That S-curve trestle was virtually the most profitable bridge on the PCE. It was either before or after I participated in the evacuation of Saigon -- I don't recall which -- and before I participated in a Supreme Court case -- I was sent to Tacoma to perform an econometric study of the Milwaukee's Tacoma traffic.

I couldn't believe what I found there.

With a letter from the president in one hand I rode the top of a box car of Portland newsprint over this bridge. According to my calculations, the operating characteristics of the Tacoma Hill were such that the railroad lost virtually thousands of dollars per carload. However, one should not conclude -- as conventional wisdom does -- that the line was unprofitable.

It was.

By artfully transferring each loss from Tacoma to a Midwestern line in the accounting ledgers, the accountants could artfully show a profit on the PCE. I participated in that study and I saw the numbers at the DOT.

I was there. I know what really happened.

Too, conventional wisdom tells us that Tacoma Hill had draconian track. On the contrary, the BNSF water level route along Puget Sound suffered from draconian track and, contrary to popular opinion, was unprofitable.

Too, the SP&S route along the Columbia never should have been built and the BNSF would be profitable today if it had not built the new Cascade Tunnel.

I have virtually 1000's of square feet of books in my library. I can hear the horns of a profitable railroad from my house, and there is an Illinois Central railroad president living down the street. Others on this forum have none of these credentials.

Best Regards,
Milwaukee Road Historian