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Re: (erielack) Conroversial Subject?

 
Walt,
 
Very well put indeed. Yes, everything changes with time and people do  
adjust. We all do, whether or not we realize it. I agree that the Cuf-Off will  be 
back in service and there will be passenger service to Scranton and the  
Southern Tier of NY. It's a matter of time and it really does depends on the  
politicians getting their heads out of their behinds as you said.
 
The best thing that we and the greeb folks can do is to  write/email the pols 
and let them know that we all vote. I find it very  interesting that in 
Scranton for example, the local pols are mute when it comes  to restoration of 
passenger service. If someone can correct me on that, I'd  appreciate it, but from 
what I've seen and that includes newly-elected Casey,  mums the word. Maybe 
they're expecting their palms to be greased.
 
When Casey was running for office, I contacted his website and asked his  
position on the restoration of passenger service to Scranton. The reply was a  
form for me to fill out to help with fundraising. I resent my question three  
more times. The most I received was that he supports Amtrak service in  
Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. Give me a break. And to top it off, he  is 
from Scranton. What gives?
 
Again, you are right. When it becomes popular to support rail service,  
they'll all jump on board and claim the credit. If the Green Party in PA were  
smart, they'd pick up the ball on rail service and run with it. 
 
Rick
 
In a message dated 2/19/2007 10:51:40 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
wsmith5957_@_hotmail.com writes:

Rick  & other listers;

Of all people, the listers and  others in the RR business should be 
aware of what happens when technology  changes. Look what happened to the 
stagecoaches and wagon haulers when the  Rrs came along.......the men adapted 
to new jobs (as brakemen, firemen,  operators, etc.) I've read articles like 
you saw, Rick and I know how  those old wagoneers felt.........An official at 
Union Station (DC) who'd  been on the EL at Hoboken said to me "Well, Walt, 
you've managed to  survive" - he meant on the railroad of course. AMERICAN 
HERITAGE had a  well thought out article a few years ago on the effect of 
railroads on  life in the early 1800s. It mentioned how, in the north 
especially, people  were bound to their local farms and settlements with the 
advent of winter.  When the railroads came, there was, for the first time, a 
year-round  transportation system. It was a MASSIVE change for society. 
Nowadays in  the rustbelt, there is a similar change..........the remnants of 
the EL no  longer haul coal & iron ore, but they ARE still essential unless 
we  want to pave over the entire country.  I truly believe we will see the  
cutoff restored with psgr service to Scranton & the Southern Tier as  well as 
Syracuse when the politicos get their heads out of their  a--es.

Regards,
Walter Smith


>From:  RJFlei_@_aol.com
>Reply-To: RJFlei_@_aol.com
>To:  erielack_@_lists.elhts.org
>Subject: (erielack) Conroversial  Subject?
>Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 09:33:55  EST
>
>
>Paul,
>
>We have the advantage of  hindsight these days. Who would have thought
>manufacturing would have  gone into the ditch as it has done, especially 
>when the
>Erie -  Lackawanna merger took place?
>
>Look what has happened to the  shoe business in NY state. All you have to do
>is look at what has  happened to online cities, both on Erie, and Lackawanna
>lines. I really  don't know much about Lackawanna online cities, but  
>remember
>both lines are in the rust belt. Chicago, Dayton,  Marion, Cleveland, Akron,
>Warren, Youngstown, Sharon, Greenville,  Meadville, Jamestown, Buffalo, on 
>and on
>  you can go.  Trenton, NJ., though not an online city, has lost 80% of  its
>manufacturing base.
>
>The above mentioned cities have  suffered quite a bit due to offshoring and
>outsourcing. There have also  been technology changes that also have 
>affected
>online  businesses. Let's take one customer. My former employer,  Packard
>Electric  Div. of General Motors, now known as Delphi  Corp. We used to 
>receive tank
>cars  of chemicals, boxcars  of copper, and center flows of plastic compound
>(pellets),  and we  used to ship 12, 50 ft. boxcars of wiring harnesses to
>assembly  plants  daily. Today they ship nothing by rail. Receive only  
>occasional
>center flow cars  of compound. Three of the  five plants in the North River 
>Rd.
>complex have been  or  will soon be shut down. Work has been shifted to 
>Mexico  &
>China. Within  about 3 years the remaining plants are  expected to close. 
>The
>wire will be made  in Mexico and  China.
>
>I've been reading a book by Thomas L. Friedman called  "The World Is Flat".
>Friedman quotes a professor from Ohio State  University that is telling 
>American
>  manufacturers to get  out of the country NOW because if they don't, they
>won't be  able  to compete in the global economy and will eventually go out  
>of
>business.  Folks, it's not about competing with other  US companies. It's 
>about
>competing  with Mexicans at $2 an  hour and Chinese at 68 cents an hour with
>national  healthcare.  Don't be fooled. There are very few jobs that are 
>immune  to
>this.  Even professional jobs. Corporations can get software  engineers in 
>India
>for $  5, 000 a year!
>
>If  this is the case throughout the the region there would be no reason  for
>the EL to exist today except in the form of various short lines as  we are
>seeing. I think another big factor was the decline of the coal  business on 
>Erie
>and Lackawanna lines that at one time provided  a good source of revenue. 
>Those
>days are long  gone.
>
>I think the only way E-L could have survived somewhat  intact would be if
>they had gone into Chessie System back in 1976?  Still, most of the west end
>would have been gone and probably quite a  bit of the Lackawanna.
>The remainder of EL would have been operated as  part of the B&O. I  think
>doublestacks could have been  operated over the line as well as coal  
>business for
>power  plants.
>
>Looking at the situation today with Conrail split up  between NS and CSX who
>knows what would have happened to EL? Let's  assume EL WAS part of the
>B&O.Would anyone on the list care to  speculate? Would the EL lose all of  
>it's
>business the  CSX's NYC lines? Would the NYC lines handle priority freights  
 
>and EL
>lines handle coal shipments? Would EL serve to handle  any CSX overflow  and 
>be
>a third mainline? Would EL lines  be sold? Abandoned? Would EL be  segmented
>into a number of short  lines to handle the little bit of local traffic  the
>trunk lines  don't want to be bothered with?
>
>Please excuse my  rambling.
>
>Rick Fleischer
>ELHS 1426
>Cortland,  Oh
>
>
>
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