Joint BNSF/Amtrak Passenger Special

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printman2000

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This was posted on another forum...

Train 943, "The Southwest Chief Charter" will depart Topeka, KS on Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 8 a.m. consisting of Amtrak Phase I Locomotive 156, and the following BNSF Business cars: 800581-Snoqualmie Pass, 800661-Marias Pass, 800648-Topeka, and 800075-Glacier View. Invited guests who are concerned about the long term sustainability of Amtrak's Southwest Chief service will also be boarding at Newton (10:16 a.m.), Hutchinson (11:10 a.m.), Dodge City (1:26 p.m.), Garden City (2:32 p.m.), and Lamar, CO (3:20 p.m.) with a LaJunta destination arrival at 4:46 p.m.
The passenger equipment will be added to the rear of Train 4 departing LaJunta the same night to arrive back in Topeka Friday morning January 11th. The 156 is to return to Chicago.
Click to expand...
Interesting.
 
A sign that Raton Pass won't be given up without a fight? And BNSF is willing to lease its equipment to the organizers. work with the parties involved. (EDITED when the link to the article posted while is was writing my post and then I subsequently read the article.)

I can't help but wonder if BNSF wouldn't prefer to keep the SWC going over the pass rather than dealing with mixing pax onto the transcon through Texas, but like Devil's Lake, they are holding out to get the best deal possible for themselves.
 
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printman2000 said:
This was posted on another forum...

Train 943, "The Southwest Chief Charter" will depart Topeka, KS on Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 8 a.m. consisting of Amtrak Phase I Locomotive 156, and the following BNSF Business cars: 800581-Snoqualmie Pass, 800661-Marias Pass, 800648-Topeka, and 800075-Glacier View. Invited guests who are concerned about the long term sustainability of Amtrak's Southwest Chief service will also be boarding at Newton (10:16 a.m.), Hutchinson (11:10 a.m.), Dodge City (1:26 p.m.), Garden City (2:32 p.m.), and Lamar, CO (3:20 p.m.) with a LaJunta destination arrival at 4:46 p.m.
The passenger equipment will be added to the rear of Train 4 departing LaJunta the same night to arrive back in Topeka Friday morning January 11th. The 156 is to return to Chicago.
Click to expand...
Interesting.
Click to expand...

I live in Topeka. I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow morning.
 
Well, let's hope the Kansas state officials listen. It sounds like the NM state officials weren't even willing to take the trip. I'm sure all the local officials will do their best, but it's extremely unlikely that they will be able to raise enough taxes to cover the costs, and I'm sure they've already been complaining to the state governments without results.
 
The Davy Crockett said:
A sign that Raton Pass won't be given up without a fight? And BNSF is willing to lease its equipment to the organizers. work with the parties involved. (EDITED when the link to the article posted while is was writing my post and then I subsequently read the article.)

I can't help but wonder if BNSF wouldn't prefer to keep the SWC going over the pass rather than dealing with mixing pax onto the transcon through Texas, but like Devil's Lake, they are holding out to get the best deal possible for themselves.
Click to expand...
More like the last warning shot. I bet the states still won't listen though.
 
I'm still waiting for a reasonable explanation of why Amtrak should spend a few hundred million dollars, and continual added maintenance costs, for the sake of a money losing two train a day service serving a handful of tiny towns when the alternative would bring them to larger cities. This whole charade is just surreal.
 
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The Davy Crockett said:
A sign that Raton Pass won't be given up without a fight? And BNSF is willing to lease its equipment to the organizers. work with the parties involved. (EDITED when the link to the article posted while is was writing my post and then I subsequently read the article.)

I can't help but wonder if BNSF wouldn't prefer to keep the SWC going over the pass rather than dealing with mixing pax onto the transcon through Texas, but like Devil's Lake, they are holding out to get the best deal possible for themselves.
Click to expand...
As long as someone else pays to maintain the line, yes, I am sure they would prefer the existing routing. They are supporting efforts to find funding for it, as long as it doesn't stay on their dime, which is a pretty good attitude. However, in all likelihood, they are not going to want to chip in like they did on the Devil's Lake line. They had a use for that line, enough for them to chip in to keep the line open. They have customers on it and it makes operational sense to be able to run it as a through line than to service it from both ends as long as the price is right.

They don't need Raton Pass at all, now that the Transcon has been mostly upgraded to two main tracks. It is much cheaper for them to go ahead and mix 2 passenger trains a day into the Transcon than to maintain an expensive mountain pass line that they do not use at all, as well as hundreds of miles of line to passenger standards that they don't need as much more than an industrial lead.

BNSF has repeatedly stated that they now have the capacity to host the Southwest Chief on the Transcon and are willing to.
 
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Nathanael said:
Well, let's hope the Kansas state officials listen. It sounds like the NM state officials weren't even willing to take the trip. I'm sure all the local officials will do their best, but it's extremely unlikely that they will be able to raise enough taxes to cover the costs, and I'm sure they've already been complaining to the state governments without results.
Click to expand...
From what I heard New Mexico is now in the hands of a moderately anti-rail administration that is supposedly looking for ways to eventually wind down the Rail Runner system. As with the Raton line it's still running today but I would not expect that to last forever as budgets are squeezed by perpetually rising costs on one side and perpetually lower tax rates on the other.
 
Paulus said:
I'm still waiting for a reasonable explanation of why Amtrak should spend a few hundred million dollars, and continual added maintenance costs, for the sake of a money losing two train a day service serving a handful of tiny towns when the alternative would bring them to larger cities. This whole charade is just surreal.
Click to expand...
Amtrak won't, at least in the longer term. State and local agencies are going to have to step up if they want to keep it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
printman2000 said:
This was posted on another forum...

Train 943, "The Southwest Chief Charter" will depart Topeka, KS on Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 8 a.m. consisting of Amtrak Phase I Locomotive 156, and the following BNSF Business cars: 800581-Snoqualmie Pass, 800661-Marias Pass, 800648-Topeka, and 800075-Glacier View. Invited guests who are concerned about the long term sustainability of Amtrak's Southwest Chief service will also be boarding at Newton (10:16 a.m.), Hutchinson (11:10 a.m.), Dodge City (1:26 p.m.), Garden City (2:32 p.m.), and Lamar, CO (3:20 p.m.) with a LaJunta destination arrival at 4:46 p.m.
The passenger equipment will be added to the rear of Train 4 departing LaJunta the same night to arrive back in Topeka Friday morning January 11th. The 156 is to return to Chicago.
Click to expand...
Interesting.
Click to expand...

Today's (1/9) #3 is reported out of Chicago on time, and should be somewhere in central Illinois at this hour. Has anyone seen the train? I'm assuming AMTK 156 is in the power (leading?), since it's scheduled to lead this special train out of Topeka tomorrow morning. I still hope to get photos, but I may get rained out. :(

EDIT: Just saw photos posted on another forum. #3(9) has three units. AMTK 156 is leading.
 
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Texan Eagle said:
MAW66 said:
EDIT: Just saw photos posted on another forum. #3(9) has three units. AMTK 156 is leading.
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Can you share the photo, or a link to it?
Click to expand...

It was on Trainorders. Try this link:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,2963170

If the link doesn't work, the thread is in the "Western Railroads" section. Photos were posted by a guy whose screen name is "Aussiehinz", and he lives just south of Chicago Union Station, in one of those condo complexes, and his patio overlooks the BN rails and the St. Charles Air Line. Lucky dog! :p
 
Texas Sunset said:
From what I heard New Mexico is now in the hands of a moderately anti-rail administration that is supposedly looking for ways to eventually wind down the Rail Runner system.
Click to expand...
It sure is looking for such ways. But thank goodness they won't be able to. The current governor wasn't elected (became governor when the previous one resigned to take a higher office which he then didn't get confirmed for... completely absurd) and I don't rate her odds of being elected. Meanwhile, the operating funding for RailRunner has been switched entirely from the state to the local transit district and the local district has voted to retain it.

RailRunner now has a solid constituency; according to reports from locals, it has loadings of 65% and up on weekdays, and 90%+ on weekends; the ridership has been retained even after fare increases; and predicted problems with congestion on the parallel highways are actually beginning to show up. I think RailRunner is going to be fairly solid as long as real estate stays expensive in Santa Fe.

As with the Raton line it's still running today but I would not expect that to last forever as budgets are squeezed by perpetually rising costs on one side and perpetually lower tax rates on the other.
Click to expand...
In this case, the localities will raise taxes as needed (New Mexico hasn't had its localities hamstrung by tax caps), since RailRunner is cheaper to operate than the alternatives between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and the advantage will increase over time. There's still room to raise fares without driving people away, too.

The situation with the Raton line is very different; it's a much longer piece of track, it simply doesn't go where the people are, and the only major intercity connection which it is important for is the north-south route from Denver to Albuquerque. NM under Governor Richardson was originally planning to buy it for that, but Colorado seems to be really uninterested in such service so that leaves it with no future.

(The Raton line is at risk all the way from Trinidad to the point where it separates from the RailRunner route, and the freight route from Lamy to Santa Fe is also at risk. There seems to be very little local freight traffic from Lamy to Trinidad -- possibly none at all. There was freight going to Lamy and interchanging with the Santa Fe Southern for Santa Fe, but that seems to have dropped off to little or nothing. Meanwhile, the Santa Fe Southern was forced out of Santa Fe Depot, and shut down its excursion business entirely for the winter -- so it seems to be having problems. I just researched this, unfortunate to discover.)
 
