May 2, 2008
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Profile America Friday, May 2nd. Usually, traveling around the country on business or for a vacation brings to mind either cars or jet airliners. But many people continue to use a mode of transportation that once dominated the nation the railroad. Amtrak, the national rail service, was founded 37 years ago this week, combining the operations of 18 ailing passenger rail lines. Recently, more than 25 million people hop aboard one of its trains each year to escape traffic congestion and airline delays and cancellations. To put that number into perspective, in the years between 1910 and 1923, the nations railroads served 1 billion or more customers annually at a time when the population was roughly one-third what it is today. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.
Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2008, p. 244
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 729, 730
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2008, t. 1088
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2008edition.html