Dave Gunn may have accomplished changes much faster than most could. Amtrak leadership of the recent past either did not grasp reality or ignored it. I will not argue that rail passenger service as we have it today is anywhere near a modern, up to the state of the art, only way to go technology. Something like that would probably require an investment of hundreds of billions of dollars, and even if the public (taxpayers) had that kind of scratch, fat chance that they could be convinced to give it up. I think it is fairly clear that Gunn's position has been that if you want to change the structure to public-private, federal-state, new private operators or whatever you really need to shape up the existing physical condition of the business. And he presented the bill to do just that. That is the reality. Anything else is just the old magic bullet. That Texas crowd seems to have a lot of them. I wi***hey worked. Jay "We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics Reply jeaton Member sinceSeptember 2002 From: Rockton, IL 4,821 posts Posted by jeaton on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 8:46 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon Jay ... love you man, but... I have done both in the last couple of months...the >500 mile trip in a Suburban (with family) and the indignity of having to take my shoes off at the bequest of a gentleman who can't spell terrorist, much less spent as much time as I have fighting them...(and that..you'll have to take my word for is a no kidding) ........and having to do that as an ACTIVE duty miltary person, travelling ON ORDERS...I consider to be an indignity. By the way...I'm 6'1" and 215......I live for center seats! But if you do my taxes for me...gratis....I'll stop complaining about the pointless arrow.... Dan Dan You have the travel experience, so I will accept that you have an experience position from which to make any points you wish. I will cover the buck for silence, but preparing your taxes gratis will require you to write your congressman supporting, oh say, about 2 billion for Amtrak. Somehow, my offer sort of reminds me of the Tom Hanks character in "The Money Trap". "Will a bribe help?" Jay PS If you are using any of the leading tax preparation franchises, play the "in service to my country"card. Those fees are way out of line. "We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics Reply 1234 Join our Community! Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account. Login » Register » Search the Community Newsletter Sign-Up By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy More great sites from Kalmbach Media Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy
what the hell are you babling about.... first off...railroads do run other railroads trians on their rails..but they are just as much a pain in the***as amtrash is.... also..where the hell did i say anthing about my local chairmen..now your babling on about stuff that i have never even commented on...... and i would like to know where your "inside" story is...care to share it... meaning a rescouse that we all can read...or is it just for your eyes only....becouse if its just hearsay without any hard date...... csx engineer [/quote I'm so glad we have established your brotherly love for Amtrak employees. Your narrow minded ways have now been witnessed by 10! I was going to say by thousands, but this is not Altmont.COM. You're a craft person...not...Your management's wet dream. I see its all about you and has nothing to to wilth the kids and learning, or the rest of US.... BYE, Jim
QUOTE: Originally posted by SP9033 QUOTE: if you didnt give up your senority on the railroad that you came from when amtrak was started..you got nothing to worry about...except that you might actuly have to work more for a living.... csx engineer CSX Engineer, Wish you'd give us a usable name to addess you by, it doesn't need to be real, but it just seems like something like Jack, Mike or whatever is so much better than CSX Engineer! It seems so fun to hear a railroader, that seems so anti-union, talk about senority rights and stuff. For about 15 years, Amtrak operating crews where supplied by the railroads that passed off their public responsibilities. Those operating employees that came from the freight railroads that cast-off thier responsibilities have a hire date, if its better than your's, guess you're below them. As with any merger, those with hire dates as Amtrak employees, would simply dovetail into the apropreate place with post Amtrak hired freight railroad employees. Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236
QUOTE: if you didnt give up your senority on the railroad that you came from when amtrak was started..you got nothing to worry about...except that you might actuly have to work more for a living.... csx engineer
