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Amtrak could use a similar design with an upper-floor pass through. Take a look below at this flat-end observation car that used to run on the B&O. It worked as an observation car when placed on the end of the train, but it had a pass-through door that could be used when the car was used...

If Atlanta is going to be any kind of hub, it will need a new station. The current Atlanta Amtrak station is unsuitable to serve anything but Atlanta-New Orleans trains. A train between Chicago, Atlanta and Florida or running on any portion of that route would have to back up to reach the...

West Quincy is just across the river from downtown Quincy, and it's connected by a highway bridge. If I recall correctly, the drive from downtown Quincy to the West Quincy station parking lot was less than ten minutes.

That's probably true, too. But as we're talking at least ten years down the road, we don't know exactly what locomotives will be pulling these new trains. And I've noticed that whenever I've been in a Superliner coach on the front of a train, people will walk up to the front window to get a...

True enough. But the window would not be covered if the train does not have added capacity, and that would be good enough for me!

I don't have a map. But this would basically be an extension of the current Illinois Zephyr between Chicago and Quincy. The Quincy-St. Louis portion would be on the BNSF tracks that run parallel to the Mississippi River.

I think I see what you're saying now. But that may depend on how you define "core." it seems to me that the actual core of the train is entire string of semi-permanently-coupled cars that would run on a given route every day. From a capacity standpoint, at least, I don't think it would matter...

This is unclear to me. How does moving more cars to the core expand capacity?

If we are indeed talking about fixed-consist bi-level trains, there ought to be lounge sections at both ends of each train, one for coach passengers and the other for sleeper passengers. This would enable windows at the front and back of all trains, allowing occupants of the front lounge to look...

Yes, but as I understand it, the VIA fares reflect that upgraded dining.

That I doubt, since Amtrak already uses the name Hiawatha, and the term "twin cities" surely is public domain.

Well, I believe Amtrak did work with Iowa Pacific. Weren't Iowa Pacific sleepers attached to the City of New Orleans for a while? Before that, American-European Express hooked its cars on Amtrak trains. And I seem to recall that Amtrak experimented with running a form of luxury service before: a...

Theoretically, I suppose, but that assumes you can keep fares at their current level. Since fares are determined by supply and demand, you'd probably have to lower fares to fill the increased capacity. Lower fares would be good for customers of course, but they likely would make it harder to...

There is no such federal mandate. Union Pacific or any other railroad could operate passenger service, but they don't want to, because it loses money. The very reason Amtrak was created was that private railroads like Union Pacific wanted to dump their passenger trains.

Well, I think the premise is untrue, Amtrak routes are not land cruises. There ARE land cruise trains in America (such as the Rocky Mountineer), and they charge fares that will bring them a profit. They do not have the mandates that Amtrak faces as a taxpayer-supported enterprise, such as...

An article on the Trains.com newswire indicates this was NOT an inspection train, but an excursion train for CPKC employees and their families, to celebrate CPKC's status as Amtrak's best performing Class 1 host railroad,

Amtrak does not have any cars with "dump on the track" toilets. Not for many years.

I know it was the result of negotiation, but was Norfolk Southern asking for this change, or was it Amtrak? I do know that under the terms of the agreement, either side had a year to demand a reversion to the earlier schedule. Since there was apparently no such demand, I have to assume both...

This wasn't formal arbitration per say, if I recall correctly. It was a result of the STB's adoption of metrics to measure on-time train performance. As a prelude to holding the freight railroads more responsible for running Amtrak trains on schedule, the STB ordered Amtrak to hold talks with...

I agree that the schedule change has made the Crescent much less desirable for Atlanta passengers, and I have to believe it's hurt patronage.