Railroaders' Nostalgia > Mad Dog Chronicle #304 Where do we go from here?

I wrote MDC #266 on  6/29/2010  The first part is reproduced below:

Date: 06/29/10 10:51
Mad Dog Chronicles #266: Where do we go from here??
Author: mdo
Well, I have just finished reviewing older Chronicles from 2005 through 2010
In them I said that I would discuss issues that arose as the Anschutz Corp.
took control of the SP.... I find that in many cases I can not do this at this time.
I am party to information that I am not comfortable discussing at this point in time.

This also applies to my five years at the UP.

Even though the confidentiality agreement that I signed and was bound by, has
long since expired, I still feel bound by the underlying understanding.

This could be the end of the Mad Dog Chronicles, even though I enjoy writing about all
of these days of yesterday.

I never thought that this would be so long or take us to where we are now.


We will see.....


Well as I once testified to the STB, That was then; this is now.
(That was during the UP SP merger hearings and probably needs a Chronicle)
there are now 304 chronicles and some of those had multiple parts.

#267 Care and feeding of Superintendents
#268 reaction to #266 (humility)
#269 Promoted to VP Strategic Development
#270 - #274 Origins and growth of the Capital Corridor
#275 What I was supposed to do as VP - SD
#276,277  Branch Line spin offs
#278  Loma Prieta Earthquake
#279 The old days
#280  more on Loma Prieta
#281 A Saturday Morning Phone Call
# 282, 282.1 Mentoring
#283 - #285  Derailments
#286 Old timers on this board
#287 How Trainorders found me
#288 NOCRAP
#289 What rail fans know
#290The curse of manageing passenger operations
#291 - 293 Rules compliance and efficiency testing
#294  Locomotive emissions and regulation
# 295 - 302  People that I have worked for and with

Now the key question...where woul you like to see these recollections lead to next???

mdo



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/05/15 18:44 by mdo.

A book.  When Bill Thompson left the Rock Island in 1970 to go  to the TRRA, he said that he had been offered more not to write his "Life and Times as a Rock Island officer" than the offers to write.  I think you could write a great book about your life and times.  I have been trying to write about various things, like the TRRA and Capital Metro, but encounter something like writers block, but probably less than that, just fairlure to perform. 

mdo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I wrote MDC #266 on  6/29/2010  The first part
> is reproduced below:
>
> Date: 06/29/10 10:51
> Mad Dog Chronicles #266: Where do we go from
> here??
> Author: mdo
> Well, I have just finished reviewing older
> Chronicles from 2005 through 2010
> In them I said that I would discuss issues that
> arose as the Anschutz Corp.
> took control of the SP.... I find that in many
> cases I can not do this at this time.
> I am party to information that I am not
> comfortable discussing at this point in time.
>
> This also applies to my five years at the UP.
>
> Even though the confidentiality agreement that I
> signed and was bound by, has
> long since expired, I still feel bound by the
> underlying understanding.
>
> This could be the end of the Mad Dog Chronicles,
> even though I enjoy writing about all
> of these days of yesterday.
>
> I never thought that this would be so long or take
> us to where we are now.
>
>
> We will see.....
>
>
> Well as I once testified to the STB, That was
> then; this is now.
> (That was during the UP SP merger hearings and
> probably needs a Chronicle)
> there are now 304 chronicles and some of those had
> multiple parts.
>
> #267 Care and feeding of Superintendents
> #268 reaction to #266 (humility)
> #269 Promoted to VP Strategic Development
> #270 - #274 Origins and growth of the Capital
> Corridor
> #275 What I was supposed to do as VP - SD
> #276,277  Branch Line spin offs
> #278  Loma Prieta Earthquake
> #279 The old days
> #280  more on Loma Prieta
> #281 A Saturday Morning Phone Call
> # 282, 282.1 Mentoring
> #283 - #285  Derailments
> #286 Old timers on this board
> #287 How Trainorders found me
> #288 NOCRAP
> #289 What rail fans know
> #290The curse of manageing passenger operations
> #291 - 293 Rules compliance and efficiency
> testing
> #294  Locomotive emissions and regulation
> # 295 - 302  People that I have worked for and
> with
>
> Now the key question...where woul you like to see
> these recollections lead to next???
>
> m
Well, Mike, since you arent going to share the dark company secrets, i guess the party is over,  ! :-)
C

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/06/15 10:05 by CarolVoss.

Carol well forty eight chronicles and five years later I think there is a way
to tip toe through the tulips.

How about some of the dark secrets from the health care industry

 mdo

I agree with the idea of a book.  I got hooked on these about 2 years ago.  I guess I could go back through the archives but if they were all in a book, that sure would make it easy to review them all.

