Study says billions needed for freight rail infrastructure

SARAH KARUSH The Associated Press

York (Pennsylvania) Dispatch

Article Last Updated:09/20/2007 02:04:37 PM EDT

 

WASHINGTON -- Major U.S. freight railroads will require $135 billion in infrastructure investment over the next 28 years, more than a quarter of which will have to be funded by the government, according to an industry study released Thursday.

 

The study, conducted for the American Association of Railroads, does not factor in possible growth in passenger service. Amtrak and some commuter lines operate trains on the freight network.

 

------

On the Net:

 

Association of American Railroads: http://www.aar.org/

 

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/portlet/article/html/fragments/print_article.jsp?articleId=6948902&siteId=138

from www.railwayage.com :

 

Prince/Finkbiner report: 10 steps to a stronger intermodal system

 

Intermodal specialists Theodore Prince and Tom Finkbiner are the authors of a new report that characterizes intermodal as “the freight system’s orphan,” and outlines a 10-step program to strengthen “modal connectivity.” Asserting that intermodal “has failed to attract meaningful support because it does not fit within the legacy modal governance funding by the federal government,” the report goes on to say: “The consensus is that freight is talking, and the federal government is not listening. We find ourselves with funding mechanisms as dysfunctional as the policy mechanism itself. We, the freight transportation industry, must focus on the future, put our arguments aside, and unite on a national transportation focus."

 

Full story at:

 

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking_news.shtml

Dammit. This time you beat me to it.

The link to this story also has a link to a pretty good video on this rail project in Knox and Licking Counties.

 

No ordinary ribbon-cutting

By Dylan McCament, News Staff Reporter

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

 

MOUNT VERNON — A deafening horn blew. The diesel, electric locomotive at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad depot on Monday broke the thin ribbon draped in front of it and chugged slowly away to the south.

 

It was no ordinary ribbon-cutting.

 

Full story at:

 

http://www.mountvernonnews.com/local/07/11/20/railroad.project.html

Good to hear the project has been completed.  Should help out both Mount Vernon and Newark to attract industry to the area.  I was actually surprised to hear the rail line was being rehabbed - I always figured the "powers to be" in Licking and Knox Counties had this line pegged for a rails-to-trails project. 

Here's a photo I took at the "ribbon-cutting" for the line.

Wooden ties? That's the upgrade? :(

 

Most of our lines here have been replaced with concrete, jointed rails, etc.

Concrete ties are used only on busier freight railroad lines with lots of gross tonnage (like those hosting lots of coal trains) or high-speed passenger rail lines. And I assume you meant continuous welded rail, which is an upgrade over jointed rail?

Oops, yeah. My posts have been rambling lately.

Link to a new print and broadcast ad campaign by the CSX railroad.

 

http://www.csx.com/?fuseaction=media.how

 

One set of ads speaks to how much of what we consume is hauled by rail, while the other touts the environmental benefits of moving freight by rail.

 

The TV ad for the enviro-benefits is pretty clever.  You'll see what I mean when you run the ad.

 

 

I really like the Norfolk Southern advertisments myself.

 

http://www.aar.org/Newsroom/NS_Ads_2007.asp

http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/Media/Television%20Commercials%20&%20Video/

Link to a new print and broadcast ad campaign by the CSX railroad.

 

http://www.csx.com/?fuseaction=media.how

 

One set of ads speaks to how much of what we consume is hauled by rail, while the other touts the environmental benefits of moving freight by rail.

 

The TV ad for the enviro-benefits is pretty clever.  You'll see what I mean when you run the ad.

 

 

 

Pretty sophisticated!!  :clap:

NS keeps kicking butt. This might allow them to expand their capital improvement budget....

