One the weekend the writer had the occasion to ride the rails or go for a train ride. While a train ride is good, the profitability of it means the government has to give it a  subsidy. During the ride the passenger train passed a freight train and that is a different outlook for your pocketbook. When North America was being settled, the government of the day quickly realized sailing goods and supplies from one coast to another was not going to keep the country together. The history of both Canada and the United States is the governments were driven to link the country together with the railway. Millions of dollars were raised to do the feat. Eventually the goal was realized and then the profitable operations of the railway had to be considered (it was a good thing much of the railway debt was guaranteed by the government). Very soon every town with thoughts of growth wanted a railway and more government guaranteed dollars went into the railway networks. In the last number of years, the survivors of the shakeout from regular economic activity and stock promotion have lead to what are now considered solid railway lines.

The railway companies long ago gave the passenger side to a quasi-government agency and make the bulk of their money on commodities and moving containers. The railway companies move coal, wheat, oil and a host of other products. If the big three are doing well, then railways are making money. The latest boon for railways is the Bakken oil strikes and moving the oil to market. The shale oil is an area without a good network of oil pipelines, which means the next best thing is railway cars. Until the pipelines are built, railways cars will be transporting oil. Hopefully the oil is being shipped at competitive rates for the Rockerfeller money was built on undercutting the competition and getting large rebates from the railway companies. Expecting the oil is shipped at competitive rates, there are a number of companies to start looking at: Burlington Northern and  Santa Fe Railway, CN, CP, Union Pacific, CSX, Norfolk Southern. As well as the companies that make the oil containers for the railways.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, the big railway companies pay a dividend and as the economy begins to move along, the railways will continue to benefit. If you have a love of railways or just like to see them pass by with long profitable trains, the shares are worth looking into.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.