Dedicated to all railroaders especially those who built the
Pennsylvania Railroad. Among those men and women were
the following relatives.
My Grandfather, Fred Fisher-Fairhope tower operator
my uncle, Charles Fisher - wrecker crew
my dad, Harold Fisher - boilermaker apprentice
Jerry Britton's P.R.R. Pages (just about the best)
Chris Brandt's (PRR) Homepage
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Western Pennsylvania Railroad Society
Pennsylvania Railroad P70FBR 1699
The PENNSYLVANIA Pages... Links
Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society
The Pennsylvania Railroad GG1
Altoona Railroaders Memorial
Other railroads and related sites
Eastern Railroad News
Ohio Railroad Page
Ohio Central Railroad
Lexington & Ohio Railroad
RJ Corman RxR - Frt., Const., Derail, Dinner Train
North Shore Railroad and Affiliated Railroads
On The Bell At XN
Consolidated Rail Corporation (CONRAIL)
Conrail Technical Society
Where's The Macs
Illinois Central Railroad Unoffical Homepage
BNSF - Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co.
CSX Corporation
Norfolk Southern Corporation
Thoroughbred Home Page
Union Pacific Railroad Homepage
Canadian Pacific Railway Home Page
White Pass & Yukon Scenic RxR /Skagway Alaska
Canadian Pacific Railway Home Page
New York Central
Welcome To RailCenter
TrainWeb
Trackside Motels(watch trains in comfort!)
Railfan Hotspots(could be great with more fan input)
Railfan WWWBoard!
Cyberspace World Railroad Home Page
Ironhighway
Railpace Newsmagazine
Diesel Era
Trains Magazine Online
As you can tell I like trains. Why? I really don't know why.
Since during my railfanning jaunts I rarely ever see a female
railfan I must assume, and we all know what happens when we
assume, that railfanning is a guy thing.
Perhaps someday when the diesels are gone, and I can't imagine
what would replace them but I'm sure something will, photos
taken these days will be as valuable as the pictures taken
fifty years ago.
During my railfanning I am always amazed at the wealth of
railroading pictures sitting around in peoples homes. Stashed
away in boxes, albums and closets.
I sincerely hope this treasure of railroading history is cared for
by making sure they are donated or willed or (last and not
recommended) sold, to an appropriate museum after their
owners are gone. I am sure there are many local, state and
national clubs and preservation societies that would jump at the
opportunity to care for these glimpses of railroadings past. One
more thing, every photo should be thoroughly documented
with the minimum of the place and date permanently marked
on the back.
Steam or diesel I just like them. I don't have as many photos as
most railfans but I do have a lot of video. I also have audio
recordings of train to dispatcher, train to tower (Berea & Alto
towers). I wish more railfans would record the radio traffic.
The towers have almost all disappeared and the locomotive
crews are being systematically isolated from the real world with
each tower closing. I only wish that I could get some video
and audio up in the cab!
While on the subject of crews, and I don't have first hand
knowledge of these things. I only know people who know crew
members and have related work rules to me. I understand crews
must endure twelve hour shifts with no toilet facilities. ns & csx
don't believe in arm rests on the chairs the crew spends twelve
hours in. Air conditioning is something reserved for corporate
offices only and locomotive cabs get like ovens especially when
the train is stopped and sits in the sun.
Crews must work 12 hour shifts then they get 8 hours off.
Then their name goes back on the call board. The person calling
the crews works their way through the board, calling crews and
giving them a 2 hour notice of their next train assignment. Most of
the time this amounts to 8 to 12 hours off. Subtract from this "off"
time up to 2 hours each way travel time to their reporting point.
How in the world can safety and performance be at it's peak
when a crew members is dead tired. ns & csx discipline heavily
and promptly for all report-offs that are not legitimate.
(to be continued)...
So anyway railroads were this countries highway system
before the automobile. Now their passenger service has been
replaced by automobiles and their freight business has
to compete with semi trucks that travel a network of
concrete rail we affectionately call highways.
The highway system generates untold billions, maybe trillions,
of dollars in revenue from everything concerned or connected
with automobiles or trucks. Every repair, drop of fuel, new sale,
road upgrade or maintenance cost generates taxes for the
government and added cost for the consumer.
The governmental entity pays no taxes on every mile of the
highway because the highways and the highway maintenance
equipment are government owned/controlled. Railroads on the
other hand are taxed for everything they own and operate. Every
mile of track, every building, every improvement they make.
To my way of thinking the highway system is the biggest form of
corporate welfare ever devised by our government. And who is
paying for that welfare, us. We pay in high fuel costs because
every truck or car is fuel inefficient compared to rail fuel
economy, loss of life from fatigue while driving, etc. etc.
And this doesn't even touch on the intracity transportation
systems bought up and dismantled by gm to sell buses and then
cars helping to fuel even greater corporate profits for auto makers.
Perhaps I'm imagining things or perhaps this was a carefully
designed scheme to generate jobs for the human resource glut
after WW II. I think only time will tell. In twenty years when
the human glut is gone and the petroleum reserves are gone we'll
see if the current automobile/truck based economy still
can support itself.
Eisenhower warned us about the military industrial complex
being a self proliferating machine. He probably had lots
of gm, ford, and chrystler stock. He should have warned
us about the pitfalls of the financial millstone the automobile
would become to every citizen if the railroads ever became
the countries secondary means of transportation.
Dollars rule, politicians sharpen the tool, lawyers turn
the wheel and people are the gruel.