Board Member Nominee: Rick Dearborn

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Mr. Dearborn's collection of O Gauge stock encourages me. His collection far exceeds my rolling stock and related Lionel items.

The fact that he still has such items in his personal collection ought to be considered to be a positive sign. I hope.
 
Dakota 400 said:
Mr. Dearborn's collection of O Gauge stock encourages me. His collection far exceeds my rolling stock and related Lionel items.

The fact that he still has such items in his personal collection ought to be considered to be a positive sign. I hope.
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He may love model trains, but he's also a product of the Heritage Foundation. I'm more concerned about his political views, not his hobby.
 
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MikefromCrete said:
Dakota 400 said:
Mr. Dearborn's collection of O Gauge stock encourages me. His collection far exceeds my rolling stock and related Lionel items.

The fact that he still has such items in his personal collection ought to be considered to be a positive sign. I hope.
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He may love model trains, but he's also a product of the Heritage Foundation. I'm more concerned about his political views, not his hobby.
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I was not aware of this affiliation for this gentleman. I share your concern.
 
What I am hearing from that is that he's going to push for ways for Amtrak to be more efficient (and Amtrak has many areas in that regards), but is against Amtrak cutting their way to that goal (admirable). Really the only thing definitive that he did say was that he was "committed to the LD system," which might be more than you can say for the existing board members. Since he is a train buff, he might even ride some of the trains.
 
Seaboard92 said:
We do not need any more policy people at Amtrak we need railroaders in the key roles. Once we have railroaders in firm control things will run much smoother. Policy wonks have no real idea how railroading works. Plus they are much too proud to admit they don't know how things work.
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Not only railroaders but experts who know about hospitality and proper customer service.
 
A guy with a background at the Heritage foundation doesn't seem ideal for a job at Amtrak but needs to be given a chance. All we need to do is give the man a free trip on the LSL and let him eat the high sat high chemical boxed meals . That would be sufficient torture for anyone to come around and see the truth. Then we'll put him on a bus from NYC to LA and see how he enjoys the ride..
 
It doesnt matter what he said at his hearings. In all these types of confirmations the appointees say what the senators want to hear and dont rock the boat. Truth goes out the door. What counts is their past statements and affiliations.

I see this appointment as no different then Betsy Devos (education), Pruitt (former EPA), Mulvanney (CPFB) all the absolute worse choices just appointed to dismantle the respective organizations.
 
Amtrakfflyer said:
It doesnt matter what he said at his hearings. In all these types of confirmations the appointees say what the senators want to hear and dont rock the boat. Truth goes out the door. What counts is their past statements and affiliations.

I see this appointment as no different then Betsy Devos (education), Pruitt (former EPA), Mulvanney (CPFB) all the absolute worse choices just appointed to dismantle the respective organizations.
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He has no concrete past except that he's a railfan and a Heritage foundation member. I know the Heritage Foundations official stance is to fully privatize Amtrak, but not every Heritage foundation person is anti-Amtrak (believe me, I know a few). I don't think it's wrong to try to reduce Amtrak's need for federal operating dollars, as you never know what the next election brings, so the less need, the better. Now as far as capital spending on Amtrak (and trains in general) everyone should be encouraging more of that, and I hope he shares that view.
 
Dakota 400 said:
Mr. Dearborn's collection of O Gauge stock encourages me. His collection far exceeds my rolling stock and related Lionel items.

The fact that he still has such items in his personal collection ought to be considered to be a positive sign. I hope.
Click to expand...
Being an avid modeler, does not necessarily mean that a person is a proponent or even interested in the prototypes....modeling is an interest all unto itself...
 
cocojacoby said:
Before we all jump to conclusions, Trains magazine has an article that says Mr. Dearborn is a "Train Freak". Some tidbits:

Dearborn mentioned his collection of O Scale models numbering 75 locomotives and some 300 pieces of rolling stock.

He expressed confidence that Amtrak would meet the Dec. 31 deadline for installing positive train control.

Dearborn told the committee that Amtrak needed to make long-distance trains an attractive travel alternative, but stopped short of endorsing government subsidies for the system.

“Amtrak trains should be on time, clean, competitive, and a good option for travelers,” Dearborn said. "Long distance service is a critical part of the national passenger rail system. I am committed to it.”

“I get the impression that Amtrak is being reduced, not built, because it's requiring taxpayer dollars,” U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., told Dearborn. “Do you think taxpayer dollars are necessary to keep Amtrak going?”

“I can't predict whether or not Amtrak could operate without financial assistance,” Dearborn said. “I would hope that if we focus on creating a good product, then revenues will rise and the dependency on federal dollars would be less.”

