jstagl - All Comments

re: The 'real upside' of investing in Class Is

Larry Kaufman — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:24:51 GMT

Are we talking of investing or speculating, Jeff? Investors tend to buy and hold for a longer time than do speculators who see not railroads and movement of commerce, but numbers. When they hit their projected number, they sell and move on to something else. The investor has a target price in mind based on various indices like operating ratio, return on investment, etc. Rail stocks very well may have their superb 2011 performance baked into their price. If that's the case, there may not be as much prospect of a big rise for the stocks even if the companies have the kind of reports many of us are anticipating.

re: UP has better handle on productivity, resource usage — and the economy

Larry Kaufman — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:19:14 GMT

On the contrary, BTTF, I think that's precisely what they are doing and saying. Remember, the railroads held the same analyst and investor calls when the news wasn't nearly so good. Why deprive them of the opportunity to tell their story now that it's a good one?

re: UP has better handle on productivity, resource usage — and the economy

BacktotheFuture — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:50:24 GMT

These Class I earnings calls are simply the r.r. tooting their own horn. Not that this is bad...but they aren't going to get on and say "boy we really are being very efficient with our business these days."

re: TCU: World's oldest man a retired railroader

Friscoot — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:23:23 GMT

Mr. Breuning was not able to be present at the dedication of the station, but was honored the following day at his residence in Great Falls. Had the privilege of chatting with him for 30 minutes or so. Great gentleman, still sharp as a tack. Remembers his grandfather's tales of fighting in a Minnesota regiment during the Civil War.

re: TCU: World's oldest man a retired railroader

LynetteToney — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:43:54 GMT

What a great life it is to work for a railroad! Happiness in your job obviously equates to longevity! I hope to pass up his record one day! Blessings, Mr. Breuning!

re: TCU: World's oldest man a retired railroader

crduncan — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:17:39 GMT

God Bless You Mr. Breuning ! Thank you for your service to the Railroad industry!

re: TCU: World's oldest man a retired railroader

Blaine Peterson — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 18:31:26 GMT

Probably one of the few times the Railroad Retirement Plan will actually have to pay out more than about 25% of an individual's pension accrual through its lifetime annuity. Good for Mr. Breuning!

re: TCU: World's oldest man a retired railroader

DHEIS — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:45:56 GMT

The BNSF Railway named the west end of its new Broadview Subdivision, where it meets the ex-Great Northern Laurel Subdivision near Broadview, Montana, Walter Junction after Breuning. He was present at the dedication of the new line, which serves the Signal Peak Mine, on September 2, 2009.

re: TCU: World's oldest man a retired railroader

BacktotheFuture — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:08:47 GMT

BNSF named a junction or siding after him in MT near the new Signal Peak Mine.

Wonder what his thought are of the MRL?

re: Inside 1Q performance at UP

Larry Kaufman — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:56:21 GMT

You're right that it's "big picture," but there are even more reasons why railroaders of all disciplines should at least be aware of public affairs and how it can affect their jobs and their railroads. Some of the problem, I think, goes back to the era of regulation. there simply was no reward for becoming involved, and the railroad lawyers handled everything. Business moved only under tariff and there wasn't even much benefit to providing good service. Today, it's all different, but not everyone has gotten the message yet. We've got a Senator pushing antitrust legislation that would expose railroads to two different regulators and two different laws. Why? Because that Senator is upset over the way in which a regional railroad was operated in his state after it was acquired by a Class 1. The same Senator hears from his paper producer and chemical shipping constituents. Instead of the traditional railroad response of "***'em," perhaps railroads would do themselves a bigger favor if more employees understood what they have to deal with. I learned some of this years ago when collecting by my then railroad's PAC.

You're fortunate in at least one respect, Knoxvilleshipper. If you're where I think you are, you have one of the most effective and aggressive railroad industrial development departments working to bring in more industries, more traffic, more revenue, and more jobs. That's called growth, and most of us think it's a great thing to have.

re: Inside 1Q performance at UP

KnoxvilleShipper — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 20:13:30 GMT

Larry, I have to agree with your suggestion that in this blog site there doesn't seem to be much interest in economic or public policy issues. I know these kinds of issues are "big picture," but their impact can be felt all across the board, not just on a corporate or Washington level.

Now is the time to convert economic development opportunities into reality. Partnerships consisting of manufacturers, carriers, and local / regional planning organizations can be very beneficial to regional economic development. Here in east Tennessee, we just landed a Volkswagen assembly plant. VW's selection of Chattanooga was neither accidental nor coincidental; It took many players a lot of old fashioned hard work to get VW to break ground here.

Hopefully we will be hearing more success stories such as this as the economy rebounds. Does anyone else have a good one to share?

re: Inside 1Q performance at UP

Larry Kaufman — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:23:57 GMT

All of the publicly owned Class 1s have reported first quarter 2010 earnings as of today. All beat analyst estimates. One common thread is that the Class 1s learned how to make money with lower revenue, and now that the revenue is coming back, earnings are increasing even faster. This is what happens when once fixed costs are converted into variable costs. Traffic still is below 2008 levels, though, so perhaps it's a bit early to get the champagne out. "Summary: the railroads are doing fine, but there is room for even better performance going forward.

And, to really stir the pot, I've noticed since this PR blog site was created that it's really hard to get much of a discussion going about economic or public policy issues and their effects on railroads. Rail fans don't seem interested, and operating folks don't seem interested. Is that a good enough opinion Knoxvilleshipper?

re: Inside 1Q performance at UP

KnoxvilleShipper — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:47:32 GMT

I find it interesting that there are no comments on this blog regarding Class I Q1 performance. They all seem to have more good news than bad this time around. Could we be well on the road to economic recovery? What does everyone think?

re: Class Is: The tide has turned

James Swidergal — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:28:29 GMT

It would be nice if Ward and Young could be relinquishing some of their pay and bonuses so more agreement people could be hired back or new hired.

Good paying railroad jobs will help with savings and expendable incomes for the rank and file and will contribute to the strengthening of the US economy.

No Jobs No Money No Money No Jobs (can't score)

re: Class Is: The tide has turned

Padraic McCarthy — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:27:40 GMT

From the opposite end of the spectrum size wise, the outlook from one of the littler guys (Vermont Rail System) doesn't look too bad either. Our traffic has been holding, if not building, from last year at this time. It isn't anything like the first quater of 2008 (very good), but then it isn't like the first quarter of 2009 either (remarkably bad). There are certainly areas of softness, but over-all things are starting to look up! There is even talk of hiring again, especially with a busy summer track work season coming up.