What Happened to the Train?by Mary Shacklett Most of us acknowledge the train as a form of public transportation. It is also part of the American heritage. Trains in the nineteenth and early twentieth century did much of the people moving. They brought commerce to the cities that they stopped in, and helped to define the culture of those cities. But today most trains in the U.S. specialize in hauling freight. It is trains in Japan and Europe that carry people from city to city, and across the countryside with amazing speed and near-flawless adherence to timetables. These trains are cost-effective, efficient and preferred modes of transportation. What happened in America? Buck Harmon, longtime Olympia resident, recalls the drive to build the Centennial Train Depot in Lacey in the early 1980's. At that time Mr. Harmon, who had spent his career in government human services, served as a volunteer on the committee to build the depot, which would be used by Amtrak. "The project took over seven years," he noted. "It all began when George Barner (then county commissioner) called a meeting, and said that Olympia didn't have a train depot." At that time, a "Main Street" program had been launched throughout the country to redevelop and revitalize cities the size of Olympia. Mr. Harmon was President of Olympia's Main Street effort. The train depot proposal fit nicely with Main Street's direction. "The first job was fund-raising," recalled Mr. Harmon. "Some funding was available, but we needed more. We formed the Amtrak Depot Committee, and I became the President." Funds arrived in the form of grants and donations of labor. "There had been a train depot on Rich Road in East Olympia at one time - but it had deteriorated over time, and was little more than a shed," said Harmon. "With the new depot, our plan was to upgrade what we had. The project enthused Amtrak, who even considered placing an agent there." Amtrak never was able to follow through with its agent. Instead, the semi-public organization entered into a struggle for the funding of its capital investments in tracks and rail cars. The struggle occurred despite the fact that passenger demand exceeded Amtrak's carrying capacity ... and that struggle continues today. Harman explained, "The government funding that is available for highways and airports just wasn't and isn't available for trains. Without that support, the capital improvement investment needs, which were and are enormous, can not be met." Harmon recalled his days as a youth in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the 1930's. At that time, he was assigned to a road building crew in Southern California, and had the opportunity to travel around Southern California in the old "red car" trains. The 1930's Southern California "red cars" covered a territory from the Mexican border in the South to San Luis Obispo in the North. "When we got out of work on Friday night, we would often get a pass to ride the train anywhere in Southern California over the weekend," Harmon remembered. "It was exciting. Of course, we went to Hollywood. There was also the beach and anywhere between." Public transportation by train in Southern California was a grand success. The next logical step was to expand the railway infrastructure with more routes and services. In the 1940's, a contract for the red car line was bid - but the primary bidders for the contract chose instead to lobby against it. Marketers for the gasoline, tire and automobile industries had already foreseen that Southern California would become the world's largest automobile market. An efficient red car public transportation system would only jeopardize that market. The red car project died, and eventually the existing red car system was dismantled. Harmon observed that even the right of ways for the red cars were bought and made inaccessible for future rail transportation plans. Southern California became the world's largest automobile market - and the traffic congestion and smog that are its hallmarks today began to surface in the 1950's. There has been intermittent talk of bringing back public transit - but the right of ways that existed in Southern California during the red car era would be cost prohibitive to reacquire. Mr. Harmon, who also lived and worked on the east coast, is able to cite some rail transportation successes that have been backed by government funding. They are proof that rail in America can be a success. One example Harmon quickly points out is the commuter train network into New York City from the suburbs of Long Island and Connecticut. Another is the rapid transit train between New York and Washington, D.C. Yet despite these isolated successes, trains are not a part of most Americans' commuting lives. When the U.S. is compared to other industrialized countries, it lags far behind in the availability of trains as accessible, convenient and affordable public transportation. Mr. Harmon and others would like to see increased use of train transportation for Olympia - both within the city and along the I-5 corridor, on which Olympia is a stop. "Within the city area, the train, or possibly a trolley, would be a nice way to travel," Harmon observed. "There is constant talk about traffic problems, and as the years pass, this will only intensify... . There are not enough streets and avenues available to handle all of the traffic, and I believe that we would see more people taking trains." On a day to day basis, Harmon sees this working especially well for single commuters. Would the train depot project be as enthusiastically backed today as it was in the 1980's? "I believe there would be more public support than ever," affirmed Harmon. "When we were working on the project in the 1980's, many people wanted to take their children for their first train rides as part of the American experience. The train is quite picturesque. There are also individuals who would prefer not to fly if they had a viable alternative." Harmon noted that the Pioneer train, one of the oldest routes from Chicago to San Francisco - with a route into Seattle - recently curtailed operations on May 9. It is yet another indication of the continued lobbying efforts on a national scale by automobile manufacturers and others to thwart Congressional support of public funding for train transportation, while funneling the support into airports and highways. Harmon does not believe that most people are aware that rail transportation needs the same level of infrastructure support from Congress as airports and highways to be a viable form of transportation - and that public patronage alone will not meet the capital improvement requirements. "The same kind of support that is available to the airports and highways must be available to the trains," he said. "It's a matter of enough people getting enough Congressmen to do it." Mary Shacklett is a staff writer for the Green Pages.
Back to Home page. |
