I have been riding the rails so to speak before Amtrak was Amtrak. My first trip was in 1968 between Los Angeles and Chicago with a family sleeper. Since, I have traveled on every long distance Amtrak route, the Northeast system, and not just sporadically but on a regular basis. So my love for the rails is as strong as anyone because I continue to do it even though I could fly to my destinations in hours. I understand the passion, but I am still perplexed by many of the duplicate responses. This is not unique to this site. If you have something new to add great. Otherwise, contribute where it needs your input.
First off, I am a freight conductor for a major Class I railroad, and a former Amtrak on board waiter/attendant. So I definitely have railroading in my passion as it is my livelyhood! I loved it before, but even more now despite its downsides.
But anyway, it seems to me Anthony had a lot of these ideas in mind when he created this site/forum. Unfortunately it is impossible to please everyone all the time, so maybe we can compromise here. If you don't feel the message you are reading has anything to offer or you believe it has been repeated too much for you, then simply don't read it or skim through it. I actually like to see many of the repeated reponses as it allows me to see the many different angles in a certain subject. Everyone here has something to offer, even if I or anyone else disagrees with them. As long as we each show respect for each other, we should all be able to co-exist here in the forums just fine.
One thing to note, Anthony, Alan, and the other moderators are "very liberal" with the content that is posted on this board which I really like! I know they have their areas and instances when it necessary to moderate, it is nice to come to a "real" message board where we can all share our opinions openly. There are not many boards like this one! Overall, I have seen very few instances where it was need to moderate this board like I have in other message boards. And I personally believe that the members of this board (as well as many of its guest) tend to treat each other with much more respect than most other boards. And I hope it stays this way! There is one message board with a newspaper that I "used" post in frequently, and it was very common to be called some name such as "moron," "idiot," etc, almost immediately by someone who doesn't see my view. I do not have time for those types out on the street or here online! I see very little of that here as it is moderated well combined with the overall makeup of this board's members.
So in closing, I hope you see my point. If not, then that's fine. To each their own opinion.
OBS gone freight...