Letter to the Editor: Railroad man's take on monster trains
(The following Letter to the Editor by Jim Wilson appeared on the Chicago Tribune website on March 12, 2009.)
Regarding the article by Richard Wronski "Monster-train fears rising" published March 11 (News), I would like to opine as follows: If you live in Chicago and the surrounding region, you live within the boundaries of the largest freight railroad hub in the world. The regions railroads move the largest concentration of coal for our electricity, containers full of retail goods we all buy, agricultural products we are eating, chemicals and plastics for our manufacturing companies, building materials for our houses we are building and maintaining and move them in the most fuel-efficient form of land transportation ever invented. We are going to be surrounded by the monster trains, according to our politicians blocking every grade crossing and gobbling-up our children on their way to school.
The monster trains have been here for several years, thanks to new locomotive and braking technology that allows the railroads to operate larger trains with safer acceleration, braking, and control of the physical forces affecting train operations. The railroads have an ever-improving safety record in all areas where they were measured over the past five years. As for trains gobbling up the kids walking to school in Barrington, the railroads have a great program called Operation Lifesaver that the village president could bring in to teach the kids about railroad safety when walking around trains and out as new drivers.
Engineers and conductors on those trains are parents too and they want to safely move their trains through Chicago. When you look at your home, your personal belongings, and think about the electricity and clean water being delivered to your home, think of the railroad train that brought those goods to town at a cost lower than a truck can bring and with a lot less fuel.
I have been involved with the railroad industry for 31 years as an operating officer and consultant and like to share a story of reality instead of the "political-sky-is-falling" story we hear so often.
