| Fuel costs seem to rank high in surveys of US citizens | | | | near pipelines, while the railroad competes with the |
| most grave concerns. Rates up there at the top, | | | | trucking companies to deliver products to the market |
| doesn't it? | | | | or manufacturing companies. Then in the last decade |
| Who are some heavy users of fuel that are not as | | | | or so you have seen an increasing amount of piggy |
| often thought of? For surface transportation there are | | | | back trailers from trucks on the flat bed railcars |
| many indeed; cars, trucks, buses, etc. While we are | | | | moving across the country due to high fuel costs, |
| talking about surface transportation, let's talk about | | | | insurance costs, interstate trucking regulations, trucking |
| trains. The railroad has always been a big part and | | | | unions, driver hour restrictions, road construction |
| played an even larger part in the flow of fuel even | | | | destroying equipment or slowing the traffic flow and |
| before the locomotives used fuel. Even back when the | | | | shortage of qualified drivers. As all these methods |
| trains were steam driven from coal. The Flow of Fuel | | | | compete in the market and for fuel, they also |
| is very important and no one can argue that, better | | | | compliment each other providing our great nation with |
| than Rockefeller. As you know he was a master of | | | | much redundancy, which at times seems wasteful, but |
| the flow, all the way down to controlling his cost and | | | | in this newest era of the threat of International |
| his competitors costs on the rail lines. | | | | Terrorism, makes it nearly impossible to stop the |
| By forcing restrictions on the distribution systems it | | | | turning wheels of industry, energy and commerce. The |
| was hard to compete and many an Oilman sold their | | | | entire system moves on the flow of fuel. |
| companies to the "streamline by the numbers former | | | | The railroad companies can buy large amounts of fuel |
| accountant with the impeccable books." Before you | | | | and store it and move it cheaper and has an inherent |
| continue this discussion please go read the life story of | | | | edge on the trucking industry. And where as the |
| Rockefeller and Standard Oil Company, then you may | | | | railroad is more efficient than the trucking industry, the |
| continue. Now let's continue, today the railroad is a big | | | | tracks do not go everywhere. Also the loads need to |
| user of fuel and the railroad is responsible for much of | | | | be larger to make it worthwhile. So even if the |
| the major movement of fuel as well as the natural | | | | railroads are more efficient the shipments must be |
| resources in our country. The railroad delivers fuel to | | | | broken down to get to their final destinations. Thus you |
| terminals for trucking companies, without the railroads it | | | | will always need both forms of transportation, which |
| would be difficult to supply the trucks with the needed | | | | are the two of the largest private users of fuel. |
| fuel. Pipelines only go to so many places. | | | | The railroad is one of the United States greatest |
| The railroads move chemicals out of the refineries, | | | | assets for moving our products and part of the |
| compete with them and their vendors to deliver the | | | | distribution system which has helped stabilize our |
| fuel and deliver to the trucking terminals, which are not | | | | civilization and allowed us to grow. |