Garry:
Not to prolong this, I am well aware of how regulation affected the railroads and how the Staggers act affected pricing and service requirements. I spent 42 years in the trenches, during which time the railroad transitioned from the remains of the Standard railway of the World, to the NS/CSX Transaction, and from bad management to ......
I never said that passenger service didn't loose money, I just said that freight also lost money. Costs were apportioned by a Government Accounting Formula, and that frequently these apportioned charges were "adjusted" to reflect what management wanted to tell the board, shareholders and the general public. Staggers, and the passenger "spin-offs" did not correct bad management, such as what ran the PRR into the ground in the 50s and 60s. It just exposed it.
Note that after Penn Central had their inter city passenger burden taken over by Amtrak in 1971, they still "lost" money providing intercity passenger service....
Amtrak service reflects it's market, and not the image of several loquacious writers from the '60s. Today's NEC service is heads above anything the PRR / NH and even the B&O offered in the 50s or 60s and definitely is superior to the PC offerings of the 60's and early 70's. Off corridor, Long haul is about what it was in the mid 60s, basic transportation. No more, no less. Amtrak seems to be held to many expectations, that no one can deliver. I was too young to notice anything about early 50s rail travel. But I did extensively ride the NH. PRR, RDG, PRSL, B&O and C&O and SCL in the 60s, and FWIW except for maybe the SCL Florida Streamliners, Amtrak is no worse.
After WW2, when alternatives became available, the traveling public wasted no time in deserting the trains......why? Because of the lousy service and arrogant manner that the railroads used to treat their customers. Freight service was somewhat different, as economic and demographic change to the Industrial base, had to be factored in. generally though, the railroads managed to piss off and chase the high value customers, while catering to the low revenue, high whine level industries.
My opinion, based on my experience.
Joe