Rail traffic down considerabley

I attended a cook out over the Memorial Day holiday and two of the attendees were my niece and her husband who happens to be a conductor for Norfolk Southern Rail Road. He has worked for years on runs all over the state of Pennsylvania and in some cases beyond, so I was surprised when he told me that he had taken a job working in the rail yard. He said that it didn't pay quite as much but that he worked Monday through Friday and had his weekends off which has been a welcome change.

What surprised me even more was that he said that the entire industry is doing very poorly at the moment. He said that the downfall of Detroit and the auto industry has hurt the rail roads greatly. There apparently have been a large number of lay off's in the last several months and the volume of freight being moved by rail is down across the board.

I do most of my rail fan watching on the Conemaugh line a long stretch of which runs along the other side of the river from me. I haven't really noticed a drop off in traffic on that line unless I'm just not paying close enough attention. I have noticed that I am now seeing long strings of hoper cars that carry coal east bound coming back empty during daylight hours. For the last few years I have seen the full cars going east but never any empties so I asked about it and was told that the empties return during the night or very early morning hours. Have any of you noticed a drop in the number of trains you see in your normal travels? Drop me an email or leave a comment for the Rail Fan Net.

Lets Talk Trains

I got a link today via twitter for a web site that I had never heard of and it was a pleasant surprise. If the Pittsburgh Rail Fan Net leaves you wanting more I have a source of content for you. By going to Lets Talk Trains you can listen to over two hours of talk about all things related to railroads.

I have not had time to listen to an entire episode yet but I hope to do that latter this evening. If you get a chance check it out. I have a feeling that you will enjoy it also.

Interested in going for a REAL train ride?

The Skyview Radio Society had a multi club event last year that involved taking AMTRAK to the head quarters of the American Radio Relay League. It went over so well that they are doing it again this year. You DO NOT have to be a member of the club nor a licensed amateur radio operator to join in on this event so if you think you might be interested please check it out.

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