Down she goes
Posted by Lou on Jan 7, 2010
Not unexpected but still shocking – the last Railfax Report shows not a good future. Look forward for the rush coming soon . . . .
The No. 1 Reason I Don’t Trust This Market
Posted by Lou on Aug 12, 2009
The train drew round the bend and approached the crossing. The warning bells rang, and the barriers fell across the road. Then the engineer pulled four long blasts on his horn. Two 4,400-horsepower GE locomotives rolled past me at low speed… bending the rails with their weight. This was an express container train bound for Chicago…
“Shorter than normal,” I thought. “And more empties than usual.”
Last week, I was on vacation in California. While I was there, I took the opportunity to gauge railroad activity. We drove a hundred miles beside Union Pacific’s southern California mainline. This is one of the most important stretches of railroad in the country. It links the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles with the eastern seaboard. I was expecting to see dozens of trains. We only saw two…
Then we stopped in Los Angeles to ogle the huge tangle of idled Union Pacific locomotives outside the Port of Long Beach. There must have been over 100 of them.
Freight trains move our most important basic materials around the country… like coal, fertilizer, steel, and container boxes. By watching the trends on America’s freight railroads, you can get an excellent feel for the strength of the economy.
Railfax 1st August Week – HUIIII
Posted by Lou on Aug 6, 2009
Go Baby Go. You can make it. But don’t look up to the last year.
Rail Traffic Trends Down Again
Posted by Lou on Jun 29, 2009
U.S. railroads reported originating 261,717 cars, down 17.7 percent from the same week in 2008. Regionally, carloadings were down 11.9 percent in the West and 25.2 percent in the East.
Intermodal volume of 187,759 trailers or containers was down 17.8 percent from the same week last year. Container volume fell 12 percent and trailer volume dropped 39.0 percent. Total volume on U.S. railroads for the week ending June 20 was estimated at 27.7 billion ton-miles, off 16.6 percent from the same week last year.
Eighteen of 19 carload freight commodity groups were down from last year, with declines ranging from 1.8 percent for farm products other than grain to 65.4 percent for metallic ores. The lone group showing an increase was the catch-all category labeled “all other carloads” which was up 11.9 percent.
For the first 24 weeks of 2009, U.S. railroads reported cumulative volume of 6,323,360 carloads, down 19.4 percent from 2008; 4,458,136 trailers or containers, down 16.9 percent; and total volume of an estimated 671.0 billion ton-miles, down 18.3 percent.
Combined North American rail volume for the first 24 weeks of 2009 on 14 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 8,012,475 carloads, down 20.1 percent from last year, and 5,539,883 trailers and containers, down 16.8 percent from last year.
Source: Union Pacific / Railfax
Railfax Report
Posted by Lou on Jun 15, 2009
There is a slight improvement at the last Railfax Report. Not much to get excited about, but at last. Buddy’s in different Yards telling that the work is also improving and there are more trains out there. Should that be the turn we are all waiting for ? Without better news regarding economy – let’s wait for the next to Railfax reports before buying a new car or getting a 2 year contract cell phone 
Click the Graphic for a better view.
Railfax Report
Posted by Lou on Jun 5, 2009
No comment …..
Railfax
Posted by Lou on Jan 29, 2009
Data through January 24, 2009 — 3 W 2009
Finally a ‘big’ jump up. 144,000 car loads and we are in the winning area (above that and UP makes money). Hope we all will feel it soon. Last week there was a slight improvement on the boards, but only for a short time. Press your thumbs – that what we do in Germany to wish luck. I think here in the States we cross our toes …..
The Most Negative Week in Railshare History!!!
Posted by Lou on Jan 15, 2009
Railfax reports what we already know : it’s going down and it seems not go get better soon. Highest number of negative year-over-year. That’s something to look forward to in my railroad future. Checking the furlough boards shows me even deeper the trouble I am into. The nunbers in front of me are rasing constantly, and the total number is at record high. Now it takes a 2004 guy to work at my Hub. With my early 2007 seniority date you can figure out when I will be called back to work. Hm, perhaps I should ask to get my German Railroad seniority date transfered. With the starting year 1986 I can hold any position out there, heck, I could be President of this company. Yeah, let’s go for it. I am starting to make little stickers that you can put next to the funny ‘Stop Smoking’ Signs you find on every Engine. The Sticker could show ‘Lou for President’ – hm, already taken. Perhaps ‘You run the Railroad – I destroy it’ – hm, already taken by a big company up in the North. That’s not an easy task. Perhaps you have an idea.
Railfax Report
Posted by Lou on Dec 31, 2008
Railfax Report
Posted by Lou on Dec 27, 2008
