What! A Bridge Collapsed?Who would have thought

Paulsboro,NJ

Well it's happened. AGAIN.But this time it made the news unlike hundreds of incidents that should have and did not leaving the Public in a potentionally dangerous place without them even knowing it.
And now I can say without fear of retribution that I was one of the Whistleblowers on the Railroad for many years who made calls leaked info and generally tried to inform the Public and Federal Agencies as to the dangerous yet routine operations  carried out daily by my Employer with the full knowledge of Management and my Direct Superiors.

Movement of Hazardous Materials over sub par,defective and trackage not LEAGALLY approved to handle such movement is a common practice. Millions of these"Moves" are made without incident daily thanks to the skill and diligence of Train Crews who improvise and are at a extremely heightened state of operation to get the job done.

At slow speeds and respect for potential disaster freight moves the country and it is dam near impossible to address all the right of way,let alone equipment that needs repair across the Nation to bring our Transportation Infrastructure up to date.

There is no question that Rail service today is light years ahead of where it was when I was working and that the Agency does do well with what they have to work with.
But like so many things service is only as good as the weakest link in the system and that would be the bridges,tunnels,trackage and the Signal Systems that control traffic flow.

This is where the real problems are.Bridges that are in so much need of repair it's a crap shoot for some trains to make it to the other side.No joke.

These are literally accidents waiting to happen because we have failed to address the issue and it is a complicated one for sure.

None of the Carriers involved want this situation to exist after all they are in the business of moving commodities and profits plunge when right of way is shut down.

But like other industries they need Government aid to get the job done and that has been repeatably beat down by the GOP for what reason is beyond my comprehension.  It only gets more expensive to accomplish as time goes by and a major event could cripple the Country for months at costs that would stagger the imagination.

And this is not new.As far back as 1973 I made complaints as to a bridge that straddles the Hudson River in Up State New York  on the old B&A or"Boston Line".Thats just one.We went over hundreds and it only takes one to create a disaster.

I'm writing this more for a HEY OVER HEY!!!! than assigning blame.  Circumstance is most responsible but this should be a wake up call much as the I 35 was.Remember that ?

More to be revealed when I can,Chemo is a tiring thing.