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My regular morning journey to work is - or “was” pre-pandemic - from a station where the train reverses. It took me many months before I worked out why the train always braked under clear signals just as it was getting going - running brake test.

Quite right! Living near a railway is non-intrusive and reassuring in a way that is totally opposite to a busy road. Nice pic.

The ACS-64s are indeed very young - scarcely shaken down, in fact. This method of operations works well. In the UK we have used it quite a lot over the years - London to Glasgow via the West Coast pre-2002 and London to Edinburgh via the East Coast until recently, both with electric locomotives...

Presumably on the NEC push-pull working should produce shorter turn-round times - especially at Boston - but would also allow the Regionals to start from or terminate at New York if that were desirable (say in the early morning or late evening). More frequent trains are good, but bring their...

The photo shows the slots (for the buckles) on the right-hand side of the bus as being on the left of the aisle seats. That suggests a symmetrical arrangement.

With luck it’ll be on the bus rather than under it🙂. Being dropped off at a stop does rather smack of anticlimax- reminds me of the the “scuttling in [to Penn Station] like a rat”. I thought Amtrak were supposed to have representation at the Salesforce Plaza terminal. Too much rent? It does...

And recent, too - staff wearing masks.

I remember the 1960s TV series loosely - probably very loosely - based on his exploits.

I realised that - and your pause after “mind” clearly means you are the recorded voice on the London Underground 🙂. I suppose with most mainline trains having doors at the ends of cars it isn’t usually an issue these days.

Of course, the record wasn’t the only thing they broke. Gresley’s Pacifics were three-cylinder affairs, the middle cylinder transmitting drive to a cranked axle. The bearings on the rods had a tendency to overheat, and the record-breaking run did exactly that.

It is, but in operating terms it isn’t inconvenient, because all trains stop there. York enjoys arguably the best service in the country. Two trains an hour to/from London in under two hours (for 188 miles) and good links elsewhere.

For those unfamiliar, it is well worth a look as being one of the most handsome stations in the UK, on a graceful curve: http://media1.trover.com/T/560d4968d090014c32004ad7/fixedw_large_4x.jpg

Nice report. The cutaway is of a rebuilt Bulleid Merchant Navy “Ellerman Lines”, 35029. Very handsome engines, IMHO (whisper it, but I think the rebuilt ones look better). Note the Bulleid Firth Brown wheels.

Yes, they would have to rise a lot before we noticed them as being high. If the Canadian border is still closed, I can re-structure the New England section and/or extend into upstate New York.

The plan is four nights in New York, Amtrak to Boston, five nights in and around Boston (excursions to Newport, P’town…), then hire a car. Leisurely trip up to Prince Edward Island to visit friends, then back to NY/Philadelphia. Eventually we’re booked on the LSL/CZ, and then a road trip from...

You are so right. Arriving off the tunnel shuttle and heading north is just embarrassing - more potholes between the tunnel and Maidstone than in a trip across France.

There‘s currently a lot of planning blight on this subject - at least some of it government-sponsored - and if I were limited to school holidays I would certainly be looking at my back garden. North America looks a better bet than mainland Europe at present. We’re supposed to be taking six weeks...

Although in the case of the “Parly” trains in the UK, it is more to fulfil obligations rather than to ensure loss of rights. The statutory procedure for abandoning service is cumbersome, and in practice the franchisee often just runs one train a week. There have been some extreme examples over...

Agreed about the short run, when viewing Milwaukee in isolation, but the proposal to make an effort to serve Madison and the Twin Cities enhances the case for improving the core section of the route - because more trains benefit. As to stops, that is another benefit of electrification, because...

Is it still the case that anything over 79 needs in-cab signalling?