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F.O.A.D.

On 9/4/13 11:20 AM, wrote:
On Wed, 04 Sep 2013 09:20:33 -0400, "F.O.A.D." wrote:

On 9/4/13 9:12 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:

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Well, some things on the train tracks have changed. Railroad "ties" are
typically concrete now and the rail butts are welded and smooth. Ever
notice that the "clackity-clack" sound of a train travelling down the
track has disappeared?

Depends on where you are. The trackage from here to NYC and beyond is
pretty decent, and so is the trackage out to Chicago. I've not been
further west than Chicago on a train.

The trackage is absolutely miserable between here and Florida. I mean,
TERRIBLE. The rails are as crooked and bumpy as you can get and in some
places, you have to wonder why the rail car just doesn't hop off the
rails. CSX owns the rails and whatever the minimum is for upkeep, it
obviously spends less.

CSX spends what it needs to for freight trains. Amtrak is just
freeloading on their track.,

Amtrak pays a train mile fee for using CSX tracks. A relative who was a
CSX exec told me what it was once, but that was years ago. In the
aggregate, the total Amtrak pays out for train mile fees around the
country is several hundred million dollars.

Freeloading...what an interesting term. I suppose when you rent a car
from Hertz, you are freeloading.