John

Had a discussion about this recently, agree that the Uncle Phil stories are still too hot. The UPRR merger, the SPSF merger, the lack of a Transcontenental merger are still large and interesting topics. The SP retirees are still looking for interesting stories with a few well placed names and locations thrown in. The NWP and tales of the Eel River are always interesting, life and times in the General Office would be a page turner. A compare and contrast of the Corporate strategies of D.J. Russel and Mr Biaggini awould be interesting, interpreting the changes in the Transportation market, the changes in Corporate investments, diversification, product development and spin-offs, lack of investment in infrastructure, more anecdotes of Rob Krebs would surely win hearts.

An interesting observation is making the rounds that the final Rise and Fall of the Southern Pacific has not been written, but as important, that no one knows who is qualified to write it. Historians, even TrainOrder subscribers, recognize the line between contemporary politics, business and true historial accounts. There needs to be some distance but it also needs to be written down.

I've enjoyed the MDCs and hate to see them end. But in no way would I want you to violate the spirit of any confidentiality agreements even if not actually in force. (After all, there is still consulting work to be had.) Wait long enough any maybe the time will be right to tell more.

I wish I had a complete index of MDCs. It takes time, but all can be searched on this site.

Carol:  I agree with you.  I remember his statement MDO posted in this forum:    "after a passage of time I will be able to tell all".

All I can to the original post is . . . DRAT!

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Reviewing older Mad Dog posts, I find many are cut off after the first few paragraphs, and some only show the first sentence. What gives?

Posted from Android

As an SP stockholder back in the late '70's and early '80's I always wanted to know what strategy SP had in place to take full advantage of the Staggers Act of 1980.  History has provided some of the answers but not all of them.  The Staggers Act was at least 5 years too late, IMHO.


Allen

 

tferk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Reviewing older Mad Dog posts, I find many are cut
> off after the first few paragraphs, and some only
> show the first sentence. What gives?
>
> Posted from Android

Todd is aware of this and assures me that it can and will be fixed.  I am experiencing the same problem.

I would also enjoy more of your time on the NWP and the passenger operations on the commute services.

Topics:
LA Metrolink line sales, planning and startup.
Alameda Corridor line sales, planning and startup.

i say the lock is off the door on confidentiality and the stories should be published before there's no one left to tell them and the people that worked through with the company during this time are no longer here to enjoy them ... what good are they if nothing can be learned or positively gained by their publishing ... i say let'er rip ...

Posted from Android

A needed clarification.... I have no thoughts of ending the mad dog chronicles any time soon.
Still lots more to fill in, plus with the passage of time more of the perps have passed on.
Remember, howeve, that I still work in the industry as a consultant.  In fact I have two new confidentiality agreements.
mdo

Although we don't think about it, the RG/SP was sold to the UP EIGHTEEN years ago!

The deep dark secrets won't be anything but a minor embarrasment to the few still remaining.  The twelve years I had to work for the yoUPee were some of the longest of my life.  The last six I have been retired went by in a flash, and I wouldn't want to have stayed longer under any circumstances.

Some of the old stories really are funny.  While I was at Surf, an Officer's Special was coming, so the Supt's office called and had me hide all of the foreign empty boxcars so the Supt wouldn't be asked any questions by the GM.  This cost several hours of crew overtime switching the cars out, and a lot of per diem because we loaded all of the oldest cars first, and now we didn't have any SP cars in Lompoc, as we had to take them all to Surf to make room in town to hide the foreigners.


The next year we were supposed to be running all of the freight trains with the empty boxcar doors closed to save fuel.  There was no way that the car departments in the major terminals could close several hundred doors a day, so it just didn't happen.  Two days before the Special the phone rings: "Send a carman to Surf with a come-along and close all of the doors on the main line side."

I have heard stories such as this many times dating way back before all the mergers.  I remember one time when the executive train was coming the word went out to paint every signal along the line so it would LOOK like everything was mantained spic and span all the time.  And, there were many other things.

mdo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A needed clarification.... I have no thoughts of
> ending the mad dog chronicles any time soon.
> Still lots more to fill in, plus with the passage
> of time more of the perps have passed on.
> Remember, howeve, that I still work in the
> industry as a consultant.  In fact I have two new
> confidentiality agreements.
> mdo

OK, how about discussing your disdane for steam on the SP, especially #4449.

HotWater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> mdo Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > A needed clarification.... I have no thoughts
> of
> > ending the mad dog chronicles any time soon.
> > Still lots more to fill in, plus with the
> passage
> > of time more of the perps have passed on.
> > Remember, howeve, that I still work in the
> > industry as a consultant.  In fact I have two
> new
> > confidentiality agreements.
> > mdo
>
> OK, how about discussing your disdane for steam on
> the SP, especially #4449.

GOOD ONE!! JACK!!!  :-)  When I told him we were riding behind it from Minneapolis to Portland that year he harrumphed that the old teakettle should be cut up for razorblades and so I have lovingly referred to it as Old Razorblades ever since!!  Yes, I have heard his rationale for not wanting it on the tracks and I think others would  like to hear it also.  Seriously.  
C.


 

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA