Some Vaguely Related Train Travel Items of Possible (or Passable) Interest

 Amtrak has unveiled its new generation of locomotives – 70 of them will be built and delivered over the next two years – to be put into service along the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington. These beauties are powered by electricity drawn from overhead wires (the catenary) and will run at speeds up to 125 miles-per-hour.

 Airlines are being squeezed financially and the fastest way back into the black is cost cutting. Short-haul flights are expensive and it’s becoming increasingly evident that small and medium-sized towns all across the mid-west and west are losing air service. Elected officials and business leaders are concerned because they all know that good public transportation is essential to the economic well being of their communities. As an alternative to air service, many are looking for ways to restore a proven transportation alternative: passenger rail. Click here for one example.

All public transportation, including passenger rail, requires some government subsidy, of course, so these public officials are seeking financial support for passenger trains from their state governments … and that can be a hard sell, sometimes for the wrong reasons. Take, for example, the case of the influential Iowa legislator who cut all funding for both freight and passenger rail from the state budget. What is he thinking, you ask? Well, in his private life this guy is lawyer who represents a big trucking company. A conflict? Ya think??

 And, speaking of disgraceful things, there’s Pennsylvania Station in New York City, or NYP as it appears in Amtrak timetables and in emails between rail enthusiasts. That the original magnificent structure (above) was ever torn down is the original and monumental disgrace …

… but equally shameful is the crowded, claustrophobic remnant, with the rattling escalators leading down, down, down to the dark, dank, dingy platforms. Worse yet, as disgraceful as the platforms are, there aren’t nearly enough of them.  At least, for the first time in a long time, there’s what appears to be serious talk about an expansion and upgrade. 

Photos from On Board the Southwest Chief and the Canadian

 (click to enlarge photos)

The Depot Inn & Suites in La Plata, Missouri is a railroad-themed hotel with interesting memorabilia on display throughout the facility. And, within a hundred yards of so of the hotel is this lookout, a small structure, heated in winter and cooled in summertime, that overlooks the Burlington Northern Santa Fe main line. Train enthusiasts can hang out here and get plenty of opportunities to watch BNSF freights

passing by just a few yards below. (There's one now!) I took this photo from Amtrak's Southwest Chief en route from Los Angeles to Chicago.

 Minutes after departing Fort Madison, Iowa, and just as I'm summoned to lunch in the dining car, the Southwest Chief crosses the Mississippi River and enters the State of Illinois. (This river truly deserves to be called "The Mighty Mississippi", doesn't it!) We'll be in Chicago, end of the line for the eastbound Chief, in just four hours.

 Days later, I'm heading west again aboard VIA Rail's Train # 1. As mentioned in an earlier post, this train featured two dining cars and four dome cars. Each of the latter features a lounge area and a compact galley where pastries and fruit are prepared.

There is only one word to describe the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg: incredible. Well, actually,   there are a lot more words that come to mind. Frankly, can't decide if I admire this huge building ... or if I absolutely hate it, but it's just a few hundred yards from the Winnipeg railway station and you sure can't miss it! This photo was taken from my "cabin for one" as the train was resuming its journey to Vancouver and the Pacific.

More Photos Taken from VIA Rail's Train #1

(Click on the photos to enlarge.)

 The Canadian normally spends 90 minutes or so in Jasper, unloading trash, restocking the dining car as may be needed, and washing the windows in anticipation of the spectacular scenery to come as the train heads deeper into the Canadian Rockies. Today, however, because we’re making up time from the late start we got in Toronto, we’re only here for 45 minutes and the window washing is skipped. Our train is at the right; that's a spare locomotive to the left ... just in case.

 Jasper is an interesting town. Not very big, but a great jump-off point for those who might want to rent a car here, spend a few days touring the area, then continue the rail journey on to Vancouver when the next train comes through. Or, better yet, catch the Skeena from here to Prince George and Prince Rupert.

 Lots of wildlife around here. Passengers have reported seeing moose, deer, caribou and even a bear. This is a lucky shot of some Bighorn sheep … just got a glimpse of them and snapped as we rolled by without much hope of catching them. Note that they are completely unconcerned and continue grazing as our stainless steel monster rumbles by.

The mountains here are quite unlike the Rockies you cross in Amtrak’s California Zephyr. They seem more rugged somehow. And there’s more snow up there that lasts longer. But they are certainly impressive, especially from a seat up in one of the Canadian’s four dome cars.