[Tanada]

OK this may seem a little esoteric but I can vouch for the fact that Rail traffic for freight is way up from 5 years ago. Not only are the freight trains running more frequently, the number of cars per train and the age of the cars have both increased.

Not to be funny here but does anyone have a source for freight cost per unit via train vs via semi-tractor-trailor? It seems likely that the increase in rail traffic is a direct reflection of the fact that shipping via rail is much more fuel efficient. The rail companies that travle through here (we have 4 different rail networks passing through this county) have pulled a lot of old cars off of sidings where they sat unused for years and added them to the fleet already in use.

Take a moment the next time you are stuck waiting for a train to pass and notice how many old cars are suddenly back in use. Also notice how long the trains are. Within the last 5 years trains in this area have gone from a low of 30 cars per train average back up over 100 per train like they were when I was a kid.

Is it all in my head because of PO or have the trains really come back into heavy use in the USA?

[ArimoDave]

Don't know for sure whether the train traffic is higher or not. I did notice, sometime back when
I lived next to the tracks, that the traffic would increase just before the economy got better
and decrease just before it would decline. I wish I had enough money then to invest in the stock market (oh well).

I now live kind-of near a rail yard, but I haven't noticed much more noise than usual.

I forget where (I think it was on one of the threads here), but I remember seeing that the railroads were
hiring again. Union Pacific laid off and transferred a whole bunch of workers not to long ago as I recall.

If the rails are picking up, it means the economy is going to get better, or as Tanada surmises the
fuel prices are driving transporation to more efficient methods.

ArimoDave

[Tanada]

Don't know for sure whether the train traffic is higher or not. I did notice, sometime back when
I lived next to the tracks, that the traffic would increase just before the economy got better
and decrease just before it would decline. I wish I had enough money then to invest in the stock market (oh well).

I now live kind-of near a rail yard, but I haven't noticed much more noise than usual.

I forget where (I think it was on one of the threads here), but I remember seeing that the railroads were
hiring again. Union Pacific laid off and transferred a whole bunch of workers not to long ago as I recall.

If the rails are picking up, it means the economy is going to get better, or as Tanada surmises the
fuel prices are driving transporation to more efficient methods.

ArimoDave

According to http://railforce.com/Rail_Performance.htm

2004 was a record year for rail freight, which would fit your scenario of good economy boosts rail freight just as well as mine of higher costs boosting more efficient freight.

I don't think we can tell which at this point and it could be both, neither, or some combination along with additional unforseen factors.