Interesting, but un-modeled industries

[nkp_174]

One thing for all modern day modelers to watch...Track side industries with no rail service. The major railroads are very reluctant to put switches in off of the main so if the industry does not receive a lot of cars they will be encouraged to use trucks and intermodal.
In my town alone there were 12 business places served by rail when Conrail was formed. Now there are none. To be fair most of the business closed but some have survived without rail service.
Some were forced to close because they no longer could get goods by rail. IMHO The railroads abandoned their way to prosperity and in many cases it was premature. Many abandoned lines could have been utilized for passenger service.
Charlie

Good point. LCL is largely a thing of the past.

I somewhat disagree about abandoned lines. Passenger service doesn't pay the bills (and in most cases, never has)...but it did tie up the main and cause other hassles. The branchlines, locals, and passenger trains which originally made the Pennsy into a cash cow are what eventually killed it...with the help of our always omniscient government (the ICC blocking abandonments and the dropping of services). Small switching runs eat up fuel and crew time...not to mention cause additional headaches (switches left open, mainline fouled temporarily, car supply, maintenance for the switch, possibly additional signals). LCL was long shunned by the railroads...with rates designed as much to drive the business away as to make it worth while.

I believe that the railroads of today know how to make money with the present constraints of union contracts (the reason that non-union shortlines can turn a dime on lines the big boys can't)...and that is their job. It is perfectly understandable that they would want to eliminate anything that makes their job more difficult without contributing towards their goal of paying dividends and driving up their stock price (increasing the retirement savings of many normal americans).