Recent content by b1xn00d

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    Long Distance (LD) fleet replacement discussion (2022 - 2024Q1)

    I've had some amazing conversations but also had seatmates who clearly aren't all there mentally. Personally I relish the chance to get to know new people even if it doesn't always work out, but I can see why some people aren't chomping at the bit to share a compartment with Meth Man.
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    Long Distance (LD) fleet replacement discussion (2022 - 2024Q1)

    From a fellow coach passenger, I think a lot of the paranoia about all-new designs comes from the failure of the Next-Generation Bilevel Railcar. Delivery was supposed to start in 2015, but it failed FRA safety tests (that we know existing designs pass) and as a result we're still waiting for...
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    Long Distance (LD) fleet replacement discussion (2022 - 2024Q1)

    As opposed to...not testing stuff or to subcontracting it out? If the former that's an absurd requirement, and it's no wonder nothing gets built in this country anymore if that's representative of the regulatory state.
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    Gateway Project/New York Penn Station capacity improvement

    Turn over NJT's Northeast Corridor line and Metro North (or LIRR, if you prefer -- I'm not familiar with local commuting patterns) to the Port Authority to eliminate the bureaucratic infighting. Run trains from New Rochelle (Jamaica) to Trenton and back, at whichever is the greater of the...
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    Long Distance (LD) fleet replacement discussion (2022 - 2024Q1)

    The observation car (and there had better be one) would take more thought since it requires changes to the window geometry - but yeah, the changes to the coaches seem essentially cosmetic to me, in much the way Frontier and Delta use the same planes but with very different seats installed inside...
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    Northern Lights Express

    Delays. The longer the route, the more likely they become, and an hour or two late on a four-hour trip is unacceptable.
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    Gateway Project/New York Penn Station capacity improvement

    Please explain to a layman why they're wrong. Seems to me that if the mainline tracks can handle an additional 18 trains per hour but the station can only has space to turn around turn around two more per hour, getting them out of the station ASAP by having them turn around somewhere else is...
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    Long Distance (LD) fleet replacement discussion (2022 - 2024Q1)

    I hope whatever they come up with is reasonably simple to build so Amtrak can order 10,000. Equipment availability would never be an issue again, plus mile-long Amtrak trains that don't fit into Union Pacific's sidings would be funny.
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    Cartogram of Amtrak Ridership by State, 2022

    Very interesting. Large populations (Texas) and highly urbanized populations (Colorado, Utah) do not appear to be a substitute for frequent service (Delaware, Virginia).
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    Efficacy of Private vs. Public Sector Construction Projects

    Plenty of countries are able to build public sector projects efficiently. Historically that included this one: the Hoover Dam was built for $50 million, or $800 million at today's prices. Could we even build a bridge of that length for below a billion today? The problem isn't necessarily that...
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    Amtrak Marketing

    This assumes Amtrak has enough functioning cars available to lengthen those trains. I don't think they do, nor do they have plans to in this decade.
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    Ely, NV- Visiting Northern railway

    Ely is just shy of a four hour drive from either SLC or Las Vegas. Unless you have some other interest in seeing Elko I'd start out at one of those two and drive to Ely. Elko's a perfectly nice town, but it's a lot smaller than Salt Lake or Vegas, with the reduced options for flights and rental...
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    Salt Lake City Station discussion

    At times it really feels like UTA is not merely indifferent to giving people things that are beautiful and remind them of a proud history, but actively opposed to it. Take the current bus station building at Salt Lake Central. Would you have guessed it was also a former railroad freight house...
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    California Zephyr discussion 2023 Q4 - 2024

    UTA and Amtrak use different platforms and rails systemwide, though they stop at roughly the same locations to facilitate transfers. I believe the Amtrak platform in question predates any UTA train operations at the site - though the UTA platforms certainly aren't adequate for Amtrak's needs in...
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    California Zephyr discussion 2023 Q4 - 2024

    Just stopped at Provo on the westbound Zephyr, and the conductor mentioned that it was a double stop: one for the sleepers and one for coach. Sure enough, we stopped twice. I didn't recall having noticed the double stop anywhere else, on any train I've ridden. Obviously this is due to platform...
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