Nixon White House Tapes › Tape 514 › Conversation 514-010

Nixon & Volpe on Railroads and Department of Transportation

Tuesday, June 8, 1971 · 12:12 PM ET · Oval Office · 15 sec

ParticipantsNixon, Richard M. (President); Volpe, John A.Conversation514-010 on Tape 514 (tape position 01:48:47–01:49:28)StartTuesday, June 8, 1971 at 12:12 PMEndTuesday, June 8, 1971 at 12:12 PMRecording deviceOval OfficeSourceNixon Library record for 514-010 ↗

AI Summary

President Nixon met with Secretary of Transportation John A. Volpe to discuss ongoing challenges facing the railroad industry. During the brief exchange, Volpe outlined his intent to personally inspect railroad operations and address systemic inefficiencies. The two leaders agreed to continue monitoring the situation and coordinate further efforts to resolve these logistical problems.

  • Railroads
  • Department of Transportation
  • Infrastructure
  • Transportation Policy

Audio

Download MP3 · 0.6 MB

Transcript (AI-generated)

This transcript was generated automatically by AI (WhisperX) and has not been reviewed for accuracy. Names and numbers are often wrong; speakers are not identified. Do not cite it as authoritative — verify against the audio and the finding aid.

Download transcript (.txt) · JSON data

Well, look, there are railroads on the scene here, and I'm going to look at them, and I'm going to kick them.
You can't have the one end go back to the other.
I'll be back.
Well, we'll work it out if you can.
If you can't, it's okay.
I'll be here to figure out what's happening.

NARA Description

On June 8, 1971, President Richard M. Nixon and John A. Volpe met in the Oval Office of the White House at 12:12 pm. The Oval Office taping system captured this recording, which is known as Conversation 514-010 of the White House Tapes.

Nixon Library Finding Aid

Conversation No. 514-10

Date: June 8, 1971
Time: 12:12 pm
Location: Oval Office

The President met with John A. Volpe

     Volpe’s schedule

Volpe left at 12:12 pm

Also recorded on June 8, 1971

  • 514-008 11:06 AM · 48 min — President Richard M. Nixon, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, Stephen B. Bull, George P. Shultz, Milton Friedman, Oliver F. ("Ollie") Atkins, and Manolo Sanchez met in the Oval Office of the White House from 11:06 am to 12:00 pm.
  • 514-009 12:00 PM · 1 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Stephen B. Bull, and John A. Volpe met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:00 pm to 12:01 pm.
  • 514-011 12:15 PM · 6 min — President Richard M. Nixon, John W. Driggs, Mrs. John W. Driggs, Andrew Driggs, Douglas Driggs, Thomas Driggs, and Jon M. Huntsman met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:15 pm to 12:18 pm.
  • 514-012 12:18 PM · 13 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 12:18 pm and 12:21 pm.
  • 514-013 12:21 PM · 1 hr 14 min — President Richard M. Nixon, Rose Mary Woods, H. R. ("Bob") Haldeman, and Ronald L. Ziegler met in the Oval Office of the White House from 12:21 pm to 1:38 pm.
  • 514-022 1:38 PM · 2 min — United States Secret Service agents met in the Oval Office of the White House at an unknown time between 1:38 pm and 2:57 pm.
  • 004-072 1:45 PM · 15 sec — President Richard M. Nixon and Stephen B. Bull talked on the telephone from 1:45 pm to 1:46 pm.
  • 004-073 1:46 PM · 19 min — Tricia Nixon Cox, White House operator, unknown person(s), and Jeffrey Donfeld talked on the telephone at an unknown time between 1:46 pm and 6:50 pm.

All 40 conversations from June 8, 1971 →

Cite this conversation

Conversation 514-010, June 8, 1971. White House Tapes, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Audio and AI transcript via Easy Nixon, https://www.easynixon.org/tapes/514-010 (accessed October 12, 2026).