Amtrak Desert Wind Los Angeles LA - Las Vegas NV Past Present Future

[Tadman]

I'm saying that gray area of 10-30% slower than car is all within the acceptable area of making the train still competitive. Given a random four hour drive, that would be 4:24 to 5:12 train ride. While this sounds like a lot longer, consider this: The drive is 4 hours of staring at the road. The ride is 4:24-5:12 of productivity or sleeping. In other words, after driving half a workday, I would have to make up that work day. After riding on the train, I arrive having some semblance of completing that half work day.

It was never my intent to actually workshop the specific drive time versus train time of LA-LV, because the LA metro area is so big and traffic is so variable there that it could be a 3 hour swing on that drive.

[Backshophoss]

On a good day,to get from one end of the LA Basin to the other end can be 2-3 hr slog on the Freeways,3 or more hrs when traffic is heavy and
dealing with accident/construction ,congestion delays. Have done this too many times to count, NOT FUN at times.
Congestion has reached as far as Barstow,you might see "open road" after the I-15/40 split. All this from a cab of a 18-wheeler!
On weekends and holidays,it was a "sea" of Lemmings in 4 wheelers headed to "Lost Wages".
Along the way many a 4-wheeler trip never made it across the Desert, breakdown/overheating littered the shoulders/Rest Areas.

On a good day,8.5 to 9 hours to Loat Wages,bad day, 10 hours to the South city limit.

[Jeff Smith]

Came across this in an article about Brightline: https://thenevadaindependent.com/articl ... ppointment

Two Desert Wind trains meet on the east side of Cajon Pass, CA in 1981. (Roger Puta/Public Domain)

[Gilbert B Norman]

I knew The Late Roger Puta "along the way". I first knew him as a fellow student at the University of Illinois. Upon graduation, he served in the Navy as a Commissioned Officer, while I acknowledge "I dropped" and served in the Air Force in the enlisted ranks.

Roger had a railroad career where he first was with the AT&SF; when later he accepted a position with the Western Pacific. At that time, he and I, shall we say, "went separate ways".

I subsequently learned he passed away before reaching age 50.

Requisceat in pacem.