When I started with SP there were three auto assembly plants and two major tire plants in Los Angeles, we also had Lockheed, and McDonald Douglas, and Kaiser, and Hunt Wesson Foods...and on and on. We originally planned the Alameda Corridor for all of the coal we were going to ship to China....and now it moves containers, full of all those cheap things we like to buy at that "All American" Walmart. Lots of things change in an economy over the years...some good, some not so good, it depends on how it affects you.

We out west were blessed with a lot of sun, a beautiful and productive land, good schools and a skilled workforce, entrepreneurial savvy, lots of talented artists, some of the worlds busiest and most efficient ports, and our economy grew through what were hard times for some. We also tried to prepare for change, by building for our future. I guess we were luckier than a lot of other places in some ways, and worse off than some, in others. But, change is the rule in life, and how you deal with it is what counts. The point is that continuing to destroy our remaining rail infrastucture, to sell the rail for a quick buck on scrap, doesn't really prepare us for any future, except a poor one.

BOB2