{"id":12972,"date":"2015-09-10t17:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-10t17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/throwback-thursday-rails-then-and-now\/"},"modified":"2015-09-10t17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-09-10t17:00:00","slug":"throwback-thursday-rails-then-and-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/throwback-thursday-rails-then-and-now\/","title":{"rendered":"throwback thursday: rails then, and now"},"content":{"rendered":"
on sept. 8, 1883, the northern pacific railroad celebrated completion by hammering in the final spike<\/a> in gold creek, mont. the rail line spanned from lake superior to the puget sound. at the time<\/a>, rails were continuing to build toward their peak.<\/p>\n “railroading in the 1890s would see several east-west and north-south main lines in operation including no less than five routes connecting” the west coast with the midwest and the deep south, american rails reports. but by the early 1920s<\/a>, several issues pressed on rail as a mode of transportation: the monopolies created by railroad owners, heavy regulation and increased travel by air and auto. <\/p>\n since the ’20s, rail use in the united states has diminished, with the industry suffering bankruptcies, takeovers and, in an attempt to revitalize the rails, eventual deregulation by the staggers rail act of 1980<\/a>.<\/p>\n in more recent history, there has been a push for high-speed rail<\/a> in the u.s., including $11 billion spent since 2009 to develop faster trains \u2014 an effort that was supposed to be president obama’s signature transportation project, according to the new york times<\/a>. while we haven’t seen these improvements yet, there are three noteworthy high-speed train projects<\/a> in the works: one each in texas<\/a> (which will use the japanese bullet trains<\/a>), florida<\/a> and california<\/a>. these all would connect two major cities and would cut travel times basically in half, all while providing passengers with a comfortable ride and lessening the burden on the environment as well. <\/p>\n