My revenge on Menk:
According to Fred Frailey, W. Edwards Deming, the fellow who taught
the Japanese how to manufacture and put them ahead of the Americans
for awhile, was hired by Menk to prove that the Zephyrs lost money.
In 1984, while riding the Lake Shore Limited, I ate dinner across the
table from a Japanese Engineer who was a purchasing agent for the
Sumitomo Corporation, who had the contract to reequip Caltrans'
former SP Bay Area commuter rail service. This gentleman was on his
way by train to San Francisco to conduct business related to this
project.
It was with pride that I showed him the Loch Lomond, the slumbercoach
on the train, particularly pointing out the Fiberglas construction of
the single rooms. He was impressed and commented that the hairline
cracking in spots was normal for fiberglass and would not compromise
the structural integrity of the room. Needless to say, the Loch
Lomond, then 25 years old, would run another 10 and would only be
retired because it did not meet the requirement for retention toilets.
In any case, I did not know at the time of Deming's role in trying to
kill the Zephyrs. Now that I know, showing the Loch Lomond to this
Japanese individual was even more enjoyable.
sjl
--- In CBQ@yahoogroups.com, dhelec@a... wrote:
> So in short, you really liked the guy! : )
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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