Railroad Forums
Moderators: MEC407, NHN503
newpylong wrote:"Without the mentality of Amtrak" - quite large words from a guy who has never worked for a railroad in his life.I think that particular segment is worth addressing because most of us in these forums know better.
MEC407 wrote:Oh yes, I remember that guy. I believe it was some kid named "Don Addams" (no relation to the Get Smart tv star) that was trying to actually promote his own model RR's story as if it were real life... or some such.FatNoah wrote:Also, here's the website:Wow. That web site is not at all confidence-inspiring, and does little to address my fears that this is just another pie-in-the-sky proposal similar to what we saw a few years ago with the so-called "New England Railroad" or whatever it was called. (Does anyone else remember what I'm talking about? There was one man behind it; I believe he was from the midcoast area. The web site was fairly elaborate, but it seemed to be nothing more than this one man's fantasy. He would frequently show up at public meetings and tout his grand plans.)
http://goldeneaglerailwaycorporation.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Edit: I found the original thread on the proposed "New England Railroad." http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=126&t=33897
The Bethel Citizen wrote:Four proposals to possibly return passenger rail service between Portland and Montreal - one of which specifically describes stops in Bethel starting in 2014 - were outlined Tuesday in information provided through the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce.Read more at: http://www.bethelcitizen.com/news/story ... nning-2014" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
. . .
A businessman from the Canadian Province of Québec is conducting an assessment of operating a passenger rail service between Montreal and Boston, Mass. referred to as “the Night Train” or “Hotel Train.” The concept is based on a service departing Montréal at dinnertime. The train will consist of a locomotive, multiple dining cars, lounge car(s), a coach and up to nine (9) sleeper cars. The operation will be at night and, based on current track conditions, will travel at allowable speeds perhaps not to exceed that of freight train operations on the route. By traveling at night, passengers will not be impacted by the longer travel times as they dine, lounge and sleep on the way.
The train is expected to arrive at the Portland (Maine) Transportation Center in time for connection to the early morning Amtrak Downeaster service to Boston.
Bangor Daily News wrote:Representatives from two passenger rail proposals looking to link Montreal to Boston through Western Maine say regular train service could start as early as next year.Read more at: http://bangordailynews.com/2013/09/05/b ... -the-year/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Speaking at a meeting of the Androscoggin, Oxford and Coos Counties Corridor Committee on Wednesday, George Schwanke and Bob Steele of Golden Eagle Railway Co. and Francois Rebello, an entrepreneur from Montreal, said their projects were ready to go as soon as a lease agreement could be reached with the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad, which owns the majority of the tracks through Western Maine.
Rebello, a former politician, said he wanted to begin a night train that would link Montreal and Boston, with possible stops in Bethel and on the southern Maine coast.
An overnight train was attractive for tourists, who could fall asleep in one city and wake up in another, ready for a full day of activities.
Aside from tourists, however, Rebello thought a night train could be a sell for entrepreneurs — compared to the high costs of airfare, rail travel might be a sell for people doing business across the U.S.-Canada border, he said.
His project had investors ready to jump in, and as soon as he could work with the Quebec government and the rail companies to secure access rights to the tracks, the business could take off.
ferroequinarchaeologist wrote:I keep hearing Robert Preston in the Music Man: "I can deal with this problem, friends, with a wave of my hand - this very hand!" ... or maybe it has more in common with the Springfield monorail from The Simpsons.Although remember, at the end of the Music Man River City actually does get a marching band.
I haven't studied the potential for passenger traffic between Montreal and Portland, but I do question (and maybe some contributor to this forum has the answer) whether in fact there is any significant potential for rail travel between those two cities. Prohibition has been repealed, the jet airplane has been invented, the Interstate and the Trans-Canada highways have been finished, and even the Saint Lawrence Seaway has been open for some time for cruises. Border customs inspections would probably add hours to the elapsed time, so I can't see any existing or potential demand for this service. We've all seen this movie. Anybody wanna gimme an Amen?
PBM
ferroequinarchaeologist wrote:Anybody wanna gimme an Amen?Amen.
