"All Aboard! Archives and Special Collections (ASC) at the University of Louisville will open a multi-gallery exhibit celebrating its extensive collection of Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N) materials Nov. 6, with a 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. reception in the east wing, lower level lobby of Ekstrom Library.

ASC also will honor 25-year volunteer Charles B. Castner, a former L&N public relations professional, for his work with the collection.

"All Aboard! A Celebration of the L&N Collection in Archives and Special Collections will include photos, documents, employee magazines and ephemeral material, as well as static models of mid-20th century L&N equipment.

"The stories of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Co. are both large, as in its role in the development of the coal and mineral fields of Alabama and Eastern Kentucky, and small, as in the story of the rescue of Western Kentucky University basketball fans caught in a snowstorm on their way back to Bowling Green from a game in Lexington, said Carrie Daniels, ASC director. "This exhibit features not only trains, rails, tunnels, tickets and travel brochures, but also the regular folks who breathed life into the system and kept it rolling.

For more information, contact Carrie Daniels, 502-852-6676.

On August 28, 2012, our current administration released the final regulations designed to double the average fuel economy of the American auto fleet to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. This regulation calls for vehicles to demonstrate an average fuel economy of 35.5 mpg in 2016, using 2012-2016 as the base years.  It further requires that the model years 2017 through 2025, cars and light trucks must average 54.5 miles per gallon.

KBT did some research on the progress automakers have made toward this 54.5 mpg standard by 2025. The following chart shows projections:

"Automotive News reporter Gabe Nelson recently sat down with Christopher Grundler, director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality at the Environmental Protection Agency, to discuss the progress in improving fuel efficiency on vehicles plying U.S. roads. This is part of what Grundler said about the progress toward reaching a nominal average mpg of 54.5 by 2025.

"What is striking to us is how well the industry is doing. They are beating the standards, and they are well ahead of schedule. Our estimate for the 2013 model year, when all the sales numbers come in, is that 27 percent of the new-car fleet will be in compliance with the 2016 greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards."

In other words, over one in four vehicles in the 2013 model year (defined as cars released between October 2012 and September 2013) sold in the U.S. have mileages over 35 per gallon, including hybrids, hybrid plug-ins and electric vehicles, when the targeted nominal average CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standard for the current model year is just over 31 mpg.

Grundler cited three 2014 model examples that are ahead of the annual targets established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for measuring fuel efficiency to see if vehicles are complying. Recently regulators forced Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) to lower its fuel economy rating for the C-Max hybrid compact; the company had used testing of the Ford Fusion to extrapolate fuel economy for the C-Max and agreed to financially compensate customers.

Again, KBT applauds these significant accomplishments. 

However, as we reported in 2012, these new fuel efficiency standards will likely reduce and deter needed investment in our streets, roads, highways and bridges. 

White House Press Release on the 54.5 MPG Standard