Overcoming obstacles job No. 1 for next 50 years

By Steve Bolte, Publisher

This year, Progressive Railroading is celebrating its 50th year. Thank you to everyone who helped make Progressive Railroading into the magazine it is today, the information leader of the railroad industry. Key people such as Frank Richter, Rich Zemencik, Gordon Thoman and Paul Ward helped lay the magazine’s foundation. Our current editorial team of Pat Foran, Jeff Stagl and Angela Cotey has done a great job of shaping our editorial content over the years, keeping it current, relevant and accurate. Our sales staff of Ray Kosakowski and Mike Singler has done an excellent job of using their railroad industry backgrounds to work with our advertisers to make them — and us — more successful. To our advertisers and readers, thank you also, because if not for you, Progressive Railroading would not exist.

Recently, I looked through some past issues from the ’60s and ’70s. It is amazing to see how our industry has developed over the years. There have been many changes in my 30 years in the industry. In this issue, we thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the past 50 years to identify some of the major events that shaped the industry, and then take a look forward at major issues that will impact the next 50. It has been fun talking to many of you on this subject and getting your views.

An eventful half century

Some of your more popular ideas on past events centered on technology, such as the evolution from steam to diesel power and the computer age. Others mentioned the development of intermodal and consolidation of the Class Is. For me, the event that had the biggest impact on the industry’s course was the 1980 Staggers Rail Act. It deregulated railroads and leveled the playing field with other freight transportation modes. Railroads then were able to negotiate rates with their customers, become profitable, and reinvest in rolling stock and infrastructure, beginning the “Rail Renaissance,” as coined by Tony Hatch.

What are the next big issues? For me, the two that stick out are how the industry will handle capacity constraints and improve customer service. With fuel prices going through the roof and freight volumes continuing to grow, the importance of rail as the most economical mode of freight transportation increases dramatically. Railroads must find a way to meet increased

demand by solving capacity issues and continually improving customer service. How the industry deals with upcoming challenges and opportunities will greatly impact the next 50 years.