Happy Birthday Amtrak!

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RailFanLNK

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37 years ago today, a baby was born, its been starved since, ridiculed, downsized, upsized, given a decent allowance just to see it cut, told it was going to be killed (2005) watches its big brothers and big sisters (airlines and highways) struggle but they always get the bigger allowance. Consistentlly told that "your out of style" and "your always late, get with the program" when its friends ( host railroads) are always making him/her late. So step back today and wish the Silver Thread(s) of the USA, Happy Birthday!

Al
 
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It is indeed Amtrak's birthday today.

Here are some scans of the very first timetable.

287927445_6vzDx-X2.jpg


This is the cover of the 5/1/1971 table

287927484_dzYsv-X2.jpg


The index page - only 28 page total.

287927464_sGZwV-O.jpg


Letter from the Chairman.

287927412_RwqmZ-O.jpg


The first route map. Quite different from today's.

Tom
 
MrFSS said:
287927412_RwqmZ-O.jpg
The first route map. Quite different from today's.

Tom
Click to expand...
Interesting the the first published route map was wrong, but understandably so. It shows the Chicago to Oakland service on the DRG&W through Colorado. That was what Amtrak wanted, but it did not happen.

Very late in the pre-Amtrak planning period, the Denver & Rio Grande Western elected to not join Amtrak (four days before Day One, to be exact). The reasons were both financial and operational. It was so late that Amtrak had already printed the timetables showing the route. The actual start-up train went from Denver west on the Union Pacific through Wyoming to Ogden UT. Meanwhile, in accordance with the Amtrak legislation, the D&RGW continued to privately operate a train from Denver to Salt lake City using California Zephyr equipment. This train, called the Rio Grande Zephyr, operated three time a week for 12 years until 1983.
 
With the exception of the National Limited (NY-StL) and Floridian (CHI-Mia) routes, that Day 1 start-up map is remarkably the same today!

But the trains are still running and people are still riding so Happy Birthday Amtrak! :D
 
MrFSS said:
The first route map. Quite different from today's.
Click to expand...
Actually, as I was looking at it, I was remarking to myself how similar it is to today's. Surprising to me--I would have expected there to have been more original routes that have since been cut.

Several small (relatively) changes, to be sure, but not all that much has changed in 37 years...
 
jackal said:
MrFSS said:
The first route map. Quite different from today's.
Click to expand...
Actually, as I was looking at it, I was remarking to myself how similar it is to today's. Surprising to me--I would have expected there to have been more original routes that have since been cut.

Several small (relatively) changes, to be sure, but not all that much has changed in 37 years...
Click to expand...
The big one, of course, is the Chicago - Florida direct connection through Indy, Louisville, Nashville, etc. Boy do I miss that one.
 
jackal said:
MrFSS said:
The first route map. Quite different from today's.
Click to expand...
Actually, as I was looking at it, I was remarking to myself how similar it is to today's. Surprising to me--I would have expected there to have been more original routes that have since been cut.

Several small (relatively) changes, to be sure, but not all that much has changed in 37 years...
Click to expand...
Acutally there is no Lake Shore on that Map, no service to Canada, and of course the Sunset looks much like it does today.
 
AlanB said:
jackal said:
MrFSS said:
The first route map. Quite different from today's.
Click to expand...
Actually, as I was looking at it, I was remarking to myself how similar it is to today's. Surprising to me--I would have expected there to have been more original routes that have since been cut.

Several small (relatively) changes, to be sure, but not all that much has changed in 37 years...
Click to expand...
Acutally there is no Lake Shore on that Map, no service to Canada, and of course the Sunset looks much like it does today.
Click to expand...
I don't see the Capitol Limited on there either. There is the Cardinal and another Chicago - Philadelphia (I guess that went to NY) route.

Also noticed there's no inland CA route from Sacramento to Bakersfield.

The Downeaster isn't there either, but that's pretty new in terms of Amtrak.

It's not quite as different to the current Amtrak map as I'd expected, TBH.
 
Looking at that map, it makes me question why there is no longer a Charlottesville - Richmond train.

It is not all that far, so I do not see why they force a bus ride between the two.

If it existed, southeastern Virginia (i.e., Hampton Roads) would be much better served - not that I have an interest in that. :)

So, when was that route cut? It would be nice to be able to go all the way from Newport News to Chicago on the same train.
 
MrFSS said:
287927412_RwqmZ-O.jpg
The first route map. Quite different from today's.
Click to expand...
Wow, that map (or the notation in the legend) explains something I've always wondered about: how did the Empire and (now) Wolverine services end up being a direct Amtrak financial responsibilty rather than state-sponsored routes? As the map legend says, Buffalo and Detroit were designated under the Amtrak legislation (as implemented by the DOT) to keep service.
 
Those rules are no longer in effect, however, hence why the Broadway Limited and National Limited could be eliminated. So I'd say NY and MI should be coughing up some dough.
 
I also notice there was only 1 section of the EB through Washington state - from Spokane to Pasco and then to Seattle via Yakima. (Is Yakima still served at all?) And service to Ogden. (Union Station is now a museum.)
 
