Does anyone think we are going to go back to railroads if the oil sheikhs keep raising prices every few months? At least we don't have to worry about outlaws on horses riding up to rob us every so often.
I think that an investment in barges and towboats might be good if you have money to speculate with. The rising price of fuel has shippers reviewing how they move things, and rail is looking better due to it greater efficiency per ton-mile. Barges are even more efficient than rail per ton-mile, however, they have highly restricted service areas and are much slower. The late 1980s through 2000 were lean years for the railroads due to very low fuel costs that reduced the cost spread between transportation modes.