“If you had a choice between lowering operating losses and shutting down a long-distance line, what would you choose?” asked U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.

“I hope I'm never faced with that decision,” Dearborn replied.

Thanks for putting this story on line. That does at least sound encouraging.
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Dakota 400 said:
Mr. Dearborn's collection of O Gauge stock encourages me. His collection far exceeds my rolling stock and related Lionel items.

The fact that he still has such items in his personal collection ought to be considered to be a positive sign. I hope.
Click to expand...
I agree with you on this. Maybe he has a soft spot for Trains. Dakota 400 do you go that far back as the Dakota 400. Did you live on it's route or ever ride the Dakota 400? I remember when it was the Rochester 400 and while I hadn't ridden it my parents had ridden it years ago to get to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and I remember seeing it in my first Chicago and Northwestern Timetable which was obviously before January 1963 as in January 1963 I believe that both the Rochester 400 and the Twin Cities 400 were discontinued.
 
jis said:
Apparently all Senate approval of nominated Amtrak Board members are now stuck as various Senators have placed holds on them pending resolution of Amtrak "issues", including PV, Charters, SWC, Food and future of the National Network. So there will be no change in the Board until such Holds are cleared.
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Honestly this probably does have a negative effect but also a positive one. It shows that congressmen are actively involved in Amtrak which should send a strong message to headquarters beware that congress is watching and ready to act on things as needed.

Had Anderson and Gardner not messed with new River train I strongly doubt a lot of the opposition would be there. Senator Manchin has a lot of political weight he can throw around. And with his difficult reelection this year is giving security to others. If he can come out for different things in Amtrak so can strong conservatives from other states. Moral of the story is Anderson and Gardner should have put a little more thought into their actions as they stumbled into a hornets nest.
 
railpost said:
Dakota 400 said:
Mr. Dearborn's collection of O Gauge stock encourages me. His collection far exceeds my rolling stock and related Lionel items.

The fact that he still has such items in his personal collection ought to be considered to be a positive sign. I hope.
Click to expand...
I agree with you on this. Maybe he has a soft spot for Trains. Dakota 400 do you go that far back as the Dakota 400. Did you live on it's route or ever ride the Dakota 400? I remember when it was the Rochester 400 and while I hadn't ridden it my parents had ridden it years ago to get to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and I remember seeing it in my first Chicago and Northwestern Timetable which was obviously before January 1963 as in January 1963 I believe that both the Rochester 400 and the Twin Cities 400 were discontinued.
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Yes, I do go "that far back" as Dakota 400, Rochester 400, and Twin Cities 400. I also was a patient of the Mayo Clinic for several years and rode those trains on multiple occasions. Only once on the Twin Cities 400, however, due to a late arrival in Chicago of our PRR train from Columbus when we missed the direct train to Rochester. Took the Twin Cities 400 to Wyeville and transferred to either Dakota 400 or Rochester 400 when that happened. I am not sure of the train's name at that time.
 
Dakota 400 said:
Mr. Dearborn's collection of O Gauge stock encourages me. His collection far exceeds my rolling stock and related Lionel items.

The fact that he still has such items in his personal collection ought to be considered to be a positive sign. I hope.
Click to expand...
Can you honestly tell me why owning a bunch of model trains automatically means that you're going to support legislation to help Amtrak and its routes? If I have a bunch of toy fire trucks does that mean that I should be running the fire department? If I have a bunch of model police cars, should I be deciding what to do with the police department? It just doesn't work like that.
 
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cpotisch said:
Dakota 400 said:
Mr. Dearborn's collection of O Gauge stock encourages me. His collection far exceeds my rolling stock and related Lionel items.

The fact that he still has such items in his personal collection ought to be considered to be a positive sign. I hope.
Click to expand...
Can you honestly tell me why owning a bunch of model trains automatically means that you're going to support legislation to help Amtrak and its routes? If I have a bunch of toy fire trucks does that mean that I should be running the fire department? If I have a bunch of model police cars, should I be deciding what to do with the police department? It just doesn't work like that.
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Well, of course, I cannot tell you that the gentleman's collection will make a significant difference as to how he views Amtrak's challenges nor how he might respond as a Board member. But, I view it as an indication that his interest in trains is probably greater than the hiring of a former CEO of an airline as this gentleman attempts to guide Amtrak into the future.

.
 
Ryan said:
Why do you think that someone’s former jobs have anything to do with theirs interests? Everyone here is interested in trains, yet very few of us actually work for a railroad.
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And if you do work for a railroad, and have ambition to work your way up the 'ladder', it is usually best to keep any railfan feelings to yourself....
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