Yes. That and a pipeline.

I know. It would be criminal to force a capitalist magnate to ...

Compete in the marketplace? Wait a minute... ;)

Soybeans, anyone?

Actually, they're saying its a lack of capacity due to the shale oil boom. Which somewhat surprises me as I wasn't aware they moved crude in grain hoppers...

What this emphasizes is how far the ability for rail to handle major movement has gone, thanks to the reliance on truck transportation. At one time we used to have a rail system second to none - evidenced in AS that the John Galt special (contrary to the movie) was not a passenger run, but a freight run (I *loved* that!); now out here you look at the abandoned lines, downsized and gutted switching yards, and the rolling stock is up in years (not to mention the ancient and abused prime movers)...

What we need is a modern-day Dagny to bring it back.

Yes, and that is precisely why the Big O prevents it. He made it quite clear that he wants to remake the nation; less clear, he wants to do that, in part, by eviscerating the US of power and resources, thus of dominance.

He successfully and effectively moves us inexorably closer to the goal of dependence of both the nation and us, its citizens. Yes, the prescient Ayn Rand indeed might have seen this in our future!

Day-ja view all over again.

Let's not get too carried away - not the same situation as in AS.

Of all the headlines which evoke a sense of AS, this one takes the cake hands down. The content, structure, and even the tone could be copied right from it.

Do you remember the horrendous cost of propane last winter? That was because there was no rail capacity to deliver it in tank cars and it was being trucked from Texas to the northern plains states. While driving through the corn belt two weeks ago I heard a radio farm report about MN farmers losing hundreds of $millions because there was no rail capacity to ship their crops to market. I boat on the upper Mississippi River and the rails on both sides of the river are choked with oil trains and with frac sand trains. The sand needs to move by rail but the oil is far better moved by pipeline. Why are no new rail routes being added? Because no matter which way the route is planned there are small governments and small people who use lawyers and judges and endangered species and environmental regulations and eye pollution and mob rule to block any form of national improvement.

What and screw over Warren Buffett?

CSX's share of moving products (by rail) has increased dramatically vs. moving products by truck because rail is much more cost- and energy-efficient.

So wait a minute. If one of the primary reasons for shortage is the transportation of oil, wouldn't the Keystone pipeline help to alleviate this and allow the rail lines to get back to hauling these other commodities?

Yes. That's exactly what came to my mind too.

The Minnesota harvest debacle.

Time to build the John Galt Line.

I wonder how the soybean harvest is going....

Isn't Warren Buffett the new Jim Taggart? I know he is benefiting from his buddy the prez not approving the Keystone pipeline so the oil has to go by rail.

The article is really evocative of AS, though the article says the strain is because the yield is almost double last year (which is not exactly the fault of government). What I would be very interested to know is if there currently is a regulator price cap on rail rates. I would expect any caps to cause shortages during these peaks in demand.
Does anybody know if a price cap is in effect?

Every time I read an article about a derailment of an oil train and how the government sets rules to reduce train size and speed I think of Taggert Transcontinental railroad. AS has lodged in my brain

Its interesting how a lot of people that have heard or read a little about AS tend to dismiss it because of the technology base.

They dismiss it because Taggart Transcontinental is such a central focus of the story.

Those same people do not realize just how much cargo moves around by rail. On land rail is the most efficient way to move lots of mass and cubage around.

One of the ways AS remains so relevant today.

eddieh-wow. Calumet K is a great read-and FREE online. +1 for bringing it up. made my night ;)

Atlas Shuugged now non-fiction. This also sounds a lot like Calmut K

I'm sure the government will come to the rescue just like in AS. How'd that work out? [Sarcasm]

It's time for Ellis Wyatt to demand the upgrading of his rail capacity and for Dagny Taggart to build The John Galt Line. Seriously, this news item does read like it came out of the first few hundred pages of AS.