Editor's note: Frank Richter, who wrote about rail for more than 60 years, was named publisher of Progressive Railroading in 1972. In 1989, Richter sold Murphy-Richter Publishing (which owned Progressive Railroading) to Ron Mitchell and Rich Zemencik; Richter stayed on as a consultant, contributing articles and a monthly "Comment" to Progressive Railroading.
In 1994, Mitchell and Zemencik sold the magazine to Trade Press Publishing Corp. (now Trade Press Media Group Inc., which was acquired by Forum Media Group in 2018), with Richter continuing to write his monthly commentary. He was a contributor to Progressive Railroading through 2008. He died in September 2013 at the age of 97.
In his December 1983 Publisher's Notebook, Richter wrote about the speeches he listened to at the erstwhile Railway Progress Institute's (RPI) annual black-tie dinner, which included addresses from railroad CEOs. Following is an excerpt from Richter's notebook, written in the early days of the post-Staggers world:
Once again, the Railway Progress Institute assembled a panel of railroad leaders for those who had earlier participated in the annual meetings of the AAR and the RPI, and were to attend the RPI's annual dinner that evening.
Business is coming back on the rails, and the railroads have earned it (as John Houseman says on television).
"Railroads have improved tremendously in the last two to three years," said Walter Drexel of the Burlington Northern. "Further improvement will come from cost cutting, innovative marketing ideas and by any other means that people can dream up."
Both the chemistry and timing are right for getting on with further technological advances. That includes facing up to the reluctance of unions to make adjustments that can increase productivity even though salaries and working conditions are unaffected.
"From the technological point of view," said D.K. McNear of the Southern Pacific, "the railroad industry is on the threshold of encountering almost infinite possibilities. Energy conservation, microprocessors, metallurgy, monitoring and inspection devices, robotics, signaling and control systems, aerodynamics and artificial intelligence are just some of the disciplines that will lead to faster, more reliable and less expensive rail transportation. With the pruning of operations, railroads now more than ever must have reliable products."
Mergers do not achieve their objectives merely by moving into additional mergers and assuming that everything conveniently falls into place (merged railroads have to "earn" their benefits, too). The recession demonstrated that mergers have been very beneficial by creating more efficient systems. However, much still must be done, beginning with the need to decrease empty-car mileage. The larger systems emerging will expedite movement of freight traffic; utilization of cars and plant will increase.
Deregulation definitely has given the railroads far more flexibility to pursue opportunities for business and to increase profit possibilities. Excessive zeal in doing both, however, could turn out to be a two-edged sword. While they can enable railroads to market rail transportation more efficiently through improved services to make a profit out of the business generated, they also hold the danger of promoting actions that alter long-established internal activities. These include joint rates and routes, gateway privileges and reciprocal switching agreements for joint use of terminal facilities. ...
"At the moment, we are engaged in a series of rate and route wars which are threatening the industry as a whole," said John Burdakin of the Grand Trunk Western. "Never mind the question of deregulation, or whether we should have more or less. Deregulation is what we have long sought. We need corrections to make it work for small railroads, large railroads, shippers and the public.
"Let us be reminded that when deregulation began no one was certain of the outcome," Burdakin continued. "Since no legislation devised by man is perfect, it was assumed that corrections would be applied as needs arose. Two years of deregulation have shown that it is working, and that it has conditional support. But the anti-competitive abuses and misinterpretations now require corrective action."
It all adds up to trying times and exciting times in rail transportation. ...
— Frank Richter
