NEC Future: HSR "High Line", FRA, Amtrak Infrastructure Plan

If all of that was done, what would the next list be, is what i'd like to know...

This article sites (but does not identify) a magazine article on the Beatles first US trip on which it takes "two hour and 15 minute train trip" (presumably from NYP to WAS to play at the Washington Colosseum, which is right beside Union Station's yard. The author says:

Maybe five or six years ago, I was reading a magazine article about The Beatles’ first trip to America in 1964 [...] learning nothing new because I know all there is to know about all that until I came across a line that just staggered me. It wasn’t anything about the group; rather, it was a reference to their “two hour and 15 minute train trip.” Their what?! That trip today, as you know, is at best two hours and 40 minutes, but that is only for the “high-speed” Acela, and in truth that’s only theoretical. It’s usually more like two hours and 55 minutes. That is, if it gets there, as we might add after Tuesday night’s tragedy.

It seemed totally beyond belief that the train ride from New York to Washington could have been faster in 1964 than it was the year I was reading this article. But it was true: I was so floored by this that I called Amtrak and some rail experts I know to check, and it checked out. The reason: aging sections of track that trains have to slow down for.

It sounds to me like he took an answer for why it *might* be so and accepted it as confirmation that it had been so.

Arlington wrote:This article sites (but does not identify) a magazine article on the Beatles first US trip on which it takes "two hour and 15 minute train trip" (presumably from NYP to WAS to play at the Washington Colosseum, which is right beside Union Station's yard.

Well that was over 50 years ago and not that much investment relative to the overall needs of the corridor has been made since. It's amazing the infrastructure has held up as well as it has.

On a different note, that's correct they were originally scheduled to fly down to D.C., but a snowstorm halted air travel so their manager Brian Epstein rented what must have been a PRR sleeper for the Fab Four and those traveling with them. They actually walked through the train and talked with some of the passengers (and I presume posed for photos and gave autographs as well for any fans onboard). So the Beatles were indeed hosted by the "Standard Railroad Of The World".

Coincidentally "Ticket To Ride" was in the US charts exactly 50 years ago today

NH2060 wrote:

Arlington wrote:This article sites (but does not identify) a magazine article on the Beatles first US trip on which it takes "two hour and 15 minute train trip" (presumably from NYP to WAS to play at the Washington Colosseum, which is right beside Union Station's yard.

Well that was over 50 years ago and not that much investment relative to the overall needs of the corridor has been made since. It's amazing the infrastructure has held up as well as it has.

On a different note, that's correct they were originally scheduled to fly down to D.C., but a snowstorm halted air travel so their manager Brian Epstein rented what must have been a PRR sleeper for the Fab Four and those traveling with them.

So did they operate express? That's gotta help elapsed trip time.

If they did I would think they would have made roughly the same stops as the Acela: Newark, Philly, Wilmington, Baltimore, and DC. I don't know if the PRR at the time -if ever- had a non-stop or a 1-2 stop express train between DC and NYC.

The best time ever scheduled before the Metroliners was the Afternoon Congressional, which took 3 hours 35 minutes in each direction, stopping at Newark, 30th St., Wilmington, and Baltimore (skipping Trenton and North Philadelphia was most unusual at that time). Someone's memory or notes are wrong--there's no way they made it in 2h40 unless they arranged a Death Valley Scotty thing with the PRR (which I suppose they could have done!). However, I think Trains would probably have picked it up if that were the case. The maximum speed at any point at that time was 80mph, except for numerous locations, including Frankford Jct., which were much slower. If my math is right 225 miles at a steady 80mph start to stop would take 2 hours 48 minutes--I don't think it happened.

I'll go with the quoted 2h15 trip being a typo for 3h15. Yes, MAS was 80 mph back then but that was open to a bit more "interpretation" by the engineer than nowadays. Still, the GG1s probably couldn't get much over 100 mph pulling a load. They certainly couldn't do that kind of speed for the entire run. It would also take a while to get up to speed. A 3h15 trip (average speed ~70 mph) is just on the cusp of believable. 2h15, or even 2h40, is fantasy.

One morning in 1963 I experienced such "interpretation" all the way from Baltimore to New York. I boarded the Silver Meteor, which was 30 min. late at 6.30 am, sat in the obs, which was empty at that hour of the morning, and clocked a steady 90 wherever 80 was permitted. As I recall, we got to New York pretty much on time. I doubt if the engineer was reprimanded.

Is anyone sure the article in question said they went Nyp - Was? Maybe it was Nwk - Bal or something like that in which case 2h15 could be true.

Does anyone of a map of the maximum track speeds on NEC on a section by section basis?

There's this average speed map that someone scraped :

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015 ... .html?_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hmmm... I'm looking for speeds in NJ as well.

Your best bet is probably trying to find an old timetable on the web somewhere, what your asking for isn't exactly public info..

Is that cat upgrade complete in Nj yet? Isn't that supposed to raise the speed to 135 between New Brunswick and Princeton Jct?

drewh wrote:Is that cat upgrade complete in Nj yet? Isn't that supposed to raise the speed to 135 between New Brunswick and Princeton Jct?

No, it should increase speeds for the Acela trains or their replacements to 160 mph on that straight stretch of tracks. Acela trains are already going up to 135 mph over these tracks. Amfleet trains speeds will not increase over 125 mph because they are limited by other factors.