what the hell are you babling about.... first off...railroads do run other railroads trians on their rails..but they are just as much a pain in the***as amtrash is.... also..where the hell did i say anthing about my local chairmen..now your babling on about stuff that i have never even commented on...... and i would like to know where your "inside" story is...care to share it... meaning a rescouse that we all can read...or is it just for your eyes only....becouse if its just hearsay without any hard date...... csx engineer [/quote I'm so glad we have established your brotherly love for Amtrak employees. Your narrow minded ways have now been witnessed by 10! I was going to say by thousands, but this is not Altmont.COM. You're a craft person...not...Your management's wet dream. I see its all about you and has nothing to to wilth the kids and learning, or the rest of US.... BYE, Jim Reply Edit Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 17, 2005 4:25 AM I had a very good friend, 50 years with the Southern Pacific, that retired during 1986 from the railroad. He was one of two Espee engineers on that divission that provided Amtrak's 5 and 6 with direction, 14 years after its creation. They were Southern Pacific employees! There were not any operating emplyees at Amtrak at it creation, they were all supplied from the privious operater of passenger service! Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236 Reply Edit csxengineer98 Member sinceOctober 2002 From: US 2,358 posts Posted by csxengineer98 on Thursday, March 17, 2005 3:46 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by SP9033 QUOTE: if you didnt give up your senority on the railroad that you came from when amtrak was started..you got nothing to worry about...except that you might actuly have to work more for a living.... csx engineer CSX Engineer, Wish you'd give us a usable name to addess you by, it doesn't need to be real, but it just seems like something like Jack, Mike or whatever is so much better than CSX Engineer! It seems so fun to hear a railroader, that seems so anti-union, talk about senority rights and stuff. For about 15 years, Amtrak operating crews where supplied by the railroads that passed off their public responsibilities. Those operating employees that came from the freight railroads that cast-off thier responsibilities have a hire date, if its better than your's, guess you're below them. As with any merger, those with hire dates as Amtrak employees, would simply dovetail into the apropreate place with post Amtrak hired freight railroad employees. Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236 wrong... atleast here it is... anyone that went over to amtrash from a freight railroad when amtrak was first formed retains thier frieght railroads senority... now anyone hired after a preset date...i dont know what it is off hand.. is an amtrak employee with NO ties to the frieght railroads that amtrak runs on....so when amtrak goes downt he crapper...the only ones i have to worry about are the few that still have freight railroad rights...which around hear are 2 people... and both are near retirment...so guess what ...im set either way.... also...since you want to make it more personal...you can address me as MR Csx engineer then.... csx engineer "I AM the higher source" Keep the wheels on steel Reply csxengineer98 Member sinceOctober 2002 From: US 2,358 posts Posted by csxengineer98 on Thursday, March 17, 2005 3:40 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by SP9033 QUOTE: that still makes no sence.... just like your half baked idea about 'giveing" rail passenger service back....dude..what ever your one...send some here..ill even take a Redblock vacation for some of it... for what it has done to you...it has got to be some of the best stuff that money can buy!!!! . csx engineer The first lie was that the freight railroads would run a third party's trains over their own railroad with the same dispatch as if they owned them. The next lie; this shifting of responsibility from private enterprise to government was presented as a solution, when really it was a castoff from private enterprise and its responsibilities to the government, with the idea that Amtrak would daylight itself and be gone post-haste in about 5 to 8 years. The next lie, which confirms the second lie, is; If the creators of Amtrak really wanted to create a federally sponsored passenger rail network with legs, they'd given it a revenue source. Independent of the yearly federal budget constraints and politics! They didn't! It was the typical rich-man pass off to government of their responsibilities, with the hope that it would die. You know CSXengineer, every time I speak to my local's boss, he listens. If you have such a problem with your local chairman, maybe you should run for his place and make railroaders safe from non-attention! Oh, By The Way, I have the inside story to many lies about the creation of AMTRAK. Jim - Lawton, NV MP236 what the hell are you babling about.... first off...railroads do run other railroads trians on their rails..but they are just as much a pain in the***as amtrash is.... also..where the hell did i say anthing about my local chairmen..now your babling on about stuff that i have never even commented on...... and i would like to know where your "inside" story is...care to share it... meaning a rescouse that we all can read...or is it just for your eyes only....becouse if its just hearsay without any hard date...... csx engineer "I AM the higher source" Keep the wheels on steel Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 17, 2005 3:20 AM QUOTE: if you didnt give up your senority on the railroad that you came from when amtrak was started..you got nothing to worry about...except that you might actuly have to work more for a living.... csx engineer CSX Engineer, Wish you'd give us a usable name to addess you by, it doesn't need to be real, but it just seems like something like Jack, Mike or whatever is so much better than CSX Engineer! It seems so fun to hear a railroader, that seems so anti-union, talk about senority rights and stuff. For about 15 years, Amtrak operating crews where supplied by the railroads that passed off their public responsibilities. Those operating employees that came from the freight railroads that cast-off thier responsibilities have a hire date, if its better than your's, guess you're below them. As with any merger, those with hire dates as Amtrak employees, would simply dovetail into the apropreate place with post Amtrak hired freight railroad employees. Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236 Reply Edit daveklepper Member sinceJune 2002 20,096 posts Posted by daveklepper on Thursday, March 17, 2005 2:46 AM Again, a dedicated revenue source is essential. Just like the theater sound system operator and maintenance man who gets a $40,000/year salary just so the 2% of the patrons who are hard of hearing can hear the shows the way normal hearing people hear them. Considering the gobs of money the govt. sp.ends on highways and airports and traffic control, $2 billion a year fokr passenger rail/ Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 17, 2005 2:37 AM QUOTE: that still makes no sence.... just like your half baked idea about 'giveing" rail passenger service back....dude..what ever your one...send some here..ill even take a Redblock vacation for some of it... for what it has done to you...it has got to be some of the best stuff that money can buy!!!! . csx engineer The first lie was that the freight railroads would run a third party's trains over their own railroad with the same dispatch as if they owned them. The next lie; this shifting of responsibility from private enterprise to government was presented as a solution, when really it was a castoff from private enterprise and its responsibilities to the government, with the idea that Amtrak would daylight itself and be gone post-haste in about 5 to 8 years. The next lie, which confirms the second lie, is; If the creators of Amtrak really wanted to create a federally sponsored passenger rail network with legs, they'd given it a revenue source. Independent of the yearly federal budget constraints and politics! They didn't! It was the typical rich-man pass off to government of their responsibilities, with the hope that it would die. You know CSXengineer, every time I speak to my local's boss, he listens. If you have such a problem with your local chairman, maybe you should run for his place and make railroaders safe from non-attention! Oh, By The Way, I have the inside story to many lies about the creation of AMTRAK. Jim - Lawton, NV MP236 Reply Edit csxengineer98 Member sinceOctober 2002 From: US 2,358 posts Posted by csxengineer98 on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 11:50 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by gfjwilmde As I read this forum, I've come to realize that some of you are complete idiots. You don't see a problem with our livelyhoods(jobs) being exported overseas. Nor do you see a problem with our government spending BILLIONS of our money on other countries infastrutures(ie: transportation, utilities, education, etc.)!! You just feel the status quo and to hell with whoever suffers under that ANTI-CHRIST'S ideology!! It's hypocritical NEO-CHRISTIAN FACIST like some of you is why this country will be on the verge of its own citizens revolting, and possibly leading to anarchy!! COME DOWN OFF YOUR SELF MADE PILLAR OF LIES AND SEE FOR YOURSELVES THE MANURE YOU'VE BEEN FEEDING US ALL THESE YEARS!!!!!!!!! AND SOME OF YOU D A R E TO CALL YOURSELVES RAILROADERS OR RAILFANS!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE TOO MANY YEARS INVESTED IN THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY AND AMTRAK TO LET PUNKS LIKE SOME YOU TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!!!! GLENN A R E A L AND D E V O T E D RAILROADER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A R E A L AND D E V O T E D AMTRAKER!!!!!!!!!!!! A R E A L L Y ANGRY AND DISSAPPOINTED AMERICAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if you didnt give up your senority on the railroad that you came from when amtrak was started..you got nothing to worry about...except that you might actuly have to work more for a living.... csx engineer "I AM the higher source" Keep the wheels on steel Reply csxengineer98 Member sinceOctober 2002 From: US 2,358 posts Posted by csxengineer98 on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 11:43 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by SP9033 QUOTE: Originally posted by csxengineer98 sp...what are you on..and where can i get some of it...it seems like some realy realy good stuff.. csx engineer Its 35 years of watching the quality of life for working folks be put aside for some higher goal for the nation, that somehow never worked out for the majority of us! Its called a passion to tell truths, so folks can see through the lies! Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236 that still makes no sence.... just like your half baked idea about 'giveing" rail passenger service back....dude..what ever your one...send some here..ill even take a Redblock vacation for some of it... for what it has done to you...it has got to be some of the best stuff that money can buy!!!! . csx engineer "I AM the higher source" Keep the wheels on steel Reply andrewjonathon Member sinceJanuary 2001 From: US 304 posts Posted by andrewjonathon on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 10:34 PM QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton I would like to know how many of you who so adamantly oppose Amtrak actually travel via any mode any farther than the county line. If you haven't had the recent pleasure of a 500 mile trip by car on the crowded interstate system or had the privelege of taking two hours to go through the security drill to be shoehorned into a metal tube for a ride in a seat that is small for my 5'8", 160 pound frame, then I repectfully request that you butt out. This should be a conversation by people who travel, who are not tightly constrained by time limits and prefer a mode of travel with very low stress levels. Hmm, that sounds a little arrogant, no matter how many stars you have by your name. However, if the criteria for having an opinion is how much you travelling you do then I think I qualify. Suffice it to say that I have lived in three different countries, travelled through over 25 other countries, lived in three of four corners of this country (excluding California) and travelled coast to coast numerous times on trains, planes and automobiles that I couldn't count the number of times. Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 9:28 PM Can we all just get along? Reply Edit Junctionfan Member sinceFebruary 2004 From: St.Catharines, Ontario 3,770 posts Posted by Junctionfan on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 8:07 PM I still say that a Great Lakes Corridor is the next step Amtrak should take. As far as fare of VIA goes, you abosolutely right OnHarry, it is pretty darn expensive for that but that's because we have a Liberal government which doesn't have a real agenda on pretty much anything. They have know real ambition other than political survival and keeping the Tories out of the Prime Ministers office. At least VIA has introduced a new fare called Flexi-fare I believe it's called. Andrew Reply gfjwilmde Member sinceNovember 2004 65 posts Posted by gfjwilmde on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 4:38 PM As I read this forum, I've come to realize that some of you are complete idiots. You don't see a problem with our livelyhoods(jobs) being exported overseas. Nor do you see a problem with our government spending BILLIONS of our money on other countries infastrutures(ie: transportation, utilities, education, etc.)!! You just feel the status quo and to hell with whoever suffers under that ANTI-CHRIST'S ideology!! It's hypocritical NEO-CHRISTIAN FACIST like some of you is why this country will be on the verge of its own citizens revolting, and possibly leading to anarchy!! COME DOWN OFF YOUR SELF MADE PILLAR OF LIES AND SEE FOR YOURSELVES THE MANURE YOU'VE BEEN FEEDING US ALL THESE YEARS!!!!!!!!! AND SOME OF YOU D A R E TO CALL YOURSELVES RAILROADERS OR RAILFANS!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE TOO MANY YEARS INVESTED IN THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY AND AMTRAK TO LET PUNKS LIKE SOME YOU TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!!!! GLENN A R E A L AND D E V O T E D RAILROADER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A R E A L AND D E V O T E D AMTRAKER!!!!!!!!!!!! A R E A L L Y ANGRY AND DISSAPPOINTED AMERICAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the sophisticated hobo Reply OnHarry Member sinceFebruary 2005 29 posts Posted by OnHarry on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 10:03 AM Actually VIA is not that great. I just did a fare check online, and if I wanted to go to somewhere in Toronto from where I live, St. Thomas Ontario today on a whim it would cost me $100. return.If I was better organized and booked it ahead I get saving that allows me to do a same day run there for $82.39. However to achieve this I have to drive my little Mazda 323 to London, a thirty minute drive during the day sometimes longer, then take public transportation in Toronto when I arrive to get to my destination. Were I to drive my 323 I could get to most places in Toronto in two hours tops assuming I don't get caught up in an accident on the 400 series highways, which slows down traffic more than usual. It wouldn't take a full tank of gas but assuming it did it would still only cost me at most $30. and would be faster, and much more convenient. Frankly at those prices Via is not an option, as much as I would prefer it it is just too expensive. I have not been keeping up with railways for some time now but am just now getting back to them again, hence this my first post here. It seems to me that one thing that really moved the abandonment of rail passenger service in the sixties was the wholesale decision of the US postal service to go to trucks rather than RPO, and when the mail contracts started coming off then any pretension at viability for many trains was lost. Admittedly some tryed to renew pasenger service, Canadian National comes to mind, but they were only too happy to hand it over to VIa when that was an option. I believe also didn't Southern railway continue to run it's passenger trains or at least one on it's own after