Train tracks used to crisscross the United States much as highways do now. They took people to work, to visit friends and relatives and they moved goods efficiently from one end of the country to the other.
In the 1950's, following the decision to make America a consumer society, big rig trucks began to take over the task of moving goods and cargo from state to state. Gas was cheap, people needed jobs and building and repairing highways was a great way to provide employment and boost the post-war economy. Railroad tracks were ripped up, the wood and metal thrown aside. In many cases, the materials were left to rot and rust; keep in mind this was the era of environmental waste with a seemingly endless stream of natural resources. Recycling was only for the poor who reused, used up or reinvented in order to save money.
Presently, oil is over $100 per barrel and at one point approached $150 per barrel! Gasoline and diesel prices are bankrupting trucking companies and drivers are parking their rigs and walking away rather than take heavier losses. So what shall we do about transporting goods and how do we do it economically?
Rail transport is the answer. Rebuilding train tracks would take up a lot of slack in the job market. The project will need laborers, steel mills, managers, supervisors, office workers for payroll and communication and other blue and white collar workers. As the tracks are replaced and the trains start rolling we'll need to manufacture engines and cargo cars, provided more jobs in manufacturing and office work. There will need to be train depots where passengers and train personnel can stop and stretch and buy newspapers, snacks and other goods. Hotels and motels will see an increase in room occupancy as people begin to use the trains to travel; car rentals and public transportation will also boom as people leave their own cars behind in favor of cheap transportation.
Let's not forget our banking institutions! With more business coming to the mortgage companies from people who could again afford to buy and keep a house and businesses borrowing to start depots, motels, places of entertainment and offices. People would have more money to save, increasing the amounts that financial institutions have to invest in small businesses, the backbone of the United States. Credit cards would begin to be paid off and delinquent debts would be cleared up. With a cheap and easy way to transport goods, our gross national product would rise and companies would reduce the number of jobs they send overseas.
Trains can travel hundreds of miles on one gallon of diesel, supplementing the energy with electricity generated by the diesel engines. Truckers would be needed to move loads from train depots to the stores that purchased them but the total use of diesel by trucks would be reduced to about 20% of what it is now. What a way to free ourselves from foreign oil dependency and recover a vibrant economy!
Bringing back train transportation and cargo services could very well be the boost the American economy needs to get back on track and make the country prosper once again.
