Yes indeedy, Pres. Ike did indeed sign the interstate highway act. But look at the bill title carefully, it's the Interstate DEFENSE Highway Defense Appropriation Act. It would have been constitutionally illegial for Congress to fund the interstate system except for that one word in the title. (How much military traffic is carried by the rails, other than heavy ordanance?)
And another funny thing happened on the way to the forum. Ike had envisioned our interestates to be copies of the German Autobahn, which they are to a degree. But behind Ike's back the roads were redesigned so that they went THROUGH the big cities instead of around them as originally intended. (Look at the political machininations of one Mr. McDonald) Ike was furious. The result is that the interstate system has cost over twice as much as intended. And this does not count the social disruption the interstates have caused have caused in the cities.
What does this have to do with trains, you ask? Lots. For but one example, a perfectly usuable heavy commuter rail system - the Pacific Electric - was scrapped before its time and replaced by freeways - like the Santa Ana Freeway. And now these lovely freeways are either are not being built because of their exhorbitant costs or not being upgraded for the same reason. Our interstate system, as the same implies was never intended to be a commuter system. But that's what it has been used for.
Well what do we have here? Unused or unterutilized railroad tracks. Well I'll be durned. So the shift is on to communter rail - finallly.
So GM did not kill the railroads. If could have happened except that the ICC and other segments of the gummit and the Staggers Act passed just in in time. And the rails and the truckers have finally figgered out that it's a lot better to cooperate than try to chop each other to pieces.
CJ
