Bingo on that: railroads today have NOWHERE NEAR the manpower they used to employ and any "hitch in the gitalong" throws the entire scenario out of whack. True, you can grab a contractor or two to make up for the slack (if one can be found) but planning for extreme conditions and building up the crews to handle it is not the way things work.

Its the new business paradigm: corprate jets and country club memberships for the Executive Staff are now more important than keeping the railroad running.