Search

Obama Names Freight Attorney to Amtrak Board
John D. Boyd | Jan 20, 2010 7:44PM GMT

[post brief quote and need to link to source of this article - omv]



My question is: Is this a health decision for Amtrak's future in terms of its relation to the freight railroads?

Whitefish, MT still has a good looking building from the GN era.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/95405702@N00/2757934305/

Lately I've been reading each issue of UPRA's (United Passenger Rail Association) newsletter. The author certainly does a good job criticizing Amtrak for being pessimistic about both routes. Does he have a point that if Amtrak hired an outside firm to do the studies, they would do a better job of ex...

[quote="R36 Combine Coach"]Bombardier currently owns the Superliner design, after purchasing rights from Budd, Boeing and Pullman in 1987.[/quote]

What exactly did Boeing do in the design?

The news reports I've read about the upcoming North Coast Hiawatha restoration study don't state anything about including the Willmar, MN (instead of St. Cloud) routing that the pre-1979 Empire Builder took. Will the study look into this possibility or is it out of the question?

In an effort to "green-up" passenger rail even more than it is said to be, would it be feasible to build solar panels onto the top of passenger rail cars? There is plenty of room on the top and on a sunny day, 10 cars with solar panels might generate a lot of electricity.

Any other ideas?

While now is more of a time to be thinking about practicality than beauty, aren't we almost to the point where we need to be thinking about making our new trains (both HSR and conventional) more appealing to the American people? I don't know about you but I am a bit sick of the ugly superliner + bag...

What is load factor and how is it calculated?
I'm somewhat new to this. Sorry if I ask a few basic questions.

Is the typical, asthetically unappealing 2 p42's + baggage car + superliners or amfleet combination aerodynamically inefficient? Or does Amtrak not go fast enough to cause the effect? Would making this combination more aerodynamic make trains more fuel efficient than they already are and save money?

that looks great.. thanks!

How about the first version of the Mid-Century Empire Builder?

How many Builders departed daily? What times did they depart from both St. Paul and Seattle?

[quote] Is that the thrust of the book from which you quote? [/quote] No, it is only one chapter from the book. The majority of the book is focused on the fact that America, in its car and airplane addiction, has fallen out of love with the beautiful landscape of the country. The solution that Runte...

In Alfred B. Runte's book, Allies of the Earth: Railroads and the Soul of Preservation he argues that not only the public, but the railroads also, were at fault for the demise of the passenger train in the U.S. in the 50's and 60's. Is it true that their original status as utilities and not complete...