Adirondack Suspended (Just like that its gone)

BandA wrote: ↑Mon Jul 17, 2023 12:54 pm I assume service to Montreal is attractive to both Americans & Canadians, approximately equally.

Yes. proportionally to their population - maybe?
But look at it from the opposite country point of view. Suppose VIA assumed this train's service instead of Amtrak. Then assume tracks in upstate New York need refurbishing. Do you really expect the Canadian taxpayers to fund track improvements in New York?

Adirondack round trips to be extended to Saratoga Springs: Trains.com

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With the Saratoga horse racing season having begun last Thursday, Amtrak has announced it will extend Adirondack operations 37 miles beyond Albany-Rensselaer, N.Y., to Saratoga Springs starting Monday, July 24.
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The problem is that passenger rail has a very small market share. I assume this is true for the Adirondack also. It is difficult to convince 99% of taxpayers to pay for a project that benefits 1%, and trackage that runs to the international border sticks out like a sore thumb. It's the same problem you have with town roads - plenty of support to repave Main St, but not much support to repave Shelbyville Rd / Springfield St that crosses into the next town even if traffic levels were the same as Main St.

Let's not forget that New York Trailways runs multiple buses every day to Montreal from NYC and other locations in New York. They do stop in Saratoga Springs, and they put on another bus serving Rensselaer specifically when the suspension happened. That's a good stop-gap, though they skip Port Henry and Westport.

Maybe this route could be a candidate for DMUs? When needed they might lead a regular train to Saratoga or whatever and continue as maybe a 1 or 2 car train to the border especially when CN puts these heat restrictions in? No Canadian passengers on train beyond border until someone in Canada provides reliable bus connections to Montreal. South bound from border would just connect to end of train left at Saratoga and continue south. It probably would be best to base DMUs at Albany and maybe even add or remove at Albany?

It is time for Amtrak and state supported services to wake up about service. Use 2 power plant DMUs on thin routes which the Adirondack is especially in off seasons.. Of course DMUs are not available now. Also even the few RDCs left could not even meet these demands in the short term. Plus most of the few RDCs left do not have the second power plant anymore. Not good especially in winter time.

Officer (Captain?) West Point, Amtrak's A-Day to Date experience with Diesel self-propelled equipment, or otherwise DMU in newspeak, has been one to forget.

The "rebuilt from the ground up" Budd RDC's Amtrak acquired for the Black Hawk (Chi-Dubuque) were nothing but a mechanical nightmare and were withdrawn after two years of that train's six year life. The "hand me downs" from the PC, including the NH's "Roger Williams" set, assigned New Haven Springfield, were also reportedly nightmares (BTW, I speak first hand regarding the Black Hawk).

The final straw were the likely only "duds" that Budd ever built - and those were the SPV-2000's, or otherwise a self-propelled Amfleet. Their intended assignment was Springfield-Wash where at New Haven, they were coupled to a Corridor train, thence "dragged" the 316 miles to Wash. I cannot recall the exact dates they were in that intended service, but they flopped and apparently Connecticut bailed them out finding some CDOT routes to live out something resembling a normal service life.

So with this history in mind, I doubt if Amtrak is looking for a redux.

Finally, lest one think "I'm hypocritical" with my comments over at the METRA Forum, where I hold that METRA's pre-COVID ridership is simply never coming back and I'm suggesting they replace their some-50yo with overseas sourced DMU equipment for their off-peak services, a passenger would be on one of such for, maybe, twenty miles. I've ridden such overseas and the engine noise in the Stadler cars is less objectionable than I found the RDC's to be (full disclosure; that ride was Salzburg to Freilassing - all of ten klicks).

SPV’s were used not just on CTDOT branches but also MNRR branches. I remember them well; sounded like a jet engine. I’m not sure if they were Amtrak hand-me-downs or not. One of them is owned by a friend and temporarily stored at the Danbury Railroad Museum. It may see excursion service this fall on the Naugatuck.

RDC’s are ideal for shuttle or excursion service. I suppose they could run a few times a day north from Albany. But before they invest anything, they should lease a few from existing owners such as All Earth.

