by Gilbert B Norman
Ridgefielder wrote: ↑Wed Feb 17, 2021 1:58 pmAgain, when both KCS and UP made substantial investments and assumed operational oversight of the two largest Mexican systems, the word was out: get rid of the passenger trains - and "Don't even think of a Mextrak".Greg Moore wrote:I want to toss out a radical concept.The natural Mexican service extension would be to bring the Texas Eagle from San Antonio across the border to Monterrey.
But, perhaps Amtrak should consider expansions into Mexico? Problem is, I'm not sure how many would be viable and if they'd work.
The government knew they had a hopeless make work bureaucracy on their hands. One photo I saw from a noted rail photographer, contemporary of mine, was of the communications room at Buenavista (Mexico passenger station) was this army of telegraphers clicking away during 1972, or thereabouts. Even back then, the standard was teletype; labor intensive compared with today's electronic communications, but much less so than telegraph.
So the government complied with the wishes of their "Benefactores del Norte".
During the 1972 funding legislation (surprise!!! Amtrak was not to need funding, or so said the Incorporators), Amtrak was mandated to start international services. This resulted first with The Montrealer, followed by both the Adirondack, International, Pacific International, and the Maple Leaf. To Mexico, the Inter American started as a Fort Worth-Laredo daylight train ATSF to Temple, thence MP to Laredo. Actual International service was "to begin at a date to be announced". An X-border transfer was arranged (no formalities needed) with taxicabs, an English-speaking NdeM representative and the NdeM agreed hold the A'guila Azteca to Mexico, DF if necessary. Your Tourist Card was prepared aboard the train.
With the political instability, and even if some of the most beautiful and intriguing scenery I've seen anywhere on my travels is in the Interior, I don't know who in their right mind would be about to undertake such travel today. I guess if you have need to go to a major city or want to a resort area where you can fly in fly out, that's one thing. Otherwise, I got popped at enough times in The Nam (really, not all that often, but still "enough") to avoid "going to look for it".
But still waiting on the "announcement".