Heartland Flyer discussion

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The mentions of Lunch reminds me to say don't plan on eating Lunch @ Love Field.

The place is a Zoo, and there are always Lines @ the Fast Food type places that feature Airport/Stadium Prices ( ie $10.50 for a Chick Filet Sandwich/Coke $5 etc ) with few places to sit as so many are waiting for flights.( its Southwest Airlines Major Hub)
I have to second this. I once flew from BWI to LAX that involved a change of planes at Love Field, which is where I had to eat lunch. Not only were the prices high, but the sandwich wasn't that good, more doughy bread than filling.
 
I have to second this. I once flew from BWI to LAX that involved a change of planes at Love Field, which is where I had to eat lunch. Not only were the prices high, but the sandwich wasn't that good, more doughy bread than filling.
They should have used the Light Crust Flour pictured one post previous.
 
Does anyone know why the Heartland Flyer is on the way to Dallas today?
It's the Big Game Sat @ the State Fair, Texas vs Oklahoma!

They normally add a Car or Two to the consist,run it Dallas and out to the Cotton Bowl on the Green Line, and have the P-42 that leads wrapped with "The Big Game " Slogan!

Hook 'em Horns!🤘
 
Interesting schedule proposal...
It requires no additional rolling stock. Only the addition of the 6 station facilities. Doesn't look like Newton will require only minimal additional trackwork, if any. The consist will need to be stored in one of the sidings west of the station clearing the platform tracks for the SW Chief(s) to pass by.
 
Especially when the focus of the article is service to Wichita. It sounds like service in the middle of the night is better than no service at all, while maintaining connections to the SWC in either direction.
Indeed, there is relatively little room to play around with if one wishes to connect to Texas Eagle at the Fort Worth end and the Southwest Chief at the Newton end.
 
Agree with both of you, it's a useful extension. Just wish there could be a second train... Really, there are so many route which would be jam packed if there were multiple trains a day (Chicago-Cleveland as an example or Chicago-Indy), but oh, well....
 
Anybody know if the wee-hours extension would trigger a requirement for a sleeper? I feel like such a rule has been mentioned but don't know for certain nor if a specific time triggers it.

A counter-scheduled daylight KCY-FTW and FTW-KCY would be a fanstasitc addition -- roughly speaking it's about 12 hours end to end so it's workable to have decent arrival/departure times and a haflway-reasonable connection to/from Dallas. But...I suppose you could go into pretty much any thread on this board and make a solid case for a frequency increase.
 
Anybody know if the wee-hours extension would trigger a requirement for a sleeper? I feel like such a rule has been mentioned but don't know for certain nor if a specific time triggers it.

A counter-scheduled daylight KCY-FTW and FTW-KCY would be a fanstasitc addition -- roughly speaking it's about 12 hours end to end so it's workable to have decent arrival/departure times and a haflway-reasonable connection to/from Dallas. But...I suppose you could go into pretty much any thread on this board and make a solid case for a frequency increase.
Perhaps a second frequency that is extended to Kansas City and also serves Topeka and Lawrence, the latter being the location of the University of Kansas and a large potential traffic generator. We can dream.
 
I was told by the conductor it is absolutely not possible to bring a bicycle on the Heartland Flyer, boxed or otherwise. The train lacks a baggage car. Any thoughts on when this situation might change? Why can Amtrak not accommodate at least 1-2 bicycles on this train?
 
League of American Bicyclists has a task force and is collecting a survey. (Guess the name League of American Wheelmen went out.)

You can take a fold-up bike only on the Flyer. It runs all Superliners now, says Wikipedia. Some Amfleet I's, and I don't know what else, have bike racks, which take some work. I saw simpler racks on, I think, Metro North in NY. The MARC commuter train sometimes has an entire bicycle car painted with bicycles.

Amtrak:
Folding bicycles under the dimensions of 34" x 15" x 48" (860 x 380 x 1120 mm) will be allowed onboard all trains in lieu of a piece of baggage.
...
You must fold up your folding bicycle before boarding the train. You may store the bike only in luggage storage areas at the end of the car (or, in Superliners, on the lower level). You may not store bikes in overhead racks.

Some outfit sells bike luggage that intentionally doesn't look like bike luggage, for regular sized bikes, partially disassembled. It's to save fees on air travel, if I recall.
 
Cabbage car is no more. They are using two locomotives.
Train normally seems lightly loaded but conductor adamant that a (non-folding) bicycle could not be taken inside.
 
IIRC, all Superliner cars have a “Utility Locker” at one end above the wheels that was empty, and accessed by a door on each side of the car. When I worked in Denver, the CZ sometimes would have a ski group in a car, and utilised that locker to stack the group’s skis.
I believe a bike in a carton could be slid into that space but probably Amtrak would not want to use it for that purpose, as it would take some effort to load and unload.
 
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