tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.comments2024-01-25T07:47:23.112-06:00Hi / Zeph / 400Mike Hickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15257599090818492294noreply@blogger.comBlogger200125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-64152865899937534372024-01-25T07:47:23.112-06:002024-01-25T07:47:23.112-06:00My Grandfather was the engineer. My mother was one...My Grandfather was the engineer. My mother was one of his daughters. I have some paperwork in regards to the investigation to this. It seems like nothing changes so many takes on what happened, My grandfather is described as a Hot Head, but yet competent, Non or possibly a drinker? A blow hard story teller.<br />I never met him, but is just like the "Spin" of things here in 2024, He died its a tragedy and we all got to blame somebody and add our own spins. He wasn't a great father to my mom, he was "Half" (Mother) Native American and had his own demons living in the time he did. My families history with the railroad on both sides of my parents is ALL RAILROAD. and of which the are NOT GOOD.<br />I don't blame them or anyone, But these times and people deserve respect.<br />RIP Jesse J. Pruitt<br />JoKoch007@gmail.comJohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10025064728994373019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-61569221958907795732021-07-29T17:25:57.810-05:002021-07-29T17:25:57.810-05:00The summer of 65 or 66 I worked for a Montana comp...The summer of 65 or 66 I worked for a Montana company that had purchased the ties from the relocated roadbed. The trestle was bypassed by the huge fill that the line currently uses. I operated the tractor with a two tine front end lift that extracted the ties from the ballast. Loaded the on flat bed trucks and drove to Athol. When we had enough material we loaded them into gondolas with a cable wrap underneath.<br />Job lasted for 3 or 4 weeks. There was a tunnel south of the trestle that had enough of a curve that the center section was completely dark.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01821934176820344552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-82864436593351063512021-07-13T19:39:53.591-05:002021-07-13T19:39:53.591-05:00Wisconsin rail map https://wisconsindot.gov/Docum...Wisconsin rail map https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/travel/rail/railmap.pdfonEaglesWings0808https://www.blogger.com/profile/06693168666211315070noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-23599169937310632522021-06-01T17:22:36.608-05:002021-06-01T17:22:36.608-05:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02603844065168401517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-63165073405009077172020-10-12T10:56:47.273-05:002020-10-12T10:56:47.273-05:00I wrote this essay comparing Saint Paul’s Union De...I wrote this essay comparing Saint Paul’s Union Depot and Oslo Central Station. When built, both stations were nearly equal in teams of track capacity, yet in 2020 both stations are very different. I see that we’ve got work to do before Saint Paul Union Depot is as busy as Oslo Central Station is now.<br /><br />Saint Paul Union Depot was built in 1917 with 18 tracks, with two tracks that now have scheduled trains.<br /><br />Oslo Central Station was built in 1987 with 19 tracks, with 18 tracks that now have scheduled trains. While the USA was building Amshacks, the government of Norway was building a 19 track station.<br /><br />In 2020 Saint Paul’s Union Depot now has two passenger trains daily, with diesel trains.<br /><br />In 2020 Oslo Central Station has 940 passenger trains on the weekdays and 690 passenger trains on the weekends, with electric trains.<br /><br />At Saint Paul’s Union Depot a second daily round-trip from the Twin Cities to Chicago might happen someday.<br /><br />The Follo Line Project, planned to open in 2022, will connect Oslo Central Station to Ski Station, with much of the line in two, 12 mile tunnels. The Follo rail line is planned for at least 160 mph, decreasing travel time from Oslo to Ski from 22 to 11 minutes. The Follo Line will allow the capacity in the South Corridor from Oslo to increase from about twelve to forty trains per hour. Can you imagine if the same amount of money that is being spent on the Follo Line was spent on track upgrades around Saint Paul’s Union Depot?<br /><br />There is no direct train connection from the Saint Paul Union Depot to the Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport.<br /><br />Flytoget, the 130 mph Airport Express Train, takes passengers from Oslo Central Station to the airport in 19 or 22 minutes.<br /><br />In conclusion, I searched for and got some interesting information on Oslo Central Station. Imagine if your Saint Paul Union Depot had 940 daily trains. Saint Paul would have 49,000 fewer car trips to/from Saint Paul per day, with a reduction of 45,000 tones of CO2 emissions per year. If the Norwegian Government invests in their passenger rail network to afford 940 daily trains for Oslo, why can’t Minnesota make a similar investment for Saint Paul?<br />James Patrick Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15205917964978882398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-44398460596705302262019-02-26T13:14:25.482-06:002019-02-26T13:14:25.482-06:00Considering that train stuck in the snow in 1969 c...Considering that train stuck in the snow in 1969 caused all rail travel on that route to be halted for 2 days AND that the train only had 2 or 3 passengers, you could surmise the railway didn't have to prepare any difficult financial analysis to come to their unsurprising conclusions. CQB<br />There is an article on this event in the current (Feb-March 2019) issue of the magazine named South Dakota. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17627744736736456330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-73309114782009402822019-02-26T13:07:19.844-06:002019-02-26T13:07:19.844-06:00The last passenger train did indeed stop running i...The last passenger train did indeed stop running in April 1969. We are close to the 50 year anniversary. In January 1969, that train was stuck in snow from a blizzard for 42 hours in South Dakota between Big Stone City and Milbank. It only had a V-shovel on the front, which was insufficient for those conditions.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17627744736736456330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-83839158770887312012019-02-24T20:48:12.525-06:002019-02-24T20:48:12.525-06:00I went to google maps and found what looks like tr...I went to google maps and found what looks like trestle supports, really hard to see, and was wondering if this is where that trestle was located. I have seen a little booklet from the NP group, many, many years ago and it stated that the lead truck on the lead diesel engine is still in Granite Lake. Any idea of how deep the lake was at the time of this wreck. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06909839074101446211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-85256487714531677432018-10-16T22:52:42.012-05:002018-10-16T22:52:42.012-05:00Wonderful writing. As a professional surveyor, I ...Wonderful writing. As a professional surveyor, I often find myself digging back into railroad history for locations of old monuments and rights-of-way. These stories are incredible as we advanced from primative to modern methods of engineering and the driving of trains. Speed records were to be set as we moved away from steam into the full realization of diesel/electric power. I live a few miles from the Granite Lake, Northern Pacific disaster, and have witnessed train parts in Granite Lake (fishing). Knew, but never knew, the real story. Whatever else you know, please send it to me.<br /><br />Cash<br />Intermountain Land Surveyors, PLLC<br />7687 Kelso Lake Road<br />Priest River, Idaho 83856<br /><br /><br />Best to you all.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12090126498617927353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-90257868459633974312018-03-01T11:26:06.760-06:002018-03-01T11:26:06.760-06:00Heh, no. There are still a couple of heritage rail...Heh, no. There are still a couple of heritage railroads in Hawaii, though. The most significant rail line in the state will be the 20-mile <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honolulu_Rail_Transit" rel="nofollow">Honolulu Rail Transit</a> project, which is a mostly-elevated route which is a cross between a true heavy-rail "metro" system and a light-rail line.Mike Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15257599090818492294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-53041275182493411472018-03-01T09:57:52.498-06:002018-03-01T09:57:52.498-06:00Is there amtrak service in Hawaii???Is there amtrak service in Hawaii???Bill Lindekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11373780012930618768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-87403141806788763802016-11-03T19:51:14.391-05:002016-11-03T19:51:14.391-05:00I was on that train!I was on that train!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-24643961692463611072016-10-05T19:24:06.885-05:002016-10-05T19:24:06.885-05:00Oh this is awesome—brought me back to my plans for...Oh this is awesome—brought me back to my plans for a rail-primary trip through the country (and then heading down to Stockholm via Narvik). But I have some reservations about Norway being much of a model for Minnesota—despite similarly-sized populations in terms of distribution it’s far more like Japan, with a coastal population mostly in linear bands, ideal for train travel. Those barriers make infrastructure difficult but also constrain population and travel corridors to a smaller number of well-traveled ones—a lot of smaller origin-destination pairs are put on the same line as the big ones. Minnesota can’t kill as many birds with one stone, though I can definitely see a statewide network evolving.<br /><br />You’ve seen Hans-Joachim Zierke’s <a href="http://zierke.com/shasta_route/" rel="nofollow">Shasta Route project</a>, right? Section 10 in particular, on how rural communities are served by rail in Europe and how that model could be adapted to part of Oregon, came to mind. Still, that’s a relatively short corridor (looking over it again it’s more of a transit proposal than an intercity proposal) serving one valley that, while rural, is nonetheless hemmed in by mountains, forcing higher density than you’d otherwise find in the US.Alexandernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-25585045306585858152016-09-11T00:27:16.398-05:002016-09-11T00:27:16.398-05:00I don't know if you'll ever read this, but...I don't know if you'll ever read this, but I believe this was the snow-covered derailment we passed as the first train allowed on the repaired track. What I saw was the rumpled remains lying in the frozen river below the trestle. We were the next North Coast Limited, bound for a BFLE (railroad engineers) union convention in Chicago. There might be photos. <br />David Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01009071134778651352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-49226168959988102632016-06-22T19:11:07.477-05:002016-06-22T19:11:07.477-05:00Every time I see this I am amazed. Especially whe...Every time I see this I am amazed. Especially when compared to Amtrak of today on this route that never exceeds 79 mph. Both my mom and dad as kids lived near Edgebrook on the north edge of Chicago and their parents would often take them to watch the southbound train come by early evening at 100 mph. These were the fastest steam schedules in the world.JL Chicagohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07865934102398950430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-14880302337035611472016-04-25T11:29:58.013-05:002016-04-25T11:29:58.013-05:00As a recent (~5 years) convert to the city grid I ...As a recent (~5 years) convert to the city grid I can't imagine living anywhere else. The idea of having to get in a car for every where you want to go is incredibly depressing to me. I'd say it is too late for the grid in the burbs but that's okay because that is what people want. The supply for the city grid outweighs the demand as evidenced by inexpensive houses in East Saint Paul and North Minneapolis. If people really valued this layout we would be seeing these places gentrify.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-34204865257814207082016-01-25T12:20:23.799-06:002016-01-25T12:20:23.799-06:00There’s an interesting divide (roughly) between ur...There’s an interesting divide (roughly) between urban people and transportation people about self-driving cars. Urbanists argue that they’ll be a boon for cities, whereas transportation people note that if self-driving cars decrease the cost of driving as radically as claimed then people will have less trouble driving longer distances (with the added benefit that one can do something else in transit). I tend towards the latter view, and think in part the urbanist enthusiasm for self-driving cars is an attempt to consciously shape the discourse in a way that won’t reinforce suburbanization and sprawl. I have a hard time thinking that will be enough, though, especially given the amount of sprawl already built into the American landscape.Beta Magellannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-43194765576697263882015-08-23T00:12:36.799-05:002015-08-23T00:12:36.799-05:00Awesome map. Thanks.
I was trying to figure ou...Awesome map. Thanks. <br /><br /> I was trying to figure out where the short list of many-many-track crossings (5 tracks and up) were, but I had too much trouble with the data -- any chance you could find out?neroden@gmailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07475686367097445497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-84016490008601095272015-08-11T00:33:59.278-05:002015-08-11T00:33:59.278-05:00It's a no-brainer that there should be a secon...It's a no-brainer that there should be a second frequency between Chicago and the Twin Cities at the worst. Now is the time for the states to conduct their own feasibility studies independent of Amtrak. The Rail Enthusiasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08716370779057151520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-60063041378803338712015-07-28T22:06:42.120-05:002015-07-28T22:06:42.120-05:00In Nevada, the UP route from NorCal to Chicago use...In Nevada, the UP route from NorCal to Chicago uses the former Southern Pacific and Western Pacific routes, each single-tracked, as an ersatz double track.Alonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267294744186811858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-85192673037562831852015-07-16T11:40:31.798-05:002015-07-16T11:40:31.798-05:00I learned more from this critique than I did from ...I learned more from this critique than I did from reading the study itself. Thanks.Woodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03720203216182791704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-444571486663567742015-03-09T14:44:07.130-05:002015-03-09T14:44:07.130-05:00I avoided saying anything about buses in this arti...I avoided saying anything about buses in this article since it was already sprawling without them. I wrote <a href="http://hizeph400.blogspot.com/2011/04/minnesotas-intercity-buses-and-air.html" rel="nofollow">an article in 2011</a> that talked more about buses. They're often the better option today, but many routes are still infrequent (sometimes 1/day or less) and slow (particularly routes that go in big loops and are indirect). Megabus works for going between large cities, but they skip past smaller towns -- probably to maximize load factors. When intercity buses do stop in small towns, the stops are often located at filling stations or fast-food restaurants near highway off-ramps, which aren't the most comfortable places to be (some Amtrak stops are just as bad, though).<br /><br />Ideally, buses and trains would work together in a cheaper, more efficient transportation system. Buses are even cheaper to buy than rail cars, though that often shows in the ride and build quality. It works well to have bus lines that feed into train networks, since people who ordinarily wouldn't ride the bus are more enticed because of the promise of part of the journey being by rail. And that expands the area that can be served by the train, boosting ridership.<br /><br />Trains can go faster than buses because of their dedicated right-of-way. The <i>Empire Builder</i> only has an edge of 15 mph over a bus along I-94, but that allows it to make 9 stops in between St. Paul and Chicago versus just one for Megabus. Amtrak is scheduled to take 7h50 between those endpoints, while Megabus is scheduled at 7h45 to 8h15.<br /><br />Anyway, trains and buses should work together to expand the ground transit network. Better rail service would entice a lot of people who currently fly to look at other ground-based options, growing the overall number of people who use them.Mike Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15257599090818492294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-70905722416029791132015-03-09T12:21:57.840-05:002015-03-09T12:21:57.840-05:00What about Greyhound/Jefferson/Megabus trips curre...What about Greyhound/Jefferson/Megabus trips currently connecting the cities? Most of the people I know either drive/carpool between Mpls and those cities, or take busses (including airport shuttle services, sans the plane ride). In the case of some cities, like Sioux Falls, there isn't a passenger train option, but where a train option exists, my circle of people tends to take it at least sometimes (pricier, but more fun). I bring this up because I see a whole market of travelers who aren't currently being caught by train/plane but who continue to travel on a less pleasant form of mass transit. <br /><br />I also think it would be great to see airlines pay more of the costs of their product--they need to step up in addressing their carbon footprint and the air pollution they create for the cities in which they're located (flight generally is a luxury choice with benefits accruing individually and costs spread out communally). That kind of evaluation/more equitable distribution of costs should help trains too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-11698168003073296522015-02-15T21:54:01.670-06:002015-02-15T21:54:01.670-06:00Would SEPTA be using those aging rail cars if it w...Would SEPTA be using those aging rail cars if it wasn't $8B+ in the hole and had the capital to replace them?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1008568241665831715.post-79365412157386150482014-11-12T19:06:46.473-06:002014-11-12T19:06:46.473-06:00Trains really *do* last longer than cars or buses....Trains really *do* last longer than cars or buses. SEPTA in Philadelphia is running:<br />- refurbished trolleycars from the 1940s (reintroduced in the late 2000s).<br />- commuter EMU trains from 1974-1976<br />- light rail trains from 1980<br />- subway/elevated trains from 1999<br />All of these could use replacement, but they're *all still running in daily service* and in pretty decent condition.<br /><br />Amtrak is finally replacing the last of its *1940s* railway cars.<br /><br />How many cars, trucks, or buses last that long?Nathanaelnoreply@blogger.com