It's not just that the railroads are self-sufficient and fuel-efficient, employ 175,000 workers and have poured $500bn into their trains, tracks and terminals since 1980. They are also quite literally the engines of our economy. America's rail-shipping rates are the world's lowest, reducing the cost of doing business in the U.S.; they've fallen 45 percent in real dollars since the industry was deregulated three decades ago.