 

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking_news.shtml#Feature3

 

Dec. 5, 2007

NS leads U.S. Class I's with return of 14.16%

 

Norfolk Southern is maintaining its edge over other U.S. Class I railroads in return on net investment (ROI). The latest report from the Surface Transportation Board shows NS with an ROI of 14.6% in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, up from 13.7% in the corresponding period a year ago. Soo Line’s earned a return of 12.64%, up from 9.62%; BNSF Railway, 11.21%, up from 10.58%; CN/Grand Trunk, 10.41%, up from 884%; Kansas City Southern, 10.19%, up from 8.99%; Union Pacific, 9.02%, up from 7.07%; and CSX Transportation, 8.06%, up from 7.39%.

 

The average rate of return for all U.S. Class I's in the 12 months ended Sept. 20 was 10.40$% compared with 8.64% a year earlier.

 

 

 

Shipping ports spring up inland

By Jordan Schrader, USA TODAY

 

It's nowhere near an ocean, but plans are in the works to turn Prichard, an unincorporated crossroads in the mountains of West Virginia, into an international port.

 

Prichard, about 20 miles southwest of Huntington, is one of several locations nationwide where state and business leaders are building or planning inland ports — terminals away from the coasts where goods can be moved among trucks, trains and even planes. A facility opened near Dallas in September, and ground has been broken for one near San Antonio. Other ports are planned in California, North Carolina and Virginia.

 

Read more at:

 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-16-inlandports_N.htm

History Channel's Modern Marvels had an hour-long segment on U.S. freight railroads. It was a good program -- saw it at 8 p.m. and it's on again now at midnight.

January 11, 2008

Buffett buys more BNSF stock

 

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has purchased an additional 29,600 shares of BNSF Railway common stock, bringing its stake in BNSF to 17.2%. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said Berkshire paid $76.55 per share on Monday, Jan. 7. BNSF shares closed at $80.06 on Thursday, Jan. 10.

 

As always, Berkshire declined to comment on its most recent purchase, but Buffet has said in the past that his investgment philosophy is to buy into companies with intrinsic value and growth potential.

 

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking_news.shtml

Heartland Corridor construction begins

By Jean Tarbett Hardiman, Herald-Dispatch, January 10, 2008

 

The Heartland Corridor construction is getting under way.

 

Work has begun to raise tunnels in Virginia and in southern West Virginia between Antler and Gordon, according to Norfolk Southern Corp., which has been working with local, state and federal government officials on the project.

 

Full story by clicking title:

Tunnels to be raised for tall rail cars

Monday,  January 14, 2008 2:57 AM

ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Roofs are being raised on railroad tunnels in southern West Virginia and Virginia to allow more goods to reach the Appalachian Mountains, the Columbus area and beyond.

 

Full story at:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/01/14/z-apoh_doublestacktrain_0112.ART_ART_01-14-08_B4_CN926DK.html?sid=101

The Heartland Corridor project has been discussed for well over a decade. The line is quite a speedy one through the mountains and is relatively easy for trains to navigate. The Prichard, WV industrial complex has also grown substantially over the past ten years, partially on news of the intermodal hub that is slowly developing there, and the access to Interstate 64 from US 52. US 52, which parallels the line in West Virginia, is slowly being upgraded to four-lanes; a bypass of Prichard was completed about three years ago, along with a stub south of Interstate 64, with the 10 miles in between to be completed sometime before 2012 (latest STIP).

Probably not the best place for this, but the high winds early this morning sent another intermodal train into the drink of Sandusky Bay....

 

http://www.cleveland.com/news/photos/gallery.ssf?cgi-bin/view_gallery.cgi/cleve/view_gallery.ata?g_id=8183

 

I say "another intermodal train" because this seems to happen whenever a light intermodal train is crossing the Sandusky Bay causeway next to  Route 2 and in high winds.

February 8, 2008

CSX Transportation launches carbon calculator

 

CSX Transportation Friday unveiled its "Carbon Calculator," an online tool for shippers to determine their best environmental choice of transportation options. The calculator calculates the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions savings of specific rail shipments, providing comparative data among transportation choices.

