> Thanks for the correction on the funds. I
> need to shop around for a new British mag
> dealer, as the guy in Penn Station is easily
> 8 weeks behind the cover date.

> What strikes me is how many of us RYPN
> regulars are reading UK steam rags! I really
> enjoy it, even with the language barrier.

Yes, as it has been said, we are separated by a common language. The difference of terms is interesting.
loops = passing tracks
sleepers = ties
banker = helper
DMU = diesel muliple unit (self-powered train set)
top and tail = locomotive on both end of train
spad = signal pasted at danger

Some terms have migrated to the UK. They also call steam engine types by the same terms that we started.

The Railway Magazine has been around since 1897. All that time it has been published for the non-professional interested in railroads.

The Railway Magazine is published by IPC Media which puts out about 30 or more magazines in the UK. For information see:
http://www.ipcmedia.com/frameset.html

Brian Norden

Railway Magazine info & subscriptions

> Heritage Railway ... it's a really nice magazine,
> sorta wish we had something like that here in
> the US. > -Justin Franz

We did. The late and lamented Locomotive & Railway Preservation, which has morphed, if not corporately, then certainly in spirit, into this bulletin board.

Dan Cupper
Harrisburg, Pa.

cupper@att.net

> Tracks owned by the government, operating
> rights contracted to private industry. I am
> given to understand there may be some
> structural difficulties regarding this
> operating arrangement even in the UK.

*Understatement of the Year Award.

As it turns out, in the early 1990s, partial railroad denationalization was mandated by the European Union. The British railway network follows the basic EU mandate: A government agency owns and oversees the railroad trackage, and franchises are awarded to private corporations to operate services, in some cases with subsidy underwritten. The system is seen as bringing the rail network in parallel with other transportation modes like airlines and highways. Its success, or lack thereof, of course depends on exactly who you talk to. Similar "denationalisation" programs have been undertaken voluntarily in many non-EU countries, including Japan, Mexico, and much of Central and South America.

I seriously question whether we have the
> cultural philosophy to pursue it here on a
> national scale, although some public
> entities are saving lines threatened by
> abandonment and contracting them to
> shortline operators.

*The basic proposal has been floating around the United States since at least the 1940s (I can make a case that it dates back to the 1820s and the B&O, PRR, etc.!), and was frequently postulated to some degree by David P. Morgan of Trains Magazine. And, as pointed out, it has happened on a small scale all over the nation, with local or state governments owning some rail lines and hiring operators--examples of this just in my area include the Western Maryland Scenic RR, some of the West Virginia lines, the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority network in central and eastern Pennsylvania, the Lackawanna County Rail Authority (erstwhile home to Steamtown), and others. Oh, and Amtrak.

I believe the biggest problem with implementation of this type of parity in the United States is twofold: the network in question is enormous compared to the density of Britain, France, Japan, etc.; and the thoroughly-capitalistic environment and history of the United States (as opposed to the more "socialistic" historys and economies of other countries) have entrenched a hardened skepticism and wariness of governmental administration (and its inherent inefficiency and potential for mismanagement and abuse) of any widely-used public service. The argument in the United States would likely not be, "He made the trains run on time!" but rather "Do you want our railroads to be in the same condition as your government-maintained highways?!? [points to any handy example of a potholed, deteriorating highway]" Of course, I can find good and bad examples of both public and private transportation projects, but you get my drift.


LNER4472-NOSPAM-@bcpl.net

> We did. The late and lamented Locomotive
> & Railway Preservation, which has
> morphed, if not corporately, then certainly
> in spirit, into this bulletin board.

That is ture, We did have one, but this site is a great replacement. My dad subscribed to that magazine and we have a bunch on the self right next to me as I type this. Think i may have to start flipping though them
-Justin



qcmrs18@yahoo.com