Railroad Workers Protest Proposal to Cut U.S. Subsidies
By Jamea A. PurcellÛÓ'The Washington Post Thousands of railroad employes protesting planned cuts in Amtrak and Co nr ail service march on Capitol Hill yesterday. Story, B6</br></br>Thousands of railroad workers, many of them on the track to unemployment, marched on Capitol Hill yesterday to protest planned cutbacks in federal rail subsidies.</br></br>The demonstrators came from all over the United States, from cities and towns served by the federally subsidized freight (Conrail) and passenger (Amtrak) rail systems that the Reagan administration says are draining billions of dollars from the U.S. Treasury.</br></br>10,000	and 18,000 persons, depending on whether you believe the District of Columbia police or the unions involved ÛÓ came mostly from the Northeast. Their presence here disrupted rail and passenger service in places such as New York and Philadelphia, where Conrail and Amtrak officials said they were ÛÏexperiencing some difficulties due to a lack of personnel,Û as one put it.</br></br>If the service disruptions mattered to the assembled masses on the grounds of the CapitolÛªs West Front, not many seemed to show it. They had their signs: ÛÏHey, Dad, Mom Supports Us. What Do You Do?Û and ÛÏWe Want Work, Not Welfare.Û They had their fears: no trains, no jobs.