 

 

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking_news.shtml

the link to the web has some pretty neat graphs as well

 

New Era Dawns for Rail Building

Lines Add Tracks, Upgrade Tunnels To Take On Trucks

By DANIEL MACHALABA

February 13, 2008; Page A1

 

MERIDIAN, Miss. -- America is back to working on the railroads.

 

For decades, stretches of track west of this town were so rough that trains couldn't run faster than 25 miles an hour. Lanie Keith, a locomotive engineer for Kansas City Southern, recalls waiting for hours when trains stalled on a steep curve on a stretch of single track between Meridian and Shreveport, La.

 

But over the past two years, at a cost of $300 million, track crews have transformed the 320-mile route. Installing 960,000 crossties and 80 miles of new rail, they've turned a railroad backwater into a key link in a resurging national transport network. Mr. Keith now skims parts of the improved track, called the Meridian Speedway, at nearly 60 miles an hour. "You went from moving like a turtle to a jack rabbit," he says.

 

Full story at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120179835382432337.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

 

 

Great article.

If anyone ever doubted the economic impact of a growing railroad industry and how it's fueled by the need to move more "stuff" by rail.... read on.....clearly the impact is not only for big metro areas.  Plus it's just a very well-written story.

 

March 3, 2008

This Land

In a Town Called Bill, a Boomlet of Sorts

By DAN BARRY

 

BILL, Wyoming --.For decades this speck of a place called Bill had one, two or five residents, depending on whether you counted pets. But recent developments have increased the population to at least 11, so that now Bill is more a dot than a speck, and could be justified if one day it started to call itself William.

 

In mid-December those developments appeared like some Christmas mirage: a 112-room hotel and a 24-hour diner. Here. In Bill. Amid the swallowing nothingness of grasslands, where all that moves are the wind, the antelope, the cars speeding to someplace else — and those ever-slithering trains.

 

Full story at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/us/03land.html?scp=2&sq=Bill%2C+Wyoming&st=nyt

What a great article. And photo.

I have a good friend who works for Union Pacific.  Here's how he describes Bill, Wyoming.

 

I’ve been to Bill, Wyoming.  I have some control systems there.  To get there you fly into Casper Wyoming, rent a car, drive all the way to nowhere, make a left and drive for 2 more hours and you are at Bill!

Why Warren Buffett is buying railroads

Improved technology and fuel efficiency have made the rails a perfect industry for the 21st century.

By Michael Sivy, Money Magazine editor at large

Last Updated: March 20, 2008: 12:38 PM EDT

 

(Money Magazine) -- Want to invest in a green industry that employs the latest technology, reduces U.S. oil consumption and is priced very attractively? Look no further than the railroads. Laggards for decades after the 19th-century boom ended, they're hot again.

 

Find this article at:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/07/pf/sivy_apr.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2008031218 

 

http://www.railwayage.com/breaking_news.shtml#Feature1-3-28

 

Late Breaking Rail Industry News

 

March 27, 2008

Railroads, Railway Age on Fox Business News

 

The financial performance and overall health of the railroad industry were discussed this morning on Fox Business News’ “Money for Breakfast.” Railway Age Editor William C. Vantuono and financial analyst David Silver of Wall Street Strategies were questioned on the link between railroad stock performance and U.S. Gross Domestic Product, railroad pricing and market power, the threat of re-regulation, and the industry’s safety record.

 

More at the link above:

Interesting read on the Freight Industry and how even it is starting to be effected by the current economic situation.

 

 

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200803281441DOWJONESDJONLINE000856_FORTUNE5.htm

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080412/NEWS11/804120372/-1/NEWS

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Article published April 12, 2008

 

CSX plan for railyard wins converts, though some in area still opposed

North Baltimore facility making progress

 

By DAVID PATCH

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

NORTH BALTIMORE, Ohio - From their current front door, Tim and Beth Apple can see the house along State Rt. 18 in Wood County's Henry Township that Mr. Apple was building before CSX Transportation came calling last year.

