1. Why are there no high-speed comfortable passenger trains?
   
   1864 Interior of Pullman's First Sleeping Car -- a converted coach -- note that there is not much sleeping space!
   
   
   
   1930s Interior of Lounge car on the Illinois Central's Daylight Limited from Chicago to New Orleans. Note the Rattan Chairs.
   
   
   
   1920s Interior of the Buffet Car on the Sante Fe's Daylight Limited from Chicago to Los Angeles.
   
   
   
   Union Pacific Railroad Station in Salt Lake City
   
   
   
   The Pennsylvania Station in New York City. Torn Down in 1964.
   
   
   
   
2. Why did the Railroads pay excise tax on diesel fuel until 2005? Indeed, why do they have to pay local, state, and federal taxes at all? What do they get in return?
   
   
3. Why do Railroads have to pay for road crossings?
   
   
   
4. The U.S. government began regulating railroads in 1887. This regulation became so onerous that most major railroads were bankrupt by 1917. The government tried to repair some of the damage it had done with the Transportation Act of 1920. However, the 1920 Act introduced even more distortion into the transportation market because it implicitly favored trucks. Subsequent high subsidies to rival transportation modes prevented the railroads from innovating and they never regained the position they held in the economy at the turn of the 20^th Century. For example:
   
   
   1. Railroads require about $2.48 in assets to generate $1 in revenue while the trucking industry requires only $0.48 for $1 in revenue. Reason -- they are subsidized by local, state, and federal governments. Government builds the infrastructure for trucks using, in part, tax revenue from the railroads.
      
      
   2. A study conducted by the state of Washington of shortline railroads concluded that an active mile of shortline railroad can save from $17,000 to $63,000 in annual costs to either resurface or reconstruct non-interstate highways.