Amtrack came into being for a few years? As someone mentioned above until a major crisis occurs that would exclude expanded highways as an option then nothing much is likely to change. Sorry for the rambling post I am feeling rather random just now. Reply jeaton Member sinceSeptember 2002 From: Rockton, IL 4,821 posts Posted by jeaton on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 9:55 AM Yeah, It is a wonder that we weren't affixiated by all the smoke. Jay "We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics Reply Anonymous Member sinceApril 2003 305,205 posts Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 9:19 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by daveklepper Mitch, your experience is important of course. But it takes time to reverse things and David Gunn has had neither the time nor the money to do the job thoroughly. I don't nered to tell you who Doug Riddell is. Just got a wonderful letter from him. His son Ryan at 20 is doing a great job as a conductor on the Capitol Limited, and apparently that is one well-run operation. Dave, We're in agreement with the time and funding thing. It won't happen overnight at all. It wouldn't happen over a decade. My comments are based on my personal frustration with the entirety of it all. As for Ryan Riddell, I'm pleased to hear of a young person doing a fine job running his job. I'd like to meet him. I met a young conductor on the Hiawatha service a few weeks ago that knew what he was doing. When I was a youngster conductor on the Turbos and Hiawatha, I knew what I was doing. But it's not enough to mitigate problems with a lot of dissorganized hoo-hah going on at CUS and other not-on-board scenarios at Amtrak, throughout the years that gives me pause on their culture. Remember, their first big emergency was to change all the uniforms, re-title all the jobs, and paint the ceilings purple. From this I never saw success. From a 1973 Amtrak employee pamphlet... Conductor- to be changed to "On Board Operations Officer" Chef- " Food Specialist" Steward- " Maitre D" Tickets- " Lift Documents" (my favorite) It took their culture 32 years to figure out what a conductor's cap should look like. Mitch Reply Edit jeaton Member sinceSeptember 2002 From: Rockton, IL 4,821 posts Posted by jeaton on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 9:16 AM Mitch is right about corporate culture. It doesn't turn on a dime, but I think Dave Gunn may have accomplished changes much faster than most could. Amtrak leadership of the recent past either did not grasp reality or ignored it. I will not argue that rail passenger service as we have it today is anywhere near a modern, up to the state of the art, only way to go technology. Something like that would probably require an investment of hundreds of billions of dollars, and even if the public (taxpayers) had that kind of scratch, fat chance that they could be convinced to give it up. I think it is fairly clear that Gunn's position has been that if you want to change the structure to public-private, federal-state, new private operators or whatever you really need to shape up the existing physical condition of the business. And he presented the bill to do just that. That is the reality. Anything else is just the old magic bullet. That Texas crowd seems to have a lot of them. I wi***hey worked. Jay "We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics Reply jeaton Member sinceSeptember 2002 From: Rockton, IL 4,821 posts Posted by jeaton on Wednesday, March 16, 2005 8:46 AM QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon Jay ... love you man, but... I have done both in the last couple of months...the >500 mile trip in a Suburban (with family) and the indignity of having to take my shoes off at the bequest of a gentleman who can't spell terrorist, much less spent as much time as I have fighting them...(and that..you'll have to take my word for is a no kidding) ........and having to do that as an ACTIVE duty miltary person, travelling ON ORDERS...I consider to be an indignity. By the way...I'm 6'1" and 215......I live for center seats! But if you do my taxes for me...gratis....I'll stop complaining about the pointless arrow.... Dan Dan You have the travel experience, so I will accept that you have an experience position from which to make any points you wish. I will cover the buck for silence, but preparing your taxes gratis will require you to write your congressman supporting, oh say, about 2 billion for Amtrak. Somehow, my offer sort of reminds me of the Tom Hanks character in "The Money Trap". "Will a bribe help?" Jay PS If you are using any of the leading tax preparation franchises, play the "in service to my country"card. Those fees are way out of line. "We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics Reply 1234 Join our Community! Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account. Login » Register » Search the Community Newsletter Sign-Up By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy More great sites from Kalmbach Media Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy
QUOTE: Originally posted by SP9033 QUOTE: that still makes no sence.... just like your half baked idea about 'giveing" rail passenger service back....dude..what ever your one...send some here..ill even take a Redblock vacation for some of it... for what it has done to you...it has got to be some of the best stuff that money can buy!!!! . csx engineer The first lie was that the freight railroads would run a third party's trains over their own railroad with the same dispatch as if they owned them. The next lie; this shifting of responsibility from private enterprise to government was presented as a solution, when really it was a castoff from private enterprise and its responsibilities to the government, with the idea that Amtrak would daylight itself and be gone post-haste in about 5 to 8 years. The next lie, which confirms the second lie, is; If the creators of Amtrak really wanted to create a federally sponsored passenger rail network with legs, they'd given it a revenue source. Independent of the yearly federal budget constraints and politics! They didn't! It was the typical rich-man pass off to government of their responsibilities, with the hope that it would die. You know CSXengineer, every time I speak to my local's boss, he listens. If you have such a problem with your local chairman, maybe you should run for his place and make railroaders safe from non-attention! Oh, By The Way, I have the inside story to many lies about the creation of AMTRAK. Jim - Lawton, NV MP236
QUOTE: that still makes no sence.... just like your half baked idea about 'giveing" rail passenger service back....dude..what ever your one...send some here..ill even take a Redblock vacation for some of it... for what it has done to you...it has got to be some of the best stuff that money can buy!!!! . csx engineer
QUOTE: Originally posted by gfjwilmde As I read this forum, I've come to realize that some of you are complete idiots. You don't see a problem with our livelyhoods(jobs) being exported overseas. Nor do you see a problem with our government spending BILLIONS of our money on other countries infastrutures(ie: transportation, utilities, education, etc.)!! You just feel the status quo and to hell with whoever suffers under that ANTI-CHRIST'S ideology!! It's hypocritical NEO-CHRISTIAN FACIST like some of you is why this country will be on the verge of its own citizens revolting, and possibly leading to anarchy!! COME DOWN OFF YOUR SELF MADE PILLAR OF LIES AND SEE FOR YOURSELVES THE MANURE YOU'VE BEEN FEEDING US ALL THESE YEARS!!!!!!!!! AND SOME OF YOU D A R E TO CALL YOURSELVES RAILROADERS OR RAILFANS!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE TOO MANY YEARS INVESTED IN THE RAILROAD INDUSTRY AND AMTRAK TO LET PUNKS LIKE SOME YOU TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!!!! GLENN A R E A L AND D E V O T E D RAILROADER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A R E A L AND D E V O T E D AMTRAKER!!!!!!!!!!!! A R E A L L Y ANGRY AND DISSAPPOINTED AMERICAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
QUOTE: Originally posted by SP9033 QUOTE: Originally posted by csxengineer98 sp...what are you on..and where can i get some of it...it seems like some realy realy good stuff.. csx engineer Its 35 years of watching the quality of life for working folks be put aside for some higher goal for the nation, that somehow never worked out for the majority of us! Its called a passion to tell truths, so folks can see through the lies! Jim - Lawton, NV MP 236
QUOTE: Originally posted by csxengineer98 sp...what are you on..and where can i get some of it...it seems like some realy realy good stuff.. csx engineer
QUOTE: Originally posted by jeaton I would like to know how many of you who so adamantly oppose Amtrak actually travel via any mode any farther than the county line. If you haven't had the recent pleasure of a 500 mile trip by car on the crowded interstate system or had the privelege of taking two hours to go through the security drill to be shoehorned into a metal tube for a ride in a seat that is small for my 5'8", 160 pound frame, then I repectfully request that you butt out. This should be a conversation by people who travel, who are not tightly constrained by time limits and prefer a mode of travel with very low stress levels.
"We have met the enemy and he is us." Pogo Possum "We have met the anemone... and he is Russ." Bucky Katt "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." Niels Bohr, Nobel laureate in physics
QUOTE: Originally posted by daveklepper Mitch, your experience is important of course. But it takes time to reverse things and David Gunn has had neither the time nor the money to do the job thoroughly. I don't nered to tell you who Doug Riddell is. Just got a wonderful letter from him. His son Ryan at 20 is doing a great job as a conductor on the Capitol Limited, and apparently that is one well-run operation.
QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon Jay ... love you man, but... I have done both in the last couple of months...the >500 mile trip in a Suburban (with family) and the indignity of having to take my shoes off at the bequest of a gentleman who can't spell terrorist, much less spent as much time as I have fighting them...(and that..you'll have to take my word for is a no kidding) ........and having to do that as an ACTIVE duty miltary person, travelling ON ORDERS...I consider to be an indignity. By the way...I'm 6'1" and 215......I live for center seats! But if you do my taxes for me...gratis....I'll stop complaining about the pointless arrow.... Dan
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.