Analysts say railroad companies are in good shape for reaping the benefits of recovery.
But investors should ask whether the old patterns of economic recovery will repeat. As signs of a downturn in the technology business become harder to ignore, some investors are looking to stocks of a bygone era. Since the beginning of the year, investors have pushed up the share prices of railroads, historically among the first groups of stocks to revive after recessions. And stock prices for producers of the aluminum, steel and coal historically borne on rail cars have gained recently at a rate similar to that of the Nasdaq's decline. Even some sales-oriented railroad analysts offer caveats about buying into the industry.