Blog posts

December 01, 2014
Picture this:  following the accidents that took place last year on short lines, people start calling for the end of the short line industry because it just simply isn’t working.  The industry just can’t do the job, and no one can tolerate the damage and deaths.  Crazy you
November 17, 2014
I’ve written in the past about the meetings the ASLRRA Technology Committee have in the fall, and the cool places we get to go and see as part of our meetings.  This week was no exception, as following our b
November 13, 2014
I’m a bit behind on my reading these days, but I finally got around to reviewing a recent report to Congress that projected dollars needed by short lines and regionals to address infrastructure needs.The small railroad sector is one that isn’t easy to get your arms around s
October 16, 2014
Just got back from a nine-day, 4,500-mile adventure that included two meetings in places that could not be as different as they were.  The calendar dictated the marathon trip, and as I will discuss below it was not without its issues, but there was a lot of good that came f
October 09, 2014
Getting to know your customers is key to any business, but particularly in sales. For some of us, it’s even important to get to know our customer’s customers and their needs.Railroading is a relationship business. Always has been and probably always will be, in my opinion.
September 24, 2014
When you have lived in the same area for a long time, you get to know how things flow around you.  You know generally from which direction the storms come from, and if you are outside on a hot, humid, sunny day, you usually take a look in that direction to make sure that th
September 08, 2014
I have written many times in the past about how much attention to detail makes a difference in providing service to others.  With that goes showing that you are actually paying attention to what you are doing, and not just going through the paces.  Unfortunately, I have two
August 25, 2014
A couple of weeks ago I was with our esteemed editor in chief in Orlando for the site visit for next year’s ASLRRA Connections, and we got started talking about the things that business travelers do differently than the average traveler, and at some point in the conversatio
August 19, 2014
August in Washington is traditionally a quiet time. Not this year, however.