Railway Track & Structures - October 2008 - (Page 3)

ON TRACK Vol. 104, No. 10 USPS # 860-560 ISSN # 00339016 EDITORIAL OFFICES 20 South Clark Street, Suite 2450 Chicago, Ill. 60603 Telephone (312) 683-0130 Fax (312) 683-0131 Website www.rtands.com Cast your ballot George S. Sokulski/Associate Publisher Tom Judge/Editor, tjudge@sbpubchicago.com Mischa Wanek-Libman/Managing Editor, mischa@sbpub-chicago.com Wanda Welty/Copy Editor Susan Taylor/Editorial Assistant V CORPORATE OFFICES 345 Hudson Street New York, N.Y. 10014 Telephone (212) 620-7200 Fax (212) 633-1165 Arthur J. McGinnis, Jr./ President and Chairman Robert P. DeMarco/Publisher Mary Conyers-Brown/Production Director Barbara DiGirolamo/Production Manager Maureen Cooney/Circulation Director Jane Poterala/Conference Director Robert G. Lewis/Director of Special Projects For reprint information, contact: PARS International Corp. 212-221-9595; Fax 212-221-9195 RT&S, Railway Track and Structures is published monthly by Summons-Boardman Publishing Corp., 345 Hudson Street, New York, N.Y. 10014. ISSN: 0033-8916. Canada Post Cust.#7204564; Agreement #41094515. Bleuchip Int'l, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Periodical Class postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Subscription price to railroad employees only in U.S. possessions, Canada and Mexico, Print or Digital version: $16 one year; $30 two years (all others $39.50 one year; $73 two years). All other countries, $68 one year ($168 for air mail); $120 two years ($320 for air mail). Both Print and Digital versions: $24 one year; $45 two years (all others $60 one year; $110 two years). All other countries, $102 one year ($202 for air mail); $180 two years ($380 for air mail). Single copies $8.50. Track Buyer’s Guide $21. All rates are payable in advance. The publisher reserves the right to increase subscription rates without notice. Call toll-free 1-800-895-4389 (or 402-346-4740) Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Central Time to place an order. Copyright 2008. Customer Service: Address all correspondence to: Subscription Department, RT&S, P.O. Box 10, Omaha, NE 68101-0010. Changes of address should reach us three weeks in advance of the next issue date. Send old address with new, enclosing, if possible, your address label. The Post Office will not forward copies unless you provide extra postage. Duplicate copies cannot be sent. POSTMASTER: Send change of address forms to RT&S, Railway Track and Structures, P.O. Box 10, Omaha, NE 68101-0010. ery few entities are as tied to the political system as railroads. In huge chunks of the world, railroads are government agencies. In North America, they are private companies, but still heavily overseen in the political process. Not all that long ago, in fact, within the working careers of many, if not most, current railroad employees, railroads were regulated to the point of extinction. And there are many people out there today spending lots of time, energy and money to regulate the railroads all over again. And it’s not just federal or state politicos who want to pass rules and regulations governing railroads. Local communities build roads over tracks that have been there for a century-and-a-half, then complain that trains run over those tracks and block the crossings. Roads get built on the edges of huge train yards, then local politicians complain that the trains operate too slowly. Folks in Chicagoland are dealing with CN’s proposed takeover of most of the EJ&E. Politicians have been leaned on, and leaned on hard, to pressure the STB to overrule the merger unless CN installs grade separations at virtually every crossing. I see and hear lots of rants about monster trains and traffic gridlock should the dreaded merger come to pass. Fortunately, there are some politicians in the area who are willing to listen to both sides and to make a judgement based on the overall good for their constituents and the area at large. A few have even come out into the open in their support of the CN/EJ&E deal, stating it will make the Chicago area much more viable as a rail center, which they know means lots of jobs both on the railroads and at companies that depend on railroads. But what if there weren’t those politicians willing to listen? What if every one of them rolled over every time political pressure was applied? Where would that leave the railroad industry, including the suppliers who sell to railroads? When the fecal matter hits the rotary impeller, you’re in serious trouble if you don’t have some friends around. And that’s where all of us come in. The first Tuesday in November is just around the corner. Virtually every one of us has a polling place a few minutes away from where we live where we can exercise our American right and duty to vote on that date and in every election. Take time to find out where the candidates stand on issues that concern you. If you’re a railroader, there are many issues that will affect your job, your paycheck and your well-being. Then go to the polls and cast your vote. I’ve paid in many ways for my right to vote, so I haven’t missed exercising that right in any election since I turned 21, which was a very, very long time ago. It’s amazing to me that a two-thirds turnout on election day seems good to some folks. Why isn’t it above 95 percent? Show your patriotism, show your concern for your country and for your industry. Get out and vote. Tom Judge, Editor A SIMMONS-BOARDMAN RAIL GROUP PUBLICATION www.rtands.com Railway Track & Structures October 2008 3 http://www.rtands.com http://www.rtands.com http://www.rtands.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Railway Track & Structures - October 2008

Railway Track & Structures - October 2008 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Railroads Building Solid Foundation for More Capacity with Crossties Safety in High Density Areas M/W Challenges: CN Places New Bridge in Only Six Hours Products and Literature People Calendar Website Directory Advertisers Index Sales Representatives Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

Railway Track & Structures - October 2008

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