Green Maned Lion said:
Those rules are no longer in effect, however, hence why the Broadway Limited and National Limited could be eliminated. So I'd say NY and MI should be coughing up some dough.
Click to expand...
Actually MI does cough up some $6 to $7 Million every year to sponser the other trains that serve Michigan. And I believe that they've also contributed some money towards getting the high speed section of track up and running. I'm not positive about that though.

But MI does support about 1/3 of the Amtrak services that run largely within the State of Michigan. NY on the other hand only supports the Adirondack, which is probably about 1/10th of the service that they get in the Empire Corridor. That number goes even lower, much lower, if you factor in the service on the NEC.
 
jackal said:
MrFSS said:
The first route map. Quite different from today's.
Click to expand...
Actually, as I was looking at it, I was remarking to myself how similar it is to today's. Surprising to me--I would have expected there to have been more original routes that have since been cut.

Several small (relatively) changes, to be sure, but not all that much has changed in 37 years...
Click to expand...

AlanB said:
Green Maned Lion said:
Those rules are no longer in effect, however, hence why the Broadway Limited and National Limited could be eliminated. So I'd say NY and MI should be coughing up some dough.
Click to expand...
Actually MI does cough up some $6 to $7 Million every year to sponser the other trains that serve Michigan. And I believe that they've also contributed some money towards getting the high speed section of track up and running. I'm not positive about that though.

But MI does support about 1/3 of the Amtrak services that run largely within the State of Michigan. NY on the other hand only supports the Adirondack, which is probably about 1/10th of the service that they get in the Empire Corridor. That number goes even lower, much lower, if you factor in the service on the NEC.
Click to expand...

And looking at the map another change that has happened is that 2 lines have been added in MI since day 1.

peter
 
the_traveler said:
I also notice there was only 1 section of the EB through Washington state - from Spokane to Pasco and then to Seattle via Yakima. (Is Yakima still served at all?) And service to Ogden. (Union Station is now a museum.)
Click to expand...



Yakima is no longer served by Amtrak. Nowadays, the nearest option for Amtrak service for the residents of Yakima is either Pasco, 80 miles to the east or Wishram, 80 miles to the southwest of Yakima.
 
auxplage said:
Looking at that map, it makes me question why there is no longer a Charlottesville - Richmond train.
It is not all that far, so I do not see why they force a bus ride between the two.

If it existed, southeastern Virginia (i.e., Hampton Roads) would be much better served - not that I have an interest in that. :)

So, when was that route cut? It would be nice to be able to go all the way from Newport News to Chicago on the same train.
Click to expand...
That route was served by what we now call the Cardinal. It's a long history, but the basic gist is this:

-The train was known at times as James Whitcomb Riley and the George Washington. Read more here.

-The train, like today's Empire Builder, started from two separate locations: Newport News and Washington/New York. When they reached Charlottesville, the trains were combined into one for the journey to Chicago.

-The route from Charlottesville to Richmond to Newport News, via Gordonsville, Mineral, and Doswell, is now owned by CSX and leased/operated/dispatched by the Buckingham Branch Railroad, and is in very, VERY rough shape, especially east of Gordonsville (but still sees a good amount of freight traffic).

-The auto train detoured over the Richmond-Mineral-Gordonsville stretch a few years ago when there was a derailment in Fredericksburg.

-All reports I've seen say that the route is in too rough shape to support a time-competitive passenger route these days, but the recent attention to a new Charlottesville-Washington-New York service has raised awareness of the line, but again, the BBR would need to make some major infrastructure improvements first.

-Rafi
 
Rafi said:
That route was served by what we now call the Cardinal. It's a long history, but the basic gist is this:
-The train was known at times as James Whitcomb Riley and the George Washington. Read more here.

-The train, like today's Empire Builder, started from two separate locations: Newport News and Washington/New York. When they reached Charlottesville, the trains were combined into one for the journey to Chicago.

-The route from Charlottesville to Richmond to Newport News, via Gordonsville, Mineral, and Doswell, is now owned by CSX and leased/operated/dispatched by the Buckingham Branch Railroad, and is in very, VERY rough shape, especially east of Gordonsville (but still sees a good amount of freight traffic).

-The auto train detoured over the Richmond-Mineral-Gordonsville stretch a few years ago when there was a derailment in Fredericksburg.

-All reports I've seen say that the route is in too rough shape to support a time-competitive passenger route these days, but the recent attention to a new Charlottesville-Washington-New York service has raised awareness of the line, but again, the BBR would need to make some major infrastructure improvements first.

-Rafi
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. It's interesting to know the history like that. I guess I could have checked Wikipedia first - the answer for everything.

Maybe Virginia will get funds to bring that line up to date and subsidize it. I jest. We have no money for anything, which only requires a quick look at our tunnel situation in Hampton Roads or look at D.C. which you could tell us about.

Thanks again.
 
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Sunset doesnt really go through Phoenix anymore.

The Southwest Limited (back then, now the Southwest Chief) used to have stations in Pomona, Pasadena... now follows the Riverside-Fullerton route; but no fault of Amtrak - that was Santa Fe's sale of the line.

Several lines added after, then removed - such as the Desert Wind through Las Vegas.
 
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