I have photos, but can't figure out how to post them. Probably because it's 3:14AM, and I'm sleep-deprived. :( Will try later.
 
I'm trying to get photos posted, but Photobucket will not cooperate. :angry: I'll try something else.

I was unable to get the special's departure from Topeka this morning (Thursday, January 10th), due to poor weather and lack of sleep. I assume it left on time at 8:00. Perhaps someone down the line could get it?
 
MAW66 said:
I have photos, but can't figure out how to post them. Probably because it's 3:14AM, and I'm sleep-deprived. :( Will try later.
Click to expand...
They need to be uploaded to a photo sharing site and then "embedded" here.

For me, the easiest way to do that is with imgur. Go to imgur.com, drag the photo into the window, click "upload", and then once it's uploaded there should be a BBCode option. Copy/paste that into the post and your picture will be there!
 
zephyr17 said:
The Davy Crockett said:
A sign that Raton Pass won't be given up without a fight? And BNSF is willing to lease its equipment to the organizers. work with the parties involved. (EDITED when the link to the article posted while is was writing my post and then I subsequently read the article.)

I can't help but wonder if BNSF wouldn't prefer to keep the SWC going over the pass rather than dealing with mixing pax onto the transcon through Texas, but like Devil's Lake, they are holding out to get the best deal possible for themselves.
Click to expand...
As long as someone else pays to maintain the line, yes, I am sure they would prefer the existing routing. They are supporting efforts to find funding for it, as long as it doesn't stay on their dime, which is a pretty good attitude. However, in all likelihood, they are not going to want to chip in like they did on the Devil's Lake line. They had a use for that line, enough for them to chip in to keep the line open. They have customers on it and it makes operational sense to be able to run it as a through line than to service it from both ends as long as the price is right.

They don't need Raton Pass at all, now that the Transcon has been mostly upgraded to two main tracks. It is much cheaper for them to go ahead and mix 2 passenger trains a day into the Transcon than to maintain an expensive mountain pass line that they do not use at all, as well as hundreds of miles of line to passenger standards that they don't need as much more than an industrial lead.

BNSF has repeatedly stated that they now have the capacity to host the Southwest Chief on the Transcon and are willing to.
Click to expand...
There was an article yesterday in the Wichita Eagle where local officials were quoted as saying they would like to get Amtrak service back to Wichita, and the developer of the Union Station complex would like to have Amtrak back in the station. I wonder to what extent getting Wichita train service might cancel out the desire to provide service to Western Kansas. In any case, the Wichita contingent were pushing to get federal funds for train service, nothing was said about state funding.

I'm just afraid from the state perspective, this is an excuse to take a train trip and look concerned rather than something that'll make a change in policy. Would love to be wrong, but I'm just not seeing it.
 
jebr said:
MAW66 said:
I have photos, but can't figure out how to post them. Probably because it's 3:14AM, and I'm sleep-deprived. :( Will try later.
Click to expand...
They need to be uploaded to a photo sharing site and then "embedded" here.

For me, the easiest way to do that is with imgur. Go to imgur.com, drag the photo into the window, click "upload", and then once it's uploaded there should be a BBCode option. Copy/paste that into the post and your picture will be there!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll give that a try. :)
 
Nathanael said:
...The Raton line is at risk all the way from Trinidad to the point where it separates from the RailRunner route, and the freight route from Lamy to Santa Fe is also at risk. There seems to be very little local freight traffic from Lamy to Trinidad -- possibly none at all.
Click to expand...
There is NO local freight traffic or service north of Lamy to Trinidad. BNSF runs no trains at all on the line between Lamy and Trinidad, local or through. They don't even use it for car storage, they were using the York Canyon branch to store cars in, but BNSF's very last movements on the line were to pull those out a couple of years ago. My understanding is that they no longer even have crews qualified to run on the line, only Amtrak crews remain qualified, and right now any BNSF movements would need Amtrak pilots. They run almost nothing between La Junta and Trinidad, either. They did use it for a couple of windmill trains recently, but that is it. BNSF is very clear they no longer need or want the line.
 
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OK... I think I've got this now.

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

http://www.flickr.co.../in/photostream

If these links don't work, let me know, and I'll try something else. They worked just now, while previewing. Not the best shots in the world, because I'm out of practice and I'm working with a camera I'm not used to. But, at least, you can see what went on in the wee hours of this morning.
 
For each picture, click "Share" on the flickr page, then grab the BBCode.

It'll look like this:

Code: 
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/92075299@N07/8368837874/][img=http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8051/8368837874_6a701cf421.jpg][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/92075299@N07/8368837874/]SWChiefSpecial011013-9Reductioncopy[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/92075299@N07/]swchief3[/url], on Flickr
And the forum will make it look like this:



SWChiefSpecial011013-9Reductioncopy by swchief3, on Flickr
 
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