Re: (erielack) Re: The EL un-merger

[RJFlei_@_aol.com]

List,

Speaking of the de-industrialization of the east, this has also happened in 
the mid-west. If you look at EL territory in eastern Ohio and western Pa it's 
quite glaring. 

Over 80, 000 manufacturing jobs have been lost in the Mahoning Valley alone. 

In Greeenville, Pa. there is practically no industry left, and I believe that 
probably Thiel College or the Greenville Hospital may be the largest employer 
now. Remember Greenville Steel Car? It was taken over by Trinity Industries, 
who built a modern, state of the art carbuilding facility in Mexico, then shut 
Greenville down. CB&I also closed. The B&LE is greatly downsized in 
Greenville. Much of Werner Ladder is gone - to Mexico & China. 

Sharon, Pa. lost the Westinghouse transformer business that once employed 15, 
000 people. Wheatland Tube is closing or has closed a tube mill because of 
Chinese imports. Then there was Sharon Steel - mostly gone. 

There is no longer ANY steel made in Youngstown. There is a pipe mill there, 
but they don't make the steel. 

WCI Steel in Warren is the only steel making facility left in the Mahoning 
Valley, and it's living on borrowed time. Packard Electric in Warren, now 
Delphi, is shifting most all of it's work to Mexico, China, and India. What's left 
in Warren will most likely be gone in a few years. 

It used to be that plants were shut down and moved south. Now everything 
seems to be going offshore.

I could go on and on about the plant closings, and I've only scratched the 
surface. These, plus the many I've not mentioned produced quite a bit of revenue 
for the EL. If you look at the entire route of the EL, there is basically 
nothing left that could produce revenue. 

The only thing you could hope for is some kind of piggyback or doublestack 
business of imported goods destined cities along the route. All that we seem to 
have left in this country are paper shufflers, pencil pushers, beancounters, 
and vulture capitalists. We don't produce many value added products anymore. 

Maybe the death of the EL back in 1976 was somewhat of a merciful one, 
looking back. Had they not gone into Conrail it surely would have been a slow, 
agonizing death. I was bad enough as it was. 

Rick Fleischer
Cortland, Oh. 


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