Frostburg, MD
I used to think that railroads were an obsolete mode of transportation, but just a few minutes on the GAP trail proves otherwise. The bike trail parallels active railroads all the way from Pittsburgh to DC. And are they busy! All night long the trains clank and clatter, the ground shakes, and the whistles blow. You see miles of coal cars loaded with fossil fuel. You see miles of auto carriers filled with the latest models of products from the American automotive industry. Tank cars, box cars, and empty cars going back to be refilled. All night long.
When I rode this trail four years ago they were removing the top of a mountain over a tunnel and laying it to one side. Why? The tunnel was too low to allow double decker trains to pass through. Now the tunnel is gone, there being sky where the mountain used to be. Containers on flat cars are stacked one on top of the other so each train can now carry twice as much cargo. Yes, I would say the railroad industry is doing just fine.
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