Emperor of the North + Mad Max
Author: Bruce Kelly
Date: 06-11-2008 - 13:18
If things continue at their present rate, I predict these two scenarios will be making national headlines by later this summer. 1) A huge increase in the number of people hopping rides on freight trains. Not the yuppie hobo craze of the 1990s, but ordinary folks looking for a way to vacation or visit relatives on the opposite side of the country without having to spend most of their summer budget on gasoline. 2) Fuel being siphoned out of locomotives. Bad enough they had to worry about meth-makers swiping anhydrous ammonia from tank cars, facilities, and farm equipment. Now, any unit(s) left unguarded in some dark, lonely place could be hit by a black marketeer with a tanker truck looking to sell to the nearest unsuspecting short line.