Ha! Yes, it sure would keep those B-52s humming, wouldn't it:-)
On a serious note, you're right, k-289, railroads had a serious time during that time frame. I remember an official from the SD Wheat Growers at the time, Warren Grebner, made the remark that we as a country should invest more in the rails because it would spare the roads. I thought of that line every time I took the road into Savage, MN (major loading point by the Mississippi River. Road just kept getting bumpier and bumpier the closer you got to Savage. I remember when the Milwaukee Road rail line when bankrupt in the early 80s (I think). The State of South Dakota ended up buying a railroad--w/o it, there would have been very limited access for grain out of the state.
