Wayne & others. Most people do NOT know that Railroads in USA are totally private companies, like a Wal-Mart or Delta Airlines. All that land crisscrossing the Continent is taxed, the rails and ties and Locomotives and workers are paid by them. We railroaders don't pay into Social Security...and the list goes on. Then AMTRAK..formed by the US Gov't. pays a small fee to run AMTRAK trains on that private track. And AMTRAK still can't make money. Jeeze, anyway.