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In the distant past, there was a smaller version of this that toured every summer to various towns around the system. My 80s memory is of either one or two baggage cars with exhibits, along with a couple cars for people to walk through and feel how comfy the seats were. It struck me as good...

At least for the Seattle section, the folks who run the Skykomish webcam generally maintain a Google Doc listing all the trains that go past. Usually at least the engine numbers and the length of the consist are recorded for the Builder. 90% of the time, the westbound that arrives in Seattle on...

I have always wondered whether they were. I've never seen a photo of a Pioneer with a SSL. (I feel like I have seen some photos of a Heritage sleeper and Amdinette with bilevel coaches.) The only evidence I have of them ever being used is the Harold Russell article on Superliners in the...

I lived in Pioneer territory, not Desert Wind territory, but sometimes boarded at a (semi)civilized hour in Salt Lake rather than in the middle of the night in Pocatello. My recollections are mostly the same as what was previously posted: Yes, the odd zig-zag move to get the CZ in and out of...

If extra equipment is already available, it makes sense to operate it. If one were contemplating buying extra equipment to make grade crossing circuits happy... IMO it would make considerably more sense to buy the necessary hardware to improve the circuits themselves. You can buy between-rails...

Video is notable to show how Amtrak's equipment shortages have persisted across time. A major long-distance train, serving NYC and a half dozen other big cities, with one sleeper and an amdinette. Arrival of Superliners temporarily eased the Heritage sleeper shortage, though it seems to me a few...

Some of each, but mostly axles. Oversimplifying, you detect a train by applying electricity to the track and measuring the resistance between the two rails. If you have an open circuit, there is is nothing on the track, if you have a short circuit, you have a metal axle making contact with both...

It's very likely that anywhere with an airport shuttle in Whitefish will be happy to do a train shuttle too (the train station is much closer, and easy to find.) There is also a new property, the Firebrand, in walking distance of the station. Belton Chalet is similarly right-across-the-street...

Still open, but the current owner wants to retire. Still is. An occupational hazard of putting roads and railroads in the bottom of canyons through the mountains. Expect no signal from 5 miles outside Libby until 5 miles outside Whitefish, and from the first curve after West Glacier to the...

They did, from 2007 to 2019, both inside the park and from Kalispell to West Glacier. They were operated by the Flathead County transportation department, who backed out of their contract in 2019. The park service found a new operator and gave them a two-year contract.... in March 2020. They...

You will find yourself very short on entertainment, and shorter on public transportation, if you spend a day walking around any of Cut Bank, Shelby, Havre, etc. You will have trouble enough getting from the Kalispell airport to Whitefish or West Glacier. Aside from your time actually in the...

It is not that simple, for pilots. There is a very long list of medications, and how long you must remain on the ground after consuming them. If you are a pilot and take any medication, you and your doctor are expected to look up whatever you are taking, and act accordingly. The rules are...

Remind me again how to tell Amcafe, Amlounge, Amdinette, and Amclub apart...

Yes, but not mainline service. A Northern Pacific local from Seattle to Hoquiam and Moclips went through Olympia proper until the late 50s. The track running southwest from Olympia to Gates (where it met the Centralia-Hoquiam line) has long since been lifted, but there is still freight trackage...

Not only a "reasonable ambition," but a really smart way to get a bunch of Senators and Congressmen on board. I would have loved to see the enabling legislation require service to every state, though I admit that the service to South Dakota, among a few others, is destined to lose money...

Continuing with the sidebar on the Dakota 400, this 2-page spread from the most recent issue of Kalmbach's Classic Trains describing the situation in 1954 may be of interest to people in the thread. A heck of a lot of switching of cars on and off this train at different places. (Standard...

The easiest way to sum it up is... trains come to those areas. Planes don't. We have fewer choices; that means that that the choices we do have are more likely to get used. You'll see any number of rural towns with very high ridership. Upthread mentioned Gilman,IL getting 2,000 boardings...

As originally built, yes, the coach-baggage had the seats much closer together. If memory serves, only footrests and not legrests. Still nicer than Amfleet I or a Greyhound but noticeably more cramped than a Superliner coach or a Heritage 46-seat long distance coach. The seats didn't recline as...

I would love to see 2 or more Seattle-Spokane round trips a day, and I agree that there may be a substantial market for Yakima/Pasco to Spokane since, as you mention, the airlines route you through Seattle. In the meantime, I can recommend staying on the train until you reach Whitefish the...

The 532 car will be farther from the diner than the 531 car. A typical consist is baggage - transition sleeper - 532 sleeper - 531 sleeper - diner - lounge - coach - coach. You won't know in advance which side of the train you'll be on as the sleeper don't always face the same direction. Room E...