Frank Wrote:
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> Passenger trains do not make money,Amtrak has
> proved that quite well over the past 46 years.
> Where did Ellis come from? Remember Amtrak
> boxcars? That was an Ellis brain child.

I have no opinion on Ed Ellis or Iowa Pacific. Unlike others here I do not have enough information to formulate an informed opinion. However, hauling a limited amount of freight on passenger trains is not intrinsically a bad idea. The private railways were well known for it. Remember the REA and the RPO and storage mail? Not to mention that you could ship items in the baggage car including coffins. The loss of the mail in particular doomed many passenger trains since the mail profits were mitigating the passenger losses.

The issue with Amtrak was that host freight railroads saw it as subsidized freight competition (which it was) and either sued or threatened to sue and Amtrak, knowing it would lose, gave it up. Its possible the freight railroads, hoping to get rid of annoying passenger trains, made the boxcars traffic an issue. I doubt the railroads ever reclaimed that tiny amount of business but it sure helps anti-Amtrak people show that passenger trains lose too much money and should be eliminated.

Take a look at old photographs of head end heavy passenger trains that allowed low ridership trains to last as long as they did.