But last Fall, after over four-decades at the grill, Joe decided to pass the spatula . Though it looked like he quickly found a buyer in Regina Hamilton, she closed the diner after running it for only three days and backed out of the deal for undisclosed reasons. The new owners, Gordon and Charles Hebler, already own two other area restaurants between them, and it sounds like they plan to keep Joe's winning formula intact. Read the full Eagle account . In other words, much of Amtrak's funding has gone to pay for things like salaries and fuel, as well as for track maintenance and equipment purchases.
Roadside agrees .
For the past ten years, we have called for a level transportation playing field. Nobody expects the Interstate highway system to make a profit, so it perplexes us that Congress expects Amtrak to do so. Congress continues to hobble the passenger system, which now operates at a fraction of its peak in the 1920s. At one time, you could take a train almost anywhere. Frankly, we would also prefer to see Amtrak operate on a private basis, but as long as the Federal government plans to stay in the transportation business, it must stop treating our rail system like an unwanted guest at the buffet table.