Amtrak Pioneer Route

How about bring back the Pioneer with an emphasis on alternate routing between Denver and Cheyenne ?

Go up the BN's ex-C&S with stops in Boulder, Longmont (optional), and Fort Collins. 2 of these 3 are BIG college towns to boot.

I'd like to kick back with a cold one inside a revived Pioneer going up the Front Range.

This would be a good idea but Amtrak needs to 'prioritize":

1) Get their funding

2) Repair, or

3) add More Cars to the Fleet.

AmtrakFan

Hsr-fan,
To your comment, I believe Mr. Gunn is sacrificing a limb to save the body. I once made a camparison, in a previous post, that a stranded hiker had to face. His hand was pinned under a boulder and he was alone and had no way of contacting anyone. So his options were either to wait to die attatched to his hand, or face the inevitable chice of cutting it off with a pocket knife and live to tell about it. he chose the latter and made national news. That's where Amtrak is now.

I know that Oregon's DOT is very interested in reviving the Pioneer, along with Congressman Ron Wyden. Their version, however, may only go as far as mid Idaho.

I have an idea, bring the Pioneer back as proposed, but bring it to Portland, on a schedule that would make it possible to be combined with the Coast Starlight.

I sometimes mention Amtrak issues on a local cable news channel forum, and recently one person asked me about Amtrak service in Southern Idaho. I had to tell that person that the Pioneer does not run.

There is one thing that bothers me, why would the same railroad, that as late as 1970 continued to run two trains between Portland and Denver be the biggest obstacle to bringing back Passenger Trains to the region? All Amtrak, if they ever got the funding, wants to do, is bring back one, probably even tri-weekly on the Pioneer's old schedule. I would name it the PORTLAND ROSE.

I'd name it the City of Portland and run it between Seattle-Portland-Boise-Salt Lake City-Borie (Cheyenne)-Denver and Chicago. More or less on the old Pioneer Sch. Also wouldn't be combined with 5 like the glory days of Amtrak. But as I said in another post Amtrak needs to prortize 1st.

AmtrakFan

I rode the Pioneer Denver to Portland about 10 years ago. It would be nice to see a version return some day.

AmtrakFan wrote:I'd name it the City of Portland and run it between Seattle-Portland-Boise-Salt Lake City-Borie (Cheyenne)-Denver and Chicago. More or less on the old Pioneer Sch. Also wouldn't be combined with 5 like the glory days of Amtrak. But as I said in another post Amtrak needs to prortize 1st.

AmtrakFan

The way Amtrak operated the Pioneer and Desert Wind was almost an homage to the Union Pacific's City of Los Angeles/Denver/San Francisco/Portlnad, east of Cheyenne in the Final Days of operation of Union Pacific Passenger Trains.

I ment when 5/25/35 ran between CHI-DEN as one train also I remember when 5/25/35 ran in one those were the glory days of Amtrak I should of said. Yes the way Amtrak Operated the DW and Pioneer is sad compared to UP.
AmtrakFan

Both operations were trying to save money. That is the Irony. Also, If I remember right from when I took the train, the Pioneer and the Coast Starlight were running within an hour or two of each other out of Seattle. Why not combine it as far as Portland, if it ever comes back? I would like to see a second train on most of Amtrak's Long Distance Routes out West, especially the scenic routes. That way they serve rural communities that still cannot support airline service, and that the Greyhoudn has abandononed, and provide access to all scenic parts. The Empire Builder hits the Rockies in the Daylight, but the Cascades at night, for example.

The combined UP City train was often referred to as the "City of Everywhere'; the Amtrak #5-25-35 as the "Everywhere West" - a one-time CB&Q slogan.

railfanofewu wrote:Both operations were trying to save money. That is the Irony. Also, If I remember right from when I took the train, the Pioneer and the Coast Starlight were running within an hour or two of each other out of Seattle. Why not combine it as far as Portland, if it ever comes back? I would like to see a second train on most of Amtrak's Long Distance Routes out West, especially the scenic routes. That way they serve rural communities that still cannot support airline service, and that the Greyhoudn has abandononed, and provide access to all scenic parts. The Empire Builder hits the Rockies in the Daylight, but the Cascades at night, for example.

I think they should of combined the Pioneer and the Coast Starlight between Seattle and Portland. Also would be nice if they could have a 2nd Train on some of the routes expection the Chief Route because they already have 2 Trains to LA 1 With a Thru Coach and Sleeper.

AmtrakFan

AmtrakFan wrote: I think they should of combined the Pioneer and the Coast Starlight between Seattle and Portland. Also would be nice if they could have a 2nd Train on some of the routes expection the Chief Route because they already have 2 Trains to LA 1 With a Thru Coach and Sleeper.

AmtrakFan

I have always said that it is sad that they renovate Denver Union Station, but only one train a day comes through it each way. I think that it would be nice to bring back the Denver-La Junta, Colorado connection with the Southwest Chief that the Super Chief-El Capitan once enjoyed, as well as the Pioneer, perhaps have the Pioneer extended to La Junta Colorado, and it be the connection. I always wished Montana had at least something better than the service they had before the Carter Cuts. Perhaps a Denver-Billings train linking up with a revived North Coast Hiawatha.

Got something Better a Denver-Billings Run a Seattle-Billings-Denver-Dallas-Houston run also I would like to see them bring a Denver to La Junta run also how about a reincarnated Denver Zeypher like in the 70's.

Go for it!

I would like to see a national network, and the current politically-motivated Amtrak Network is not a National Network. It leaves out at lest 2 of the Lower 48 states. It would be nice to get service to South Dakota, too, but from what I see on railmaps, that would be impossible, especially for one train to link all of the population centers, and most of that trackis probably in poor condition.