ASSEMBLING AMTRAK : AN OVERSEAS CONSULTANT BELIEVED THE PASSENGER RAILROAD WOULD OVERCOME RUMORS AND CONFLICTING MOTIVES

This article offers a first-person account of how the author, an internationally recognized economist, was commissioned to scout out support Amtrak in the 1970s. Serving as an independent intermediary with passenger service managers of a number of railroads, the author relates his experiences in meeting with railroad executives. The author describes riding the rails throughout the East and Southeast, detailing the aversion and inception of Amtrak. He begins with the Southern Railways hesitation to joining Amtrak, then describes brokering deals with the Seaboard Coast Line. A meeting with Illinois Central confirmed the general attitude that railroad executives had little hope for or faith in Amtrak. The author notes that most thought that Amtrak was only designed to be a financing medium and thus offered no employment potential for executives. The article concludes with the author relating the difficulties he encountered in arriving at Chicago on the Capitol Limited