One small step forward. But I'm not exactly holding my breath.....
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NativeSon5859
Conductor
Better than another step backwards.
George Harris
Engineer
Better re-read this little blivet from the Gulf Coast News.
$1 million for Amtrak to study . . ."
"9 months after the date of enactment, . . . a plan"
Words simply fail me. This subject has been studied to death, dug up, stuffed and mounted and restudied to death. Some Beltway Bandit is getting a big pot of money to produce a pile of useless paper. The sum involved is quite sufficient to clean up stations, replace signs or whatever and after 9 months, reinstate the service. All this "study" stuff is a complete exercise in absolute nonsense being done to provide a minor apeasement to those that want something to happen by that most favored of all tactics of a politician, DO A STUDY. YES, I AM SHOUTING OUT OF PURE FRUSTRATION.
Look at the top: It says "Office or Gene Taylor" That is probably a typo that is supposed to say "Office of Gene Taylor". The only thing more idiotic than a return on a memo than "From the Office of Joe Selfimportant" is a momo "From the Desk of Joe Selfimportant" Hey, Joe, I don't care what your desk says. What do you say? My desk don't say nothing. If it did, it would say, "you are killing me with those piles of papers," but otherwise it just sits there and suffers in silence.
<few deep breaths>
No, the Sunset has not been daily since sometime in the late 1960's. For a while San Antonio to LA was daily as an extension of the Texas Eagle, but the whole route, no, not for a very long time.
MrEd
Conductor
oh, got it. its a plan to study the plan to restore service. I thought for that amount of money they were going to build the mobile station, etc. This could also be a report to study the plan.
They could save some money and hire GP35, who already has plans for the sunset ready to go.
They could save some money and hire GP35, who already has plans for the sunset ready to go.
Amen to that George. We studied this to death already. We know for a fact that Amtrak lets the equipment just sit in New Orleans for three days before returning it west as if it went on to Florida. I assume the crews just sit in a hotel also and do nothing. As for all the little stations in between, they generated little traffic as most of the passengers boarded west of New Orleans and were headed for Orlando - the major attraction for the train in the first place. All it takes to resume service is to call the crews and start running it. CSX gave to green light two years ago. Amtrak is either trying to hold up these Gulf states for more money or they are just idiots.
BOTH.
Joel N. Weber II
Engineer
For reasons that have never been clear to me, most station construction projects seem to be more expensive than $1 million.
Yep, I got a plan for east of NOL and Amtrak can have it for free.
I am a big believer in trains sharing a route for part of the way. I know this would never happen because of limited funding.
I would start a new train east of NOL. The Gulf Breeze would run from Tampa Bay, Jax, NOL. Then it would continue past NOL to
Shreveport, then Dallas/FW, then Denver. This gives a diret route to Florida from those cities and vice-versa.
Green Maned Lion
Engineer
Oh god forbid.
That being said, this is democracy, and thats how it works. (Or rather, doesn't.)
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