Least Favorite Railroad

[AlcoRS11Nut]

I would just like to know what are some of the least favorite railroads, in the past and current, since someone wanted to know some of the favorite railroads.

[Anonymous]

I vote for the Illinois Central.

[Anonymous]

Amtrak Amtrak Amtrak !!! I think it`s the king of crap when it comes to railroads. Amtrak just needs to move over.

[Anonymous]

I agree!!!
Amtrash!!!!
boooooooooooooooooo!!
baaaadddddd!!!!

[Anonymous]

1) New York Central

2) CSX

3) Gulf, Mobile & Ohio

4) Amtrak

[Anonymous]

Cast my vote for ANY of the big 4. I'm sick of UP, BNSF, CSX, and NS. Whatever happened to the days when there were several different railroads competing for traffic in a given market? These days, I see railroads as just a "generic" monopoly, that is wiping out all traces of its former self. Stack trains and lookalike unit coal trains don't make for a very good replacement for the unique "old" freights of the pre-1970's era. When was the last time you saw a boxcar with the owning railroads logo painted on the boxcar? These days all you get are some simple reporting marks, provided that they aren't covered in mindless gang graffitti.
Todd C.

[JoeKoh]

I've read articles and talked to some nice gentlemen who worked for theNKP(Nickel Platte).They got traffic to and from Chicago faster than the bigger better competition.
Stay safe
Joe

[JoeKoh]

I've read articles and talked to some nice gentlemen who worked for theNKP(Nickel Platte).They got traffic to and from Chicago faster than the bigger better competition.
Stay safe
Joe

[JoeKoh]

my apologies.
stay safe
joe

[eolafan]

Sorry everybody, but I don't have a least favorite railroad as I love all railroads and almost everything about railroading. That's what being a real railfan is all about, I believe. Favorites, yes...least favorites, no way!

[jsanchez]

My least favorite

Norfolk Southern- they could be doing a lot more business in the Northeast, to worried about cutting cost instead of growth, they still need to learn what customer service is and improve their public and employee relations. Boring ,cheap paint scheme on their loco's

Penn Central- poorly managed disaster, that set freight railroad spiraling downward in the 70's.

Luzerne and Susquehanna- a mis-managed county owned railroad in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area, horrible track conditions, little marketing, and to many politicians running the show, helping to eliminate what little chance their is for decent sized industry to locate in the Wyoming Valley.

[greendiamond]

GM&O, it ruined the true Illinois Central
Mike

[Anonymous]

As a rail-fan my least favorite railroad would have to be the railroad I least know about, or some line I never heard of.

[CShaveRR]

James, I was with you in liking railroading, until I saw some of the other posts. Norfolk Southern, with its attitude toward "the help", just can't rate as high in my mind as some of the others, which probably have their own drawbacks in the same or other areas. But even the NS, as well as just about any other railroad, present-day or historic, has some unique aspect that endears it to people who know about it. And if you don't happen to know about these things, at least respect the people who do.

[Anonymous]

Least favorite-- Definitely Soo Line. When the courts awarded the Milwaukee Road to the Soo in 1985, I immediately turned sour, especially after I began seeing the "bandit" paint scheme weeks after the award. I live on a former Milwaukee Road mainline, after the Soo took over they slowly began fazing out freight service, then a few months back took up the tracks on what was once a great double track thriving mainline. Soo Line without question is my least favorite railroad.

[Anonymous]

Least Favorite Freight: NS/CSX post ConRail

Least Favorite Passenger: SEPTA...mismanagement galore, and they're about to eliminate half their rail lines.

Least Favorite Historical: Penn Central

[Anonymous]

As a former Milw Road employee, I have a lot of trouble forgiving the BN for all the dirty tricks it played, negating the various conditions it had to agree to with the ICC in order to merge. Later, when all this was made public, the US Justice Dept declined to investigate or prosecute the BN, at the begining of the Regan presidency. Bob

[cp1057]

Well said!

I've never met a train I didn't like!

However... why does VIA Rail in Canada charge almost dollar for dollar the same price as the airlines. Where's the incentive to ride the train? I sure can't afford it.

Charles

[Anonymous]

Well VIA is sure a better deal than Amtrak.

I can go by air almost anywhere at a better rate than by taking AMTRAK.

Have been to Seattle twice in the last year and could have went by air for $800.00 less than by AMTRAK in a Pullman.



Tom

[Anonymous]

When has a Republican investigated anything to do with deregulation.

But, also rember who helped push deruglation.



Tom

[Anonymous]

Remember who was the bankruptcy judge who created this fiasco. The former Republican Gov. of Illinois.

I was working for the CNW aat the time and our management thought it was a forgone conclusion that the CNW would get the MILWAUKEE. Well less than a year later we were thankful that we did not get them.

The SOO did what the CNW said they would do and look what happened.

Retired in 2001 from the UP and was never so happy to get away. I spent 43 years on the railroad, 8 on the former GREAT NORTHERN and the balance on the CNW & UP.

[Mookie]

Ringer: The forum is looking for some good stories about the old railroading - bet you have some to tell!

Jen

[vsmith]

Right this minute, its my model RR which sits unfinished in the back of my garage. The locomotives sit on their display shelves mocking and harrassing me for being able to find the time to work on their layout.

[Anonymous]

H'mmmmm,..tough pick............on Mondays, wednesdays, Fridays and most weekends, it would have to be the UP,...the rest of the time it would be any of the Cannuck railroads, all pages in the mag devoted to cannuck railroads are wasted pulp imho.....

[Anonymous]

CSX (Chicken S*&t Express)

As far as working with them for interchange they are a pain in the back side. They set loads on top of the empties so we have to run around them. Don't turn boxcars that can only be unloaded from one side even though the friggin wye is right next to the interchange track. We had to show one of their female trainee conductors how to successfully line up the knuckles to make a good joint, after we got done laughing so hard we damn near fell out of the cab.

Their tracking system sucks and your cars can be anywhere.

Not like the CN/IC which is very nice to deal with.

[Anonymous]

Jsanchez wrote:
<<
Luzerne and Susquehanna- a mis-managed county owned railroad in the Wilkes-Barre, PA area, horrible track conditions, little marketing, and to many politicians running the show, helping to eliminate what little chance their is for decent sized industry to locate in the Wyoming Valley.
>>

And what do you base all of this on? Newspaper accounts? Do you know much of anything about how this railroad is managed or is this all from Rumorpace?

LC

[Anonymous]

Norfolk Southern aka "the Dark Side"

It earns every lousy thing saidf about it every day...

LC

[Chazmort]

I have no personal grudge against the Guilford but it would have to be my least favorite RR by a long shot.

Chazmort

[Anonymous]

1. Amtrak. If it wasn't them I would be on the Super Chief.
2. UP there power hungrey!

[jwixom]

NS CAUSE THEY RUIN RAILFEST DOWN IN ALTOONA PA