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Sat Jul 22, 2023 6:05 am (full disclosure; that ride was Salzburg to Freilassing - all of ten klicks).

Off topic, but lest one wonder why Freilassing?

Germany has reinstituted passport controls, and such represents a "frontier" between Austria and Germany. I don't think they have withdrawn from Schengen, but I believe there are provisions allowing a member to initiate emergency provisions. In this case, first it was the Migrant crisis, followed by COVID, and presently The War.

l. As for the NS trains those and all other CP make a left at Rouses Point towards Delson QC not straight through the hand thrown switch that brings you to CN property towards Cantic QC.



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The NS haulage trains stage in the Farm Yard in Rouses Point, if they are short enough to fit, otherwise they get left on the siding. Every night the CN brings down the southbound, and the D&H crew meets them, if rested. The CN crew then backs the train out of the Farm Yard, and pulls back onto the CN side. At one point crews from the D&H or CP proper brought the train to Montreal. CN Taschereau Yard is right next to CPR Cot St.-Luc. That practice has been gone for many years. When the job started, the CN brought the trains down. At the time a CN leader was required. Sometimes it didn't have one, and the VN crews refused the train, or possibly filed penalty claims. Then we go the trains. When CP started running D&H back across the boarder, the crews on the CN job often outlawed because we were the lowest priority in Taschereau. Then the CN took it back. I happened to be the engineer on the first ever run.


As far as the troubles with CN go, I think that the government could persuade CN. Don't forget that CN has vast holdings in the US. I'm sure that they get government grants from time to time. Maybe a clause can be added to the agreement that CN must run 68 and 69 in a timely fashion, or the grant will be withheld.

Gilbert B Norman wrote:

Gilbert B Norman wrote: ↑Sat Jul 22, 2023 6:05 am (full disclosure; that ride was Salzburg to Freilassing - all of ten klicks).

Off topic, but lest one wonder why Freilassing?

Germany has reinstituted passport controls, and such represents a "frontier" between Austria and Germany. I don't think they have withdrawn from Schengen, but I believe there are provisions allowing a member to initiate emergency provisions. In this case, first it was the Migrant crisis, followed by COVID, and presently The War.

And its all for show, there are no Border Controls along any of the well trodden hiking paths between Germany and Austria, and the highway crossings not in the Salzburg/Kufstein border areas have 0 border controls. But specifically on trains between Salzburg (Ös) and Freilassing (DE) (to bring back on topic) Bundespolizei board maybe every third train at Freilassing and check one or two coaches picking people (seemingly) at random. (Males traveling alone between 18 and 40 your odds go wayyyy up of being checked). But they dont stamp passports or anything and there are no forms, and my friend talked his way through having only his German work visa. So unfortunately even this level wouldnt be possible on the US/Can border.

Even though we're getting OT here, I'm not about to at my age hike into Germany from Austria

I do agree, that on one trip, I was not required to detrain at Freilassing, I had my Passport in hand and here comes this "knockout #10" Bundespolizei, who didn't even look at it. She just gave a nice smile and in perfect English, "Thank You".

I'm "going over" in about three weeks, so I'll see first hand what that border control looks like.

In an attempt to get this "northern hemisphere" this squabble between CN and Amtrak as usual is over $$$ no shock to me. Its always over money. The recent amount I've heard isn't that much in comparison to previous issues. I think it comes down to Wilmington/DC and how they look at this as a loss of a gate nothing more nothing less. If Amtrak pays the vig the weather suddenly gets better on the CN.

Duly noted, Mr. Junkie.

But lest we forget, Europe is also in the Northern hemisphere

<cough> Adirondack </cough> thank you Railjunkie.

Have to wonder if not paying increases more savings.? That increases bonus's? As an aside Adirondack late leaving NYP due to adding equipment.

Amtrak Northeast

@AmtrakNECAlerts
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1h
As of 9:37 am ET, Adirondack Train 69, which is scheduled to depart New York (NYP) is delayed departing due to the late addition of equipment. Updates to come.