That one Oly to Seattle Amtrak that went too fast around the corner makes me sure you're right about our RRs. Looking back (I'm not much of a rail historian, b

That one Oly to Seattle Amtrak that went too fast around the corner makes me sure you're right about our RRs. Looking back (I'm not much of a rail historian, but) from what I do know, the US rail system was built-out to serve resource exploitation (including populating the mid-continent), not passengers. So personal autos got a leg up on them, in the mid-20s, before they could afford better passenger routes (outside of major inter-city corridors). I'd guess that if it wasn't for WW2, US passenger rail would have croaked much sooner than it did. The Interstate system didn't help either. AND THEN they were allowed to rip up the old tracks. Ay yay. So clearly some interests were aligned against the RR's. And our atmosphere has and is paying the price.