Heartland Corridor

NW Mailing List nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Thu Aug 19 14:56:44 EDT 2010


I grew up in Bluefield in sight of the passenger station. There is a lot besides
tunnel portals that I wish they had spent money to preserve the way I remember
it. But the world changes. Frankly, if I had my way they would still be running
the Pocahontas and Powhatan Arrow behind class J's. But I understand why they
are not! In fact, they threw good money after bad for several years on those
trains. I never liked the fact that they took the skirts off the streamlined
passenger cars. But I was glad they ran them as long as they did, even without
skirts.
     So why don't we rejoice in the fact that they can now run double stacks on
the Pokey even as revenue from hauling coal declines. At least the tunnels are
in use. Living in Nashville for the past 21 years, I have witnessed the
disappearance of many miles of the old Tennessee Central. This was because they
ran out of money to spend. Think about it.      Jim Nichols




________________________________
From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Sent: Thu, August 19, 2010 9:11:56 AM
Subject: Heartland Corridor


I don’t need numbers to support my position, or defend it.  You don’t have to
agree although I think many of you do.
First of all, I don’t trust anybody that sees only green dollars.  Secondly, is
there anybody out there who thinks that a third-grader with a hammer and chisel
wouldn’t have done a neater, cleaner, more professional job of opening up the
tunnels?  I am not talking about the hardworking people who actually did the
work asked of them.  They were top notch.  I am talking about the directors of
the projects who abandoned their pride in the railroad to save a few dollars. 
It was a hatchet job.  Vandalism.  Desecration.
I love Norfolk Southern, N&W and the Virginian—that is why I feel the way I do. 
Do they send out stock certificates with ragged edges?  Do any of the executives
live in run-down homes?  If any of them commissioned work on their homes and it
turned out like the tunnel portals, would they revel in how much money they
saved? 

 
Dave, you asked what a semi-bottom line is.  It is my way of saying that it
answers the question “What is the cost now?” and doesn’t take into account,
“what is the long term cost?”  There may be no way of knowing long term cost,
but it should be considered by smart people.  They knew the cost of not opening
the tunnels, after all.
 
Michael Shockley
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