 

Full story at link above:

A Switch on the Tracks: Railroads Roar Ahead

Global Trade, Fuel Costs Add Up To Expansion for Once-Dying Industry

 

By Frank Ahrens

Washington Post Staff Writer

Monday, April 21, 2008; A01

 

RADFORD, Va. -- When Bob Billingsley hired on with Norfolk Southern railway 31 years ago, he was a rookie on work crews that were closing unused lines as the nation's economy turned its back on the railroads.

 

Now he's in charge of raising the roof of a Norfolk Southern tunnel in southwestern Virginia to clear headroom for the double-stacked container cars that have become the symbol of the industry's sudden surge thanks to a confluence of powerful global factors.

 

Full Story at:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/20/ST2008042002409.html?sid=ST2008042002409

 

 

Also a very good video at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2008/04/18/VI2008041801271.html?sid=ST2008042002409

Freight by rail enjoys comeback

Track being laid for first time in 80 years as fuel costs hurt truckers

Wednesday,  April 30, 2008 3:12 AM

By Frank Ahrens

THE WASHINGTON POST

 

RADFORD, Va. -- When Bob Billingsley hired on with Norfolk Southern railway 31 years ago, he was a rookie on work crews that were closing unused lines as the nation's economy turned its back on the railroads.

 

Full story at:

 

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/04/30/railroads.ART_ART_04-30-08_C8_5RA29I0.html?sid=101

 

Noozer, normally we trade e-mails saying you posted something that I've already posted. Or that I've posted something you've already posted.

 

But now, I get to say that you've posted something that you've already posted. Look at the message immediately before yours....

 

Talking having a moment of deja vu!

If you thought the Heartland Corridor project was big, check out what CSX just announced:

 

CSX Announces National Gateway to Improve Flow of Freight

Program Launched at Ohio Offices of Pacer International, a CSX Customer

Released: May 01, 2008

 

Dublin, Ohio - May 1, 2008 - CSX Corporation today launched the National Gateway, a $700 million public-private infrastructure initiative to create a highly efficient freight transportation link between the Mid-Atlantic ports and the Midwest.

 

When completed, the National Gateway would provide greater capacity for product shipments in and out of the Midwest, reduce truck traffic on already crowded highways, and create thousands of jobs that directly or indirectly support the National Gateway.

 

CSX has already committed $300 million to the National Gateway, and will work with several states and the federal government to secure additional funding.

 

The National Gateway incorporates two primary parts. First, CSX would build or expand several high-capacity, job-producing intermodal terminals where product shipments are exchanged between trucks and trains. At the same time, CSX would work together with state and federal government agencies to create double-stack clearances beneath public overpasses along the railroad. Double-stack clearances allow rail carriers to stack intermodal containers atop each other, enabling each train to carry about twice as many cargo boxes. Currently many overpasses only accommodate single-stack trains.

 

"More and more, the nation is becoming aware of the tremendous safety, economic and environmental benefits that railroads create. Our trains can move a ton of freight 423 miles on a single gallon of fuel, and one train can carry the load of more than 280 trucks," said Michael J. Ward, chairman, president and chief executive officer of CSX. "The National Gateway leverages those benefits to the fullest by combining the resources and expertise of the public and private sectors."

 

The National Gateway was launched at the offices of Pacer International, a CSX customer, in Dublin, Ohio with Governor Ted Strickland. The governor has pledged to work with state and federal officials to support the initiative, which calls for two new intermodal terminals in Wood County and Columbus at a cost of $130 million to CSX. The terminals will ultimately spur the development of related businesses and thousands of jobs to support them.

 

"In Ohio, this initiative helps solidify our state's position as a transportation gateway for the country," said the Governor. "This is a major competitive advantage that can greatly benefit the citizens of Ohio, and the state of Ohio is committed to doing its part to help build this sort of needed infrastructure. In doing so, we'll also be setting an example for other states around the nation."

 

"We are delighted that CSX and Governor Strickland are taking these important steps to ensure the future viability of our transportation system," said Michael E. Uremovich, Chairman and CEO, Pacer International.

