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I have been particularly looking for your post lately, wherein you describe the scenery through which your trains pass and the loads and what they are and where they go and so on.
That adds a bunch to this place. Thanks, friend.
HILANDER
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No problem bdgee, I appreciate it. I never thought about it really that much until an "old head" (railroadese for a guy that's been around the railroad for a long time) made the comment about not ever seeing "this many emties going north." He also mentioned that in the south lots was going down towards Mexico. I never really paid that much attention I guess, but then I had a conversation with the number two manager in my division. What he said brought everything together. Basically we discussed how the railroad is one of the first indicators of a downturn in the economy. Then he asked me what kind of trains I had been running. I mentioned I had put a couple of "baretables" (empty intermodal cars) into some really off the wall places. All he said was "deep storage." What's odd is that on any given day on the railroad, abut half of the trains you see are stack trains full of containers. I have to really question the prudence of this whole "free trade/NAFTA" idea. I mean Ferromex, the Mexican National Railway runs the same kind of brand new GE road locomotives that we do, and they aren't cheap. Something in the line of 4 million a piece. Their making all kinds of money all of the sudden it seems like. I've even been seeing more and more Mexican Locomotives up here in Washington State. I just gotta wonder if this whole NAFTA superhighway corridor through the middle of the country is going to happen or not, and what it will mean for jobs here in the states. Thanks again for your kind words bdgee, I don't have time to to really trade but I do like lurking around here because of folks like you.
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