>Well, as a matter of fact I met George Hilton, once. He was SP's professional "scholar for hire" for a long period through the late 50's to the late 60' when they wanted to kill passenger.

It isn't wide recognized, but DJR fully supported passenger trains, , , at first. He supported buying the Sunset equipment c1952 to the tune of $3-4 million (what would this equate to in today's dollars?). Three years later, or thereabouts, there was A Meeting to reassess the passenger business. All the numbers indicated "losing prosition", so he changed his mind. Yes, he wasn't as genteel about it as Reed of the AT&SF, but he was correct. If he was frothing at the mouth anti-passenger, Claude T. Peterson's job would have been abolished forthwith, but Peterson took the job with him when he retired in the latter 1960s.

A great many times the most reaistic and wise answers to one's questions don't reinforce one's prejudices nor desires. Just look at all the problems GWB, Rummy, and Dicky continue to have over the waterboarding issue (i.e. those who said at the time "bad idea" were tossed out forthwith).

At the time, mid 1950s, passenger trains were becoming losing propositions, just like the interurbans were in the 1920s, and for the same reason: the automobile. What really drove the last nails in the coffin between the end of the 1950s and the mid to late 1960s were the introduction of the 707 and then ending of open pouch RPOs.

Since c1995, the SP's hourly passenger service between Oak/SF and Sac has been revived after being essentially gone since 1960. Frequently I hear friends say "DJR must be spinning in his grave". I seriously doubt it because for the host carrier, SP and now UP, they are moneymakers, and that is what he was concerned with, making money.