It's easy to blame deregulation, but the fact is, we would have lost whole railroads were it not for deregulation. Had deregulation come sooner, 5 years or so, the Milwaukee would still be a thriving line and the Rock would probably be around too. But anyway, another factor we consider in whether or not a line stays or goes is the costs of upkeep and TAXES. About 15 years ago we began the process of abandoning a 12 mile industrial spur in a major city that carried an average of 177 cars per week. The endless number of crossings and crossing protection to maintain, the huge number of switches to maintain and most of all the unbelievable property Taxes on the ROW made it a big loser. The line followed a major street and was considered prime retail frontage and was taxed accordingly. The line didn't generate enough revenue to cover the property taxes that were based on the value of the land, (plus local school taxes, library taxing district, fire taxing district, park taxing district and several more, all based on and tied to the property taxes). Despite decent traffic, the line was a big money loser and we eventually got it abandoned. Most customers followed to a reload area we built, and they too eventually fell victim to the high taxes and relocated to other states and countries, as for the rail right of way, that was so valuable for taxes, yup, it's now off the tax rolls as a bike trail that costs taxpayers to maintain. A bike trail that passes mostly empty businesses and industries, but is full of pretty flowers and heavily vandalized artwork. The Grangeville line no doubt costs a fortune to maintain and it's value as a trail may be limited by its remote location and it's safety could be a problem as most of the right of way is hung high on a mountainside with a wall of mountain on one side and a sheer drop off the other, and with the lines zig zaging above each other in places, there is going to be a huge temptation for people to take short cuts from one level to the other with idiots falling all too often, some trails are crime free, others are not and you never really know what kind of people will show up. Given the current economy, you also don't know where the tax money will come from to keep it up.