I would put money on the fact that in the next few days the work will stop. They have to cut SO much money out of the budget that (IMHO) you'll be lucky to see steamtown run at all next year, and if you do see it run....it will most likely be with infernal cumbustion.


This is one time when I realy hope I am wrong......


I'm a Federal Employee, and they're telling us to expect the layoffs to start begining of April. Time to find work back in the civilian sector.....

The really scary aspect of all this hub-bub is that it's over a total of $ 85 billion out of a total budget of $ 4.3TRILLION!!!

If cutting a mere 2.5% of the anticipated INCREASE in federal spending causes this much trouble just imagine the uproar when we finally address the real chore here which is to actually REDUCE future spending so that our spending will come down to our income!!!

My guess is that Amtrak and a host of other federally dependent organizations will experience very large reductions in future budgets and many will not survive.

IMHO-Ross Rowland

Ed, don't you mean "post heist"?

I've been doing tax returns for the elderly and low income, here in Maine, part of a trained (no pun) volunteer service for the AARP. When I see what people have been trying to get by on, with no public assistance, it makes me shiver.
Not to change the topic or hijack the thread, but priorities! It's scary out there!

In the race to the bottom, whoever gets there first is just the first of all losers - nobody wins.

dave

Amtrak is already trying to pushing funding of the Pennsylvanian off onto PennDOT, and if that should happen, passenger service in PA will vanish.

I believe you are incorrect, Mark. While some officials from PennDOT have said they will not support spending $5.7 million to keep the "Pennsylvanian" running between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, Keystone Service between Harrisburg and Philadelphia would not be affected as far as I know. And understand that those who want to ditch the Pittsburgh trains are bureaucrats. The ultimate decision will come from the politicians, and the bureaucrats will do as they're told.

This is much adoo about nothing. $85 billion in the face of a $1 trillion dollar deficit is pretty minute. They're really not cuts, just a slight reduction in the growth of the government budget.

Don't let yourselves get caught up in the hype...the world will still turn after March 1.

Except for those of us who will be getting laid off......it's not hype. It's a real tangable hit in the pocket. I'm going to be loosing over $700.00 a month. That's not hype, its pain.

brettcog2000: If the cuts do materialize, it no different than what people in the private sector have been witnessing for quite a while.

And with that, I'm done responding to this topic. Time to discuss what this board is supposed to be about: Railroad Preservation.

Fair enough, that was bad wording on my part.

A

It might be postulated that if ones' disposable income shrinks or vanishes, ones' participation in avocational activities such as railroad preservation will in turn, shrink or ultimately vanish.

Here here! Spot on. Everyone will feel this.


This will affect railroad preservation in the form of lessened or no longer available grants, federal monnies...etc. I know it will affect the amount I can spend heading to the shop to make parts.

For three years before my retirement at the end of 2009, my employer required that all employees take 20 days of unpaid leave annually, 5 days each quarter. Employees could decide when they wanted to be furloughed on a first come, first served basis, but department heads could deny a furlough if too many people wanted off at the same time. In addition, all furlough time had to be used before paid vacation days could be used. That amounts to a month of lost pay each year. We got used to it, and to my knowledge, the policy continues.