 

The National Gateway will enhance three existing rail corridors that run through Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. Those corridors include:

 

--The I-70/I-76 Corridor between Washington, D.C. and northwest Ohio via Pittsburgh;

--The I-95 Corridor between North Carolina and Baltimore via Washington, D.C.; and

--The Carolina Corridor between Wilmington and Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

The U.S. Department of Transportation forecasts that by 2020, overall freight tonnage hauled in the United States will have grown by 70% from 1998 levels. The National Gateway infrastructure initiative is designed to address the ever-increasing demands placed on the nation's capacity strained freight network.

 

A study of the National Gateway project by Cambridge Systematics, a nationally recognized transportation research firm based in Cambridge, MA found that every $1 of public money invested in rail infrastructure improvements will lead to $8 in public benefits. The study noted that by improving the flow of freight and shifting freight transportation from the highway to the railway, the initiative will improve safety, relieve congestion, benefit the environment and reduce highway maintenance costs. For more information, visit www.nationalgateway.org.

 

CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., is a leading transportation company providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia, and connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at the company's web site, www.csx.com.

 

ABOUT PACER INTERNATIONAL (www.pacer-international.com)

Pacer International, a leading asset-light North American third-party logistics and freight transportation provider, through its intermodal and logistics operating segments, offers a broad array of services to facilitate the movement of freight from origin to destination. The intermodal segment offers wholesale services provided by Pacer Stacktrain (cost-efficient, two-tiered rail transportation for containerized shipments) and Pacer Cartage (local trucking), as well as retail services through its Rail Brokerage group (intermodal marketing). The logistics segment provides retail truck brokerage, trucking, warehousing and distribution, international freight forwarding, and supply-chain management services. Pacer International is headquartered in Concord, California. Its intermodal and logistics operating segments are headquartered in Concord, California, and in Dublin, Ohio, respectively.

 

Contact:

Robert T. Sullivan

1-877-835-5279

[email protected]

 

Sounds big. I suspect most of the height limitations are on the railroad segments south of D.C. The CSX line from D.C. through Pittsburgh and across Ohio already handles double-stack container trains. I don't know about the CSX lines that go south into Columbus though.

More detail...

 

CSX's National Gateway initiative to include South Side rail yard

Company plans $50 million investment as part of Midwest project

Thursday,  May 1, 2008 8:35 PM

By Mike Pramik

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

CSX Corp. plans to invest $50 million in its South Side rail yard as part of a multistate project designed to increase the flow of goods through the Midwest.

 

The National Gateway initiative, as the company calls it, spans six states and involves building several new rail terminals and solidifying miles of track to support double-stacked shipping containers. The result would be more goods coming to Ohio from the East Coast, the company said today.

More at:

 

http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/05/01/national_gateway.html?sid=101

A Toledo NW Ohio Perspective:

 

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080502/NEWS11/805020364/-1/NEWS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Article published May 2, 2008

 

Planned CSX terminal is part of national project

By DAVID PATCH

BLADE STAFF WRITER

 

CSX Transportation's planned rail terminal west of North Baltimore, Ohio, is part of a broader "National Gateway" campaign to improve freight transportation between mid-Atlantic ports and the Midwest, the railroad announced during a news conference yesterday in Dublin, Ohio.

 

Full story at link above:

To allow freight to flow between North Baltimore and ports in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland, CSX has requested Ohio spend about $60 million to raise or replace 16 low bridges that span its Chicago-Pittsburgh-Washington main line in eastern Ohio, spokesman Bob Sullivan said.

 

I'd really like to know what these are. CSX has been running double-stack trains on this line since the 1980s. Yes, I even have pictures of them. :)

 

I have a question regarding horsepower. Granted, a train once its at speed, uses very little horsepower due to all the momentum of the cars. This is reflected in how little fuel they use per ton-mile as compared to semis. With double stacked cars, when do the locomotives say uncle? Do they just keep adding locomotives, or have they started installing more powerful engines?

Today's locomotives are far more powerful and fuel-efficient than what was running even ten years ago.  The major railroads are all gradually switiching over to diesel-hybrid locomotives. A train that would have taken three or four  locomotives in the 1990's may take only one or two today (depending on the load).

It's common to see locomotives today having 4,000 or 5,000 horsepower, whereas 20-30 years ago most road locomotives would generated perhaps 2,500 to 3,000 hp. Today's locomotives also have sophisticated computer controls that automatically adjust power or gearing or sand to the locomotive's wheels when some are experiencing wheel slippage. And while hybrid technology is coming along, it's not yet where companies like GE or EMD want it. They don't yet produce the horsepower of non-hybrid models.

 

Here's a couple of newer, high-horsepower units leading a Norfolk Southern double-stack freight train through Bedford, OH...

 

Here's an example of a new GE Diesel/Electric Hybrid:

I'd really like to know what these are. CSX has been running double-stack trains on this line since the 1980s. Yes, I even have pictures of them. :)

 

Maybe its a different route like an express route or something, or maybe a long haul route. I was wondering the same thing.

 

Stupid as this sounds I'm totally into train investment. My stock purchases have been heavily weighted that direction recently. I think these companies are going to see crazy high revenue when people realize trucks a affected 4x by fuel prices.

So is Warren Buffett.  He now holds major holdings in four Class-I railroads: Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX and the Norfolk Southern.  In fact, I just read where Union Pacific just announced a stock split.

^ Yeah, last year I substantially ratcheted up the amount of BNSF for a fund that I helped manage. Here on the forum, we are ahead of the curve regrading transportation business issued as compared to the average investor. Between the time I made the decision and it's execution (there was a lag between submission and execution), Warren Buffett snatched up a bunch of BNSF, increasing it's price significantly. So, we had to buy it at the higher price, but I think that there's so much potential on the rails that I'm still very happy with my decision. Plus, I felt really smart having Buffett clone my idea.

Since you got your information about transportation here, it seems we're all smarter that Warren Buffett! Too bad my checkbook doesn't reflect that...

 

Maybe its a different route like an express route or something, or maybe a long haul route. I was wondering the same thing.

 

CSX owns only one rail corridor between Washington D.C., Pittsburgh and Northwest Ohio. This is the former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co. rail line that passes through Youngstown, Ravenna, Kent, Akron, Lodi and Greenwich. From there west, it intersects with other CSX lines to Columbus, Toledo, Detroit, Indianapolis and St. Louis while the former B&O continues west to Chicago and carries a bulk of the traffic.

 

There's a possibility that the double-stack trains that have traveled this route since the 1980s are shorter than today's stack trains. There are discussions on the railfan message boards, like trainorders.com, that there are larger double-stack trains coming and that the overhead clearances through the Tidewater region, Washington D.C., tunnels in the mountains of the panhandles of Maryland and West Virginia, plus in Pennsylvania, and overhead bridges in Ohio lack the clearances for the new double-stack trains.

Good story from CNN.com on the new generation of diesel locomotives:

 

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2008/05/01/marciano.train.of.thought.cnn

CSX to expand in Ohio

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

 

COLUMBUS - CSX Corp.it will spend $300 million on upgrades that would allow trains with double-stacked cars to run from the East Coast to the Midwest.

 

Full story at:

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080505/BIZ/305050003/1076/BIZ

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/05/05/story2.html   

 

Friday, May 2, 2008

CSX commits to new south-side intermodal facilityBusiness First of Columbus - by Adrian Burns

 

CSX Corp. will forge ahead with a long-planned expansion of its rail capacity that's expected to bring $130 million in investment to Ohio.

 

Full story at link above:

 

 

May 08, 2008

CSX: Rail yard's coming

Findlay Courier

By Denise Grant

Staff Writer

 

NORTH BALTIMORE -- Groundbreaking for a $60 million rail yard just west of North Baltimore will be held by the end of this year, CSX said Wednesday.

 

Full story at:

http://www.thecourier.com/templates/print.asp?d=050808_story1,2008,May,08&c=n