Railway Track & Structures 12/07

ON TRACK Vol. 103, No. 12 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 2007 redux George S. Sokulski/Associate Publisher Tom Judge/Editor, tjudge@sbpubchicago.com Wanda Welty/Managing Editor Mischa Wanek-Libman/Assistant Editor, mischa@sbpub-chicago.com Susan Taylor/Editorial Assistant T 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 Simmons-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 2007. 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. his is my annual holiday column, a chance for me to look back on the year that’s about to end and reflect on some of the things big and small that seemed to stick in my mind. And no, all you critics out there, I don’t start writing this column only after consuming a six-pack of Goose Island Brewery’s Honkers Ale or some similar refreshing beverage. Actually, the thought that my mind works in that convoluted way without the addition of any alcohol is scary in and of itself. Regulation has been in the forefront these past several months. I particularly liked the statistics put out by the chemical industry showing how the railroads were ripping them off to the tune of billions of dollars. I checked the methodology on that study and basically it’s one of those surveys with predetermined results. If you asked the people who worked up that study, “How much is 2 plus 2?” they would probably reply, “How much do you want it to be?” I read lots of arguments in favor of reregulation. To me they boiled down to how can we get the clout to force railroads to lower their rates. Never mind that the current rates are much lower than they were before deregulation a quarter-century ago. Some shippers want to be able to stymie railroads when they try to raise prices. Period. If they get the STB to look more like its predecessor, the ICC, they think it will keep costs down for them. Baloney. Regulation didn’t work before and it wouldn’t work now. Shippers would wind up paying more in the long run and railroads would have a heckuva time trying to raise capital desperately needed to increase capacity. So who would gain? Shippers and railroads would be like two farmers arguing over a cow while their lawyers take turns milking it. A couple of medium-sized railroads became part of bigger outfits in 2007. At least, that’s the way it looks to me. As part of Canadian Pacific Railway, DM&E would have access to much-deeper pockets to push ahead with its coal line expansion and system upgrade, which have been in the works for years. And EJ&E will most likely become part of CN. When I was growing up in South Chicago, my Dad was in train service for Illinois Central. Also, I well remember the “J” running a block or two from my house and on the property of U.S. Steel’s South Works, where I put in many a midnight shift while trying to pay for college. I still haven’t gotten used to IC being part of CN, and now another former neighborhood icon is about to be headquartered north of the border. Of course, I still wax nostalgic whenever I see a green-and-yellow C&NW unit. I guess I must be getting old and daydreaming of fond memories as things swiftly change. Finally, on October 13, I marked the 40th anniversary of the day I came home from my tour as a Marine in Vietnam. About that time, I heard the joyous news that my nephew in Iraq would be coming home in early November. I can’t begin to describe the emotions those two events churned up in me. To all of my readers, I fervently wish you the gift of peace this holiday season. Tom Judge, Editor A SIMMONS-BOARDMAN RAIL GROUP PUBLICATION www.rtands.com Railway Track & Structures December 2007 3 http://www.rtands.com http://www.rtands.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Railway Track & Structures 12/07

Railway Track & Structures - December 2007 Contents On Track Industry Today Supplier News AREMA News NRC News TTCI R&D Hand-Held Tools Provide the Power to Get Big Jobs Done AREMA C&S Update Striving to Solve the Riddle of Wheel Climb RTA Stages Warm Gathering in Sunny Florida in October Products and Literature People Calendar Website Directory Advertisers Index Sales Representatives Professional Directory Classified Advertising Chicago Perspective

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