Ronald Reagan passed away this afternoon at home with family by his bedside. Sorry to hear. I'm not sure of his thoughts or actions on railroad transportation/preservation while President, but I understand he was quite instrumental in the creation of the California State Railroad Museum.

Joshua K. Blay

CNN Website

> Ronald Reagan passed away this afternoon at
> home with family by his bedside. Sorry to
> hear. I'm not sure of his thoughts or
> actions on railroad
> transportation/preservation while President,
> but I understand he was quite instrumental
> in the creation of the California State
> Railroad Museum.

> Joshua K. Blay
Ronald Reagan was the first President I was old enough to vote for. He was the best im my time. He will be sadly missed. Quite a shame he was robbed of his retirement.

LL675@aol.com

I believe he also served as a spokesman for Union Pacific in the 50s. And yes, he was one of the best.

> Ronald Reagan was the first President I was
> old enough to vote for. He was the best im
> my time. He will be sadly missed. Quite a
> shame he was robbed of his retirement.


wallis@netdoor.com

RWR on rail policies: A mixed score.

He was probably the most virulently anti-Amtrak president we have had, and consistently tried to kill it. As much as I felt in agreement with him on certain issues, this was one that I could never come to terms with. Especially since in the 1950s he'd appeared in color magazine ads touting the glories of rail travel aboard UP Domeliners. This was a source of much anguish among NARP folks at the time.

On freight, it was his Secretary of Transportation, Drew Lewis, of RDG trustee and UP chairmanship renown, who threatened to dismember Conrail (and by implication, its unions) piece by piece unless it, and they, shaped up. It was during the Reagan presidency that the Staggers Act was passed, introducing long-overdue deregulation to the rail freight industry.

Dan Cupper
Harrisburg, Pa.


cupper@att.net

It was during the Reagan
> presidency that the Staggers Act was passed,
> introducing long-overdue deregulation to the
> rail freight industry.

Negative, Dan--you should know better.

Much as transportation deregulation *should* have been a Republican talking point, it was the Carter Administration and the concurrent Congress that gets the credit. The Staggers Rail Act was signed into law by Carter on October 13, 1980.

LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net

>> it was
> the Carter Administration and the concurrent
> Congress that gets the credit. The Staggers
> Rail Act was signed into law by Carter on
> October 13, 1980.

Thanks, Sandy, you're quite right. I was giving the GOP Revolution too much of the benefit of the doubt. 1980 stuck in my mind as the year of the election, but I forgot the actual date of Staggers. A few weeks can make all the difference, at least in "government-by-press-release."

It *was* Drew Lewis who helped to prod Conrail away from the public trough, which occurred near the end of the RWR administration, in early 1987.

Reagan was definitely out to scuttle Amtrak, but the Carter Democrats were no help, either. 1979 was the year of both the Second Gas Crisis *and* the October Massacre, when we lost the National Limited, Floridian, Lone Star, North Coast Hiawatha, et al., in one fell swoop (but still had two trains across West Virginia and a brand-new train through the southern Nevada desert!)

Required preservation content: It was the discontinuance of the National Limited that hastened Conrail's severing and partial spinoff of ex-PC Pittsburgh-St. Louis trackage. Part of that route became Ohio Central, the venue for coming attractions recently discussed here at length.

As an aside, 1979 was the year the National Limited was featured on the Amtrak calendar in a Gil Reid painting -- but for the last three months of the year, the featured train no longer existed.

Dan Cupper
Harrisburg, Pa.

cupper@att.net

Sorry, but you won't find much sympathy for Ronald Reagan from rank-and-file railroaders, most of whom view him as the beginning of all problems. But politics aside, it can be noted that since he was President, nearly half the nation's rail infrastructure has been destroyed, never to return.

ryarger@rypn.org

> since he was President, nearly half the
> nation's rail infrastructure has been
> destroyed, never to return.

So, the CSX merger, the NS merger, and all of the removals of redundant track since 1980 was caused by Reagan? I didn't know that.

It just goes to show you that you can't trust information you get from online forums, doesn't it?


gerald_altiazer@atlanticbb.net

> So, the CSX merger, the NS merger, and all
> of the removals of redundant track since
> 1980 was caused by Reagan? I didn't know
> that.

> It just goes to show you that you can't
> trust information you get from online
> forums, doesn't it?

I almost responded to this post... but before the administrator of the board does it, maybe this can be a reminder that this is not the place for political arguments. In fact, I come here to get away from politics. It's just a suggestion, but I think it was one worth making.


wtl1959@aol.com

> I almost responded to this post... but
> before the administrator of the board does
> it, maybe this can be a reminder that this
> is not the place for political arguments.

Quite right, and thank you for the reminder. I hope the readers will let this thread end here--it is not relevant to our core mission of discussing railway preservation.

eledbetter@rypn.org

> Sorry, but you won't find much sympathy for
> Ronald Reagan from rank-and-file
> railroaders, most of whom view him as the
> beginning of all problems. But politics
> aside, it can be noted that since he was
> President, nearly half the nation's rail
> infrastructure has been destroyed, never to
> return.
Ronald Reagan led to the freedom of many people. He was prehaps one of the Greatest Presidents we have ever had. He worked to keep this country free. Just like our President Bush is cleaning up Clintons mess, and making us the power we once were. He is not depleating the miltary like Billy Boy was. God Bless Ronald Reagen and his family.
Mike Reagen for President !

OK, this time under the official admin flag.

The RyPN Interchange is a forum for topics relating to railway preservation and railroad history. We do not host debates about present-day political parties or political figures, except as their official actions or decisions relate to railway preservation--for example, supporting or opposing a specific funding program for railway preservation.

Accordingly, I ask that no further posts be made on this topic unless they correspond to the guidance above.

eledbetter@rypn.org

Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois and moved to Dixon, Il where he spent his so-called "formative years" (as the 'entering Dixon' sign proudly proclaims). But in reading some biographical material on the former president I came across this interesting passage.

"The future president and his young friends also had many happy times playing around, and on, the community's shortline railroad of that era. The train, nicknamed "The Dummy," meandered its way into Tampico from the south and used the same depot as the east-west mainline. The youngsters considered the little freight and passenger train their own big toy. The train's top speed was five miles per house, so the boys would wait for the train at the south edge of Tampico, hop on, and hitch a ride into town. Many a mock train robberies and other games of the imagination were part of Reagan's youth.

Being somewhat familiar with this area I'm wondering what little railroad they're talking about? And as a side note, the park near the depot once named "Railroad Park" was re-named "Reagan Park" several years ago.


SJHussar@aol.com

The railroad was the Hooppole, Yorktown & Tampico Railroad - a google search using this string will lead to a few good sites. It was also featured in Beebe's Mixed Train Daily.

altoonaroundhouse@umich.edu

Unashamedly, I will reiterate that the policies begun in the Reagan Administration (mainly corrupting the Staggers Act) not only decimated the lives and incomes of thousands of rail workers (including eventually mine), but led also to the eventual destruction of a great amount of trackage in the U.S. and returned us to an almost total dependency on oil, for which our brave troops are still dying. This is relevent to rail history and preservation and not just politics.

ryarger@rypn.org