Hopefully, you have all been enjoying the beautiful spring weather. This is a very special time of the year and it goes well with our very special celebration of our Chapter’s 25th Anniversary. The time since we first formed our Chapter has slipped by too fast but the ride has been exceedingly enjoyable. It has been a learning experience for us and a great opportunity to participate with our friends in learning about the history of railroading in our country and the part that it played in settling and growing our great nation. Being able to come together each month and renew old friendships and make new ones is one that I look forward to.  We are able to share our experiences gain insight into the forces that have shaped our nation while seeing the advances that railroading has made in technology, efficiency, safety, and speed.

The National Railway Historical Society has been a great force in preserving and spreading the history of these advancements. They have documented this movement and spread this information to new generations of people interested in the history of railroading by providing an ever improving bulletin, maintaining a library of books, films, and photographs open to all, and hosting events for young people and members in general.

Our Chapter’s 25th Anniversary is a milestone and a time to appreciate the past and look forward to the future. All organizations evolve and our Society has tried to move into the new century with new ideas and ways of doing things while preserving the best of what has been done in the past. We need each member’s help in improving and participating in this ongoing movement. When good people come together to grow and learn, only good things can come from this.

One thing that will change is the ownership of the old train station that we meet in each month. Funding has run out for the current owners and the building will have to be taken over by someone else. At this time the City of Madisonville is exploring ways to take over the building and preserve its future.  I have met once with the Mayor to explain our Society and Chapter and will be meeting again with him soon to try to ensure our continued use of this beautiful and historic facility. The City realizes the importance of this building and will be looking to ways that it can be used and maintained while serving the community. I am optimistic at this point and will bring you more information as I find it out.

I am looking forward to seeing all of your smiling faces at the next meeting, Monday, April 26th, at 7pm at the Center in beautiful downtown Madisonville. Come and celebrate with us the 25th Anniversary and  join in the friendships and learning experience that has meant so much to many of us.

by President, Rich Hane

Those of you that attended the February meeting were treated to a fine program brought to us by Bill Thomas and Dennis Carnal. It was an excellent video about the history of the Electromotive Division Geeps, their General Purpose diesel locomotives and it compared these with similar offerings from ALCO. The explanation and photography was excellent.

I saw an interesting article in the Feb. 8th issue of USA Today that described the progress that China has made in high speed rail transportation. They claim to have the fastest trains in the world and at an operating speed of 221 mph, they may have. On Dec 26th they had the grand opening of a new dedicated high speed rail line that connected the south China cities of Guangzhou and Wuhan, a distance of 664 miles. The new train can cover this distance in 3 hours for the express train compared to 10 ? hours for the previous train. Many people prefer this quiet and comfortable means of travel with less security restrictions than air travel.

The Chinese government is spending massive amounts of money to keep the economy moving and the new rail system is a point of pride for many Chinese. Last year the government spent $88 billion and now a total of 1,758 miles of high speed rail line are in place, the most in the world. The cost of building these new high-speed tracks is about $20.1 million per mile. President Obama, in contrast, promised to spend $8 billion on high speed rail in this country. Much of this will be spent on upgrading present lines to accommodate faster trains. The first radical upgrade announced is an 84 mile line between Tampa and Orlando Florida which will carry 168 mph trains. Many people are hoping that this will be an idea that catches on in other places such as the Midwest, East, and West Coasts. They would like to see much of these funds spent on true high speed rail lines instead of just the upgrading of present lines. But the reality of the situation will probably demand more affordable upgradings rather than new dedicated lines. These have shown to be successful so far, such as the Acela route in the Northeast Corridor.

One of the reasons that China is able to proceed at such a pace is that much of the country is set up for electrified rail lines whereas only a few sections of rail are electrified in this country. Also, their population density is generally far higher than is ours which makes the economics of the process much more favorable. Our trains tend to be heavier, and thus, slower, because they have to meet more strict safety standards than in some countries. This makes it more difficult to achieve the truly high speeds that are found in some countries. This seems to be a fair trade off to me, however.
The new Chinese trains even have car attendants dressed like air stewards who push snack carts down the aisles of the well lit, comfortable, and quiet cars. In the dining cars, only microwaved Chinese dishes and fast food is available but the cars are quiet and comfortable. The restrooms are far larger than on the average airplane.

China is spending large amounts on its infrastructure and this will probably pay off in the long run in more convenience, less air pollution, and a higher quality of life. China is learning from it’s experience in meeting the difficulties of construction and it is hoped that the U.S. will be able to pick the best of the new technologies from China and other countries as we head into the new world of high speed rail.

Please remember to pay your dues to Wally if you have not yet done so and I hope to see all of your smiling faces at the next meeting on March 22d at 7 pm in beautiful downtown Madisonville at the Center.