Freight Trains

[W. Gray]

Have you ever wondered why a freight train on the Southern Kansas and Oklahoma line through Elk County, or any other rail line, pulls many cars that are owned by other railroads?

Most people probably never gave it a thought but there is a huge accounting process going on here.

One very seldom, if ever, sees a freight train made up one-hundred percent of cars the pulling railroad owns. That pulling railroad, though, has to pay per diem for each foreign car to each of the owning foreign roads for each day of use on the pulling line.

In the old days, midnight was set as the accountable time. However, the owning road usually did not try to get their cars back but would use empty foreign cars that were on their own road and under their own control paying the per diem to the real owner for their use.

Each railroad uses any car that is available regardless of who owns it, paying per diem in the process.

Some east coast railroad owned cars could find their way cross-country to the west coast and those cars took a long time to get back to the owner or might not ever get back.

Computers are in use today, but in the days of accountants green eyeshade visors, shirtsleeve garters, adding machines, and pencils, the manual accounting process for per diem charges must have been horrendous.

This process is still in use, today but with computerization and the dwindling number of short lines that are still around and only seven Class I railroads left in the country the accounting process is simplified somewhat.

[Diane Amberg]

Thanks.I knew a little about that, but learned a lot. I still love watching the long trains that go through Newark and wondering how some of those "foreign " cars got connected to that train. I love seeing the Tropicana OJ train when it comes up from Florida and occasionally we see a circus train, usually old beat up cars.Once in awhile a special tour train come through with a big old  coal burner engine puffing smoke. When that is to happen we usually get advanced notice so we can go watch it come through.

[W. Gray]

This may surprise some folks but it has snowballed in the past few years.

There are two large railroads operating several thousand miles of track in a number of states that are not U.S. companies. However, Bill Gates was, and may still be, the largest shareholder in Canadian National.

The Canadian National Railway owns and operates track in 16 states:
Alabama
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New York
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Wisconsin

The Canadian Pacific Railway owns and operates track in 13 states
Illinois
Iowa
Michigan
Missouri
Minnesota
Nebraska
New York
North Dakota
Pennsylvania
South Dakota
Vermont
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Canadian Pacific is trying to take over the Norfolk and Southern RR, which has 20,000 miles of track in twenty-one states.
Alabama
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia

So far, N&S has resisted but may very well give in.

[frawin]

Waldo, the BNSF has Trains going thru Prosper Day and Night. We have Counted the Cars on them, some have had well over 100 and More. The Cars are Loaded with Building Materials , Sand, Gravel, Lumber, Sheet Rock, and Other Building Materials for the BIG Building Boom going on here. Also there are Oil Tank and LNG cars. I read somewhere that Warren Buffet is their biggest Stockholder, I can Believe that, I think he has Stock in Many of the Big, Profitable Companies. The Rich Get Richer. I am Surprised that BNSF was not mentioned in the List. Iam sure they have Track and have Trains Running in many States. I wonder why Texas was not listed as one of the States that the list covered, Texas Probably has more Miles of Track than any State .

[W. Gray]

The subject was the states that the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railways were operating in and the states the Canadian Pacific is trying to add by taking control of the Norfolk and Southern.

So far, neither Canadian Pacific or Canadian National have expressed an interest in operating in Texas, but neither is big enough to try to take over BNSF.

I thought sure there would be some complaints about this post coming from those who are against foreign control in the US, etc., etc.

[frawin]

Waldo, anyone that complains about that, Is not aware of how much US Companies own and/or Control is Foreign Countries. I spent 5 Years in the Oil Tanker Operations and Chartering Group in Phillips Petroleum. Phillips and all of the American Oil Companies  Owned and/or Operated Oil Producing Properties, Refineries and other Facilities, all over the World. I was in almost Every Continent and Country in the World. I can tell you one thing, we live in the BEST Country, in the World. I spent 30, Days in the Jungles of Nigeria, that was a 30 day NIGHTMARE. I lost so much weight that Myrna did not know me when I got off of the Plane. I spent 2 30day Stints in India, that was bad, but not as Bad as Nigeria. The food was terrible. I took some food with me in my Suitcase but not near enough. There was a Young man that worked in one of the Phillips Facilities, he was a super young Man, His name was Naryan Naryan. I told him I was starving, he said MY Wife fix you good Food. When she sat it down in front of me, it looked like some kind of Red/Pink Pudding, asked him what it was, he said Taste it you will like, I told him I wanted to know what it was first, said COWS BLOOD WTH SOUR MILK MIXED IN. I told him if I ate that I would die right there, I ate Rice and drank hot tea with Sugar in it for 3o days. One other thing that was BAD, I stayed in a Hotel in Bombay, I smoked in those days, I got up around 4A.M. and went out on the Balcony to Smoke. I could hear and see Trucks going everywhere, they would stop and pick up something and throw it in the back of the Trucks, I thought they were picking up Trash. At Breakfast I asked  Naryan what they were doing, he said" there is over a Million people sleep in the Streets of Bombay every Night, and Many Die from Starvation, they were picking up the Bodies. I said WOW who digs all of those Graves and I assumed, the Families Claimed the Bodies. His Response was they" they dig a Mass grave and dump them in it. Again WE LIVE IN THE BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.

[frawin]

Waldo, I forgot to mention my trip returning from India to New York. We left Bombay late in the afternoon and flew to Manama Bahrain, we were to stay in a Hotel in Manama, we landed went to the hotel, I was ready for a good nights sleep, about 2 A.M they woke us up and said"all Americans Back to the Plane, I kept asking "what is going on"the response was that they did not know, but the Government wanted all Americans out of the country. We flew to New York, when I got in the Airport, I bought a paper, The Headlines were"American Embassy taken over by Iranian Troops. That was in 1980 and Ronald Reagan, had just taken Office. He gave the Iranians an Ultimatum, either Turn our people loose IMMEDIATELY or the troops will be landing in your Country immediately. Needless to say they turned them loose Promptely. He was the BEST President in my Lifetime.