Recent content by jdwolfskill

Alan, Let's see if I got this right. The passenger has a choice between flying between LA and SF, or taking AMTRAK. So if the book hawker is going to be onboard the train, he'll take the train instead. How clever! Q: What do you call 10,000 marketing people in the unemployment line? A: A...

Does anyone else but me feel this is an aaawfully tacky way to promote a book? If this guy's a best-selling author, then why does he need to hawk books on a train? In my way of looking at it, all parts of a train (except a private sleeping compartment) are confined public places. That's why...

I noticed in the new AMTRAK system timetable that as of October 30, 2003 select regional corridor trains are scheduled to again start using the historic downtown Main St. station in Richmond, VA. I'm not sure whether this station has been restored or not, but it's good to see that it's going to...

I logged onto the AMTRAK website to order the new system timetable on Monday morning of last week. Would you believe my shock at actually recieving it in the First Class Mail on Wednesday afternoon? That has to be a new world record for AMTRAK. I usually don't get anything but stale air from...

gswager, Obviously, there are tons of "must see" things to do in and around CHI. However, I found the Museum of Science & industry up there on my list, and well worth a full day visit. If you like trains, you'll love to see what $3 million will buy in the way of a huge and spectacular model...

carknocker, You aren't nuts at all. What a novel idea: "Spend our tax money here at home!" The problem is that we're driving an old two-seater, and everyone wants a "one-seat ride" these days. :)

Alan, Well let's see. I've no right arm, and no left foot (due to shotgun blast) , but I have managed to get everyone thinking and talking and sitting up straight in their computer chairs. There's something to be said for that. No?

In most cases, wouldn't the higher capital expense of regionalization be offset by increased ridership? I'm not an expert in these matters, but from what I've read It has been proven time and again that adding train frequency and realistic scheduling (who wants to board a train at 3:15 AM)...

Your point is well taken, batalion51. I agree that trains are needed to provide this vital service to small towns and cities throughout the U.S. This is precisely why we need more trains that can operate with greater efficiency and more frequency. I think both you an Amfleet missed the point of...

At the risk of inserting my arm here and pulling back a bloody stump, I think that AMTRAK should be liquidated and restructured into several regional rail authorities, each with a charter to provide regional rail passenger service (including interstate, intrastate and high-speed commuter rail)...

Liz, I, for one, am not laughing at your "bridge-phobia" problem. I was once in a highway rest stop located on U.S. 13 in Delaware, where I started chatting with an elderly gentleman. When I asked him his occupation, he said, "I am a bridge driver". I asked him, "just what, pray tell, is a...

I see that no one has answered your question, so I'll take a crack at it. Perhaps other posters can add more details that are specific to Amtrak locomotives. In the matter of AC generators, you are almost correct. They work on the following principle: The Voltage (E), Frequency (Hz.) and phase...

DarkerOne, The AMTRAK Pocono Service of which you speak was a proposed service from Scranton, PA to Hoboken, NJ over the old Erie-Lackawanna cut-off. An article in the Pocono Record newspaper a long while back (1999-2000) stated that PennDOT was then fishing for a cost estimate from AMTRAK to...

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Speaking of AMTRAK programming glitches, here's another one I found with the AMTRAK website reservations system. Very often when you enter a round trip itinerary the system will tell you that no service is aviailable for the return portion of your journey. The problem here is